SS Armour on the Eastern Front

[TRDG]

Roger, I'm really curious on your take on the book and the pics when you get it, how many of the pics have you seen before, and what ones do you like the best..

Cheers, your not ing now, are ya?? LOL LOL Ha Ha!!!

Tom

[Geek44]

Well if the thing doesn't arrive tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to be asking some questions!!

[TRDG]

BIG TIME, they did say it was "in stock" when you ordered it, right?? Lets hope so, you said your other orders from this place have been pretty good otherwise as to time taken to get there.....

Cheers

Tom

[Geek44]

Of course it arrived today after my 'questions' tough-talk.
What a great book. As you may know, armour of the period isn't my strong suit (what is?) and so almost every page has something for me to learn. From a modeller's point of view, publications don't get a whole lot better...pics that show the 'nitty-gritty' of the vehicles and equipment are extremely valuable. I'm not really much of a 'rivet-counter' but I like to stay within an accurate 'ball-park' if I can and this book will help. I've only seen one pic from the book before and I have a pic not published in SS Panzers that show whitewashed Panther tanks being unloaded from a train. There are two pics in SS Panzers of what was obviously a series of three or more...so everything was pretty much new for me. I really like the colour section and if I could get a book just with colour art like that, I'd pay plenty. I have several hundred aircraft 'profiles' in my library but only maybe a dozen of tanks and vehicles. Keep an eye open in the modelling threads for the Panther Ausf. D pictured in colour on the left of page 275 and (possibly) in the bottom pic on page 123. As I leafed through it, I kept thinking about what you said about recreating photos as dioramas. I had one in mind but I've forgotten which now. I'll let you know what my favourite candidates for that are very soon.
Peace.

[TRDG]

I thought you would like it my friend, a great book with a lot of new pics that many hav'nt seen before. Glad you finally got it, and what is your take on the front cover shot, I am in love with that pic by the way, then the "real one" of it in the back part of the book.

Cheers, I'll post up my favs (page numbers) here for ya in the future as well!!

Tom

[Geek44]

The cover shot is great although the King Tiger has never been a favourite of mine. There's lots of extra equipment and filth to be seen and that's what grabs me. Try the two Stug pics on page 57 with twenty or more guys riding the vehicles...from a modeller's POV these pics are excellent...thinking about having twenty 1/35 figures to alter and make different for a diorama to depict that boggles my mind. There's a US modeller named Phil Stucinskas (spelling is wrong I'm sure) who won EuroMilitaire with a similar image. His was a Panzer IV with about six or eight riders. If you google 'Konrad Model' I'm sure you'll find a pic somewhere.
I also like pics that show people. People being 'human' and not clock-work cannon fodder. Actually, the best pic for that is one of wounded being tended to in the cover of an armoured car and a 251 (I think). There's real emotion to be seen.
The Panther in the top pic of page 132 is the one I will build. I quoted the wrong pic above.
Peace.

[TRDG]

I see, my coments will be a bit slow until I get off the two weeks of 8-8 overnight work junk, keep on looking and thinking of the book while I am "gone" for a while please!!

Cheers, how about page 74, that might be interesting to model, the house, the KV in it , the German soldiers and what vehicles are parked outside of the house that the Germans came from (not pictured but worthy of some imagination!!)

Page 90 and "the spoils of war".

Page 98 with all three of the Hummels!!!!

Page 177 with the Pz IV towing the three 45mm AT guns, NICE!!!

More later.

Tom

[Geek44]

All excellent pics. To be honest, I haven't been a big diorama builder in the past...maybe ten in 35 years and I did those when I was around fifteen or sixteen...then I met a girl and didn't model for maybe six years. 'Other' things to do you know.
Been a big 'observer' of other people's work though. If I was to attempt page 98, I would just have the Hummel in the centre. It has the most stuff draped over it to conceal its whiteness. I also love the Pz. IV towing the three 45s.
The 'Strabo' gantry crane pic on page 135 is also great and I had no idea they could do so much complicated maintenance in the field. Fascinating also is the assertion under the bottom pic on page 136 that tha Panther final drive had a service life of onlty 150km. If that's correct, it's a severe limitation.
The pic on the bottom of page 169 says it all too.
Peace.

[TRDG]

I bet this book will give you some ideas and change your mind on the dry spell on the diorama, building of. LOL

Cheers, time for work again tonight, no for me tonight........

Tom

[Geek44]

As you may know, I have two kids who take up the bulk of my day time. I'm still only up to page 204 reading all the captions. The book is still largely unfamiliar. I only buy books like this as a modeller. There are some amazing shots here and I look at these pics with a modeller's eye. I'd say that sometime in the future, there will be a diorama despite not really knowing where to start. All of the instructional material I've seen talks about products I've never seen or heard of or is unavailable here. For example, all of the modelling magazines talk about 'Future' floor polish. Unavailable here. 'Spackle', 'Celuclay' and a dozen others likewise. My father was a jeweller and his workshop was a cornucopia of useful (read 'toxic') and practical (read 'toxic') stuff that I was able to use for diorama building believe it or not. Since he stopped working and subsequently died, all I now have are his tools which translate seamlessly into modelling. In fact that's one area I've always been spoiled in. Tools.
Of course there must be materials that I can get. People here build dioramas all the time. That's why I'm a member of a club...someone will know.
As for inspiration, I like 'something different'. Pics that look like they have possibilities and fit the 'different' criteria are;

Top page 47
Either page 57
'Spoils' as you suggested, page 90
Page 135
Page 177 as you suggested
Oops, gotta run...more later.
Peace.