Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 09:37 PM UTC
George Bradford's excelllent series of AFV Plans will need little introduction to many modellers. Now, comes news of their compilation into books...
Catchpole Books are publishing (or have published) a series of FOUR books containing George Bradford's highly-acclaimed 1/35th scale plans. These are:

World War II AFV Plans: American Armored Fighting Vehicles (available) $14.95

ISBN: 0-8117-3340-8

World War II AFV Plans: German Early War Armored Fighting Vehicles (available)
$14.95

ISBN: 0-8117-3341-6

World War II AFV Plans: German Late War Armored Fighting Vehicles (May '07) $14.95

ISBN: 978-0-8117-3355-7

World War II AFV Plans: Russian Armored Fighting Vehicles (May '07) $14.95

ISBN: 978-08117-3356-4


The books are available direct from the publisher (website at the top of this report), or through sources such as Amazon.
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Comments

Jim, Are all the plans in 1/35 Or do they vary in scale?
FEB 22, 2007 - 11:47 PM
Most of the plans are in 1/35th, though some larger vehicles, like the M3 Lee or the Tiger P prototype, are shown in 1/48th. A few vehicles are in 1/72nd. I have the first two volumes, the US book and the early-period German vehicles book. The sheer quantity of information included for the price is staggering, with 50 different vehicles in each volume, but there are some caveats. These are drawings that has Mr. Bradford developed over many years, and in some cases, they need updating. Most obvious problem is the Tiger I, which shows the long discredited symmetrical turret shell, which pushes the gun well off the turret ring centerline (the turret would torque to the right every time it was fired if that were the case, putting severe strain on the traversing mechanism). The corrected shape has been documented for over a decade, so this is a very surprising slip. And the front curvature of the M24 Chaffee turret shell looks a bit odd to me, though I will have to check other references further. No doubt others will find other issues with some drawings. On the plus side, there are many vehicles depicted which are very hard to get information on, like the Adler Kfz. 13 armored scout car, which includes a separate, detailed drawing of the machine gun pedestal and instrument panel. There is a nice selection of prewar US tanks and armored cars, too. On balance, these books represent a very good value for money (especially if you get them discounted from Amazon), but as with all scale drawings, check them against photo references whenever possible.
FEB 23, 2007 - 06:26 AM
Thanks for the info Gerald.
FEB 23, 2007 - 06:50 PM
Ditto. Personally, I think I would have been happier with subjects such as Armored Cars and softskins. In the case of T34s/KVs i've got enough plans to paper a medium-sized castle.. Trailers and artillery would also be a particularly useful theme for these compilations...
FEB 23, 2007 - 06:57 PM
The Wife got these for me: World War II AFV Plans: American Armored Fighting World War II AFV Plans: German Early War Armored Fighting Vehicles As Gerald says, good overall, but needs a bit of updating. It forms a good basis and should not be too much trouble to update. For the price, these books are a bargain, especially for the scratchbuilders. I will be getting the rest as they become available!
FEB 26, 2007 - 08:26 PM
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