Introduction

Tankograd Publishing has released the third title in their ‘In Detail Fast Track’ series of books, and Tankograd Publishing has kindly sent review samples to Armorama. This series of books from Tankograd Publishing is aimed specifically at the modeller, and serves as pictorial reference for building better models in terms of accuracy, and supplying a quick background on the subject matter for the modeller. This third title is or will be the most eagerly sort out as it covers the M2A3 Bradley and so is a great reference for the first Bradley release from Meng Models.

Contents

This latest book in the ‘In Detail Fast Track’ series from Tankograd Publishing is printed in English only. The book contains 86 colour photographs of the M2A3 Bradley.

Review

This latest title from Tankograd Publishing begins with a 2 page written introduction to the Bradley, briefly covering how it came about and its progression to its current format. The text is worth taking the time to read if you like to know a little about what you are modelling. This title as with the previous 2 is laid out in a landscape fashion, and I feel that this is the way to go with these titles as it offers the best possible display size for the included images. This title has 86 full colour photographs over 40 pages and I feel that is enough to provide the modeller with the information they seek.

The photographs in the book are broken down into sections and begins with a wide angle walk around of several different Bradleys’ in the environment they were originally build for, an exercise in Germany’s woodlands, rather than the environments encountered in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps of greatest benefit is that the vehicles are painted in the three tone camouflage and some are carrying extra kit, I know how hard it can be when deciding where to put things on an AFV. The book then moves onto covering the hull detail in a series of close ups that should please everyone from the beginner to the expert. The photographs are accompanied by a specific introduction or a group introduction depending on what area the images show.

The close ups of the hull take up a fair amount of the books, but once complete we move on to the suspension. I found these images very helpful as they provide a good look at the suspension, but also a dirty suspension which I would class as light dirt and which gives you an idea when it comes to painting and weathering a model. This section is followed by a series of images looking at the IFF panels and this covers placement and general appearance of the panels.

The turret is next and is approached in the same style as the hull, featuring a number of close up photographs that really help you pick out the details. I particularly like the fact that features such as the commanders’ metal frame and ballistic glass shields are covered in a series of pictures rather than from just one angle. The armament of the M2A3 Bradley is covered in its own area and is accompanied by single full page image of the Bradley’s power pack. Last but not least the interior gets its own section and with these images being of a vehicle in the field you get the added benefit of a vehicle loaded up, and this makes for the possibility of a very accurate looking model.

Conclusion

For many years the only Bradleys I knew of model wise were the Tamiya and Academy offerings, now we have the Meng Model offerings this book becomes an affordable must have for adding that touch of reality to your build. The publication from Tankograd Publishing manages to guide you around an M2A3 Bradley in the field, loaded up with details for the modeller to pick out and add to their builds. Remember the print run on this release is only 999 copies and I can see them moving very quickly, and so if you want a copy of this don’t hang about when it comes to ordering.