DRAGON on patrol

DRAGON the M1A2 on patrol around Tankland.

Book Review 2

Pen and Sword Books latest Images of War Special: The Panther Tank, Hitler’s t-34 Killer does an excellent job of giving the reader an excellent overview of what drove the design and development of one of the most famous tanks of World War 2. The Panther had it’s flaws, but was a feared adversary for Allied tankers during World War 2, and its influence on tank design extends to currently deployed main battle tanks. The book’s organization is well suited to the military modeler because it illustrates the subtle differences between the Panther variants. Plus, Pen and Sword has included quite a few new photographs that I hadn’t seen before, which is always great to see because it gives the military modeler guidelines as to how German crews camouflaged and added stowage to their Panthers. Finally, the book discusses some of the major campaigns and battles that Panthers took part in, and helps balance the tank’s formidable technical specifications against its combat record. As author Anthony Tucker-Jones discusses, the Panther was a fearsome opponent, but poor reliability and inexperienced crews limited the tanks ultimate impact on the battlefield. I have been a fan of the German Panther tank for a long time, and this book is a welcome addition to my military history library.

Convoy Pictures

I like setting up convoy pictures with these 1/16 scale RC tanks.  US or German, I have fun setting up the RC tanks with static models to depict convoys in motion, historic or modern.  If I ever get enough people to drive them all at once it would be fun to make a convoy movie.  Here are a few pictures from convoys I’ve set up.

US HALFTRACK

I had a chance to run the halftrack outdoors at Tankland and it it did very well.  I got it stuck a time or two, but mostly it took on the rocks and sand like a trooper.

We got a deal on a US halftrack, the Torro RC 1/16 scale one with the quad .50 cal, but with the quad .50 cal. removed.  The hope is to convert it into a M3 75 mm GMC so the .50 cal mount would be removed anyway.  It’s fun, runs well, it’s a nice model, and it will ad a new dimention to the tank collection.

Book Reviews

Summer is a busy time here in the Rockies, we haven’t had much time to work on RC tanks, but as modelers we still enjoy reading about history.  One of our favorite sources of historical reference photos is the series of books called IMAGES OF WAR, published by Pen & Sword over in the UK.  Our little group has several of their books.

The latest book added to our reference library is;

This book reveals a collection of photographs taken by a professional photographer, Walter Grimm, who was inducted into the German army in 1940.   It shows in vivid detail, his experiences as a Landser (foot soldier) from basic training in Germany, through summers and winters fighting in Ukraine, then finishing with a chapter about the honored and the fallen.  The author’s caption for each photo, often explaining details of the equipment or vehicles shown, is a rich treasure trove of information, both for the historian as well as the scale modeler.  

After years of reading and researching WWII, I was delighted to lose track of the new things I was learning, about half way through this book.  Photo after photo of men working with trucks and equipment showed many details of things I had never seen, new details of things I did know about but never understood, and some things I had never imagined.

 I think the best part of this book, is how the photographer’s and the author’s work have combined into something greater than the words or pictures themselves.  Their work has combined into a snapshot of history that pulls the reader into the German Army, into WWII, into the daily lives of those men, the men who made our history.

 I’ve picked a few pictures from the collection that struck me as showing a deeply human side, to a very inhumane time and place.   I’ve hallmarked the photos out of respect for the author and photographer, and used them here with the permission of the publisher. 

Basic training – gas mask

A Ford truck in the German Army…     ”they used 100 different trucks, 53 types of car, and 150 models of motorcycles” pg. 33

 Till I read this book, I never would have believed the German’s used camels in Ukraine in WWII.

The real guys who made history!  Them and millions like them.  

 

Pages and pages of high quality photos, accompanied by maps and text, make this book a treasure for any library.

 

ABRAMS MOVIE

The new Abrams Ouray Troop acquired has worked out well.  We took it to Arizona to the the DAK event and it made three “kills” in its first engagement,  ran well, and the only thing damaged was the exhaust deflector.  We are not counting the “kills” from this engagement because they were my 10 year old son knocking out loaner tanks driven by kids from the public, not other “tankers”.  This Abrams is named “TROUBLE” after my old dog.

 

Here is a short movie of the Abrams to demonstrate the sound.  Enjoy.

Here is another movie…

 

DAK demo at Falcon Field 3-26-2016

The Western Slope Division once again went to Arizona to enjoy some fun in the sun with the great folks at Desert Armor Korps.  This year the event was held at Falcon Field Airport during an air show by the Commemorative Air Force and a military vehicle show.  We got to battle our RC tanks among real jeeps and trucks, near a fully functional Hellcat, while a B-17 and  Huey Cobra buzzed us.  Russian Yak fighters did a couple passes overhead too, as a Mig parked nearby watched over our stuff.

The WSD took 10 folding portable buildings to the event, allowing us to quickly deploy a “Potemkin Village” on the tarmac for visiting people to drive loaner tanks around in.

You can check out more pictures at the DAK website here:

http://www.desertarmor.com/DAK_Events_2016-2020/DAK_CAF_DEMO_MAR_26,_2016.html