Introduction

Although the magazine is published in German (something that tends to put people off), it's pretty unique in the sense that ALL the photo captions are in English and at the end of the magazine there is a very complete summary of the text. As with all of Tankograd Publishing's output, the photos are either commissioned by the company or unique to the company. It's highly unlikely that they will ever appear in any publications beyond those published by Tankograd. Far too often, the same photo is recycled in various publications which is fine for those who are building up a reference library but pretty frustating for those who want fresh images of a subject.

Militärfahrzeug 4-2007

This is the fourth of this year's issues of the magazine and, by way of marking the tenth anniversary of Tankograd Publishing, it's a greatly expanded issue over the previous editions. The magazine consists of 96 pages and 19 articles on a huge variety of subjects from inter-war Armored Cars to the Modern Bundeswehr. Not only is there a wide range of subjects covered but also coverage given to vehicles (and nationalities) which are not given much coverage in other publications.

In detail

The constant factor in Tankograd Publishing's books and magazines is the strong emphasis on images. As I mentioned in the introduction, the strength of their publications lie in the 'originality' of the images. Combining that with the subject matter makes for complete coverage of some areas which for the modeler are both informative and inspirational. Perhaps the Modern AFV modeler gains more from this magazine as the majority of the subjects covered are of Post-War AFVs although the WWII enthusiast is not forgotten either..

The majority of the content in this magazine is inevitably enough, photographic. The emphasis is very much on quality rather than quantity. The editing of this issue rarely gives more than three images per page the quality is, in general, excellent (particularly in the case of the modern subjects) although a few of the images are a little on the dark side and, in the case of the older images, there is understandably a limit as to how much they can be improved although they still remain sharp enough.

This issue begins with an overview of Tankograd Publishing's first ten years and helps to underline the company's philosophy which is to cover the more 'obscure' although still catering towards popular subjects such as the PzIV, the KV Series or the ubiquitious such as the Kubelwagen.

As there is a surprising amount in the magazine, it would be perhaps more useful to speak of two articles in particular - not because they are any better than the rest but simply as a question 'logistics' as covering all the articles would be a fairly laborious process.

Two 'typical' articles

It's not easy to choose among so many articles, but in the end I went for two very contrasting subjects - The Crossley Indian Pattern Armored Car and a photo report on the Leopard 2 PSO.

The Crossley Armoured Car. This was developed as a response to continual ethnic and political tensions in India following WW1. It's always been a fascinating looking vehicle as it looks like a cross between an armored limo and something which appears in a cheap sci-fi movie with its domed turret. Seven pages are dedicated to the vehicle in service in a variety of situations - virtually all of which would make spectacular dioramas. There are some interesting facts aboutt the vehicle - not least of which was the capability to 'electrify' parts of the exterior to discourage rioters from clambering on board and doing their own walkrounds...

The Leopard 2 PSO. The PSO (Peace Support Operations) version is not (entirely) dissimilar to the Crossley in it's 'mission statement'. Designed to give the ability for heavy armored support in built-up areas, the most striking thing about the vehicle in its four pages of coverage, is the camouflage scheme. More than slightly similar to the impressive Berlin Brigade camo scheme of the 70s and 80s this consists of three colors - sand, white and dark-green. Also detailed in a series of good photos are presented of the vehicle although lacking in close-ups of some details for modelers such as the Remote Controled Weapon Station and the dozer blade mounting.

Contents

British Army: Crossley Armoured Car Indian Pattern, 1925
Modern German Army: Leopard 2 PSO MBT
KFOR: BTR-80A in KFOR Service
Austrian Army: Bundesheer 2010 Structure
U.S. Army: Big Nasty Dozers in Iraq
U.S. Army: Ford G8T Truck
British Army: Chieftain AVRE
Modern German Army: Shilo Training Ground
Wehrmacht WW2: Recon Detachment of 16 Panzer Division
U.S. Army: U.S. Army in Nürnberg-Erlangen-Fürth
Belgian Army: FN Military Trucks
U.S. Army: M1135 Stryker NBC
Wehrmacht WW2: End of a Road March
East German Army: T 55 A
British Army: Exercise White Rhino 89
Modern German Army: Hocharbeitsbühnen-Enteisungsgerät
U.S. Army: Exercise REFORGER 77
English Summary

Conclusions

It really is an excellent magazine. It also, if this edition is anything to go by, shows that the publishers have a lot of material sitting there waiting for publication. Some of the vehicles covered will inevitably find there way into complete books - the material on the 16th Panzerdivision (if there is more of it) would definitely be a welcome book. It also works as a good 'encouragement' to those of us who really don't have a deep knowledge of certain vehicles to go out and find out more..