Introduction

MMP Books is a Polish publisher best known for their titles looking at various aircraft; however they also have a good number of titles covering armour and land conflict. One of the latest titles from MMP Books is the title I am looking at here on the SD.KFZ.7 Mittler Zugkraftwagen 8t.

Review

This offering is I believe part of a new series of books from MMP under the scope of ‘Camera On’. This title is listed as Number 2 in the series and is a soft backed book of 88 pages in a card cover. In the words of the author, The purpose of this title is not to rewrite the history of the SD.KFZ.7 Mittler Zugkraftwagen 8t, but instead provide a photographic reference of the vehicle, it is this aspect that will make it appeal to the modeller so much.

The title can be considered a publication of three parts that starts with the written portion of the title. The text provides a short history of the vehicle and its various types from inception to the end of the war, the fact that a small number were sold to Brazil prior to the start of World War 2 is also mentioned and how this proved to be fortuitous for Brazil as it resulted in a large quantity of vehicles being gifted to Brazil by the USA as part of the lend lease programme.

The majority of this title is photographic and this is what will make it so popular with the modeller. The images are for the most part provided as two to a page with a very good caption covering what you are looking at, it also in many cases directs your eyes to specific details on the vehicle. The images are separated into sections covering the various vehicle variants. What are like about the photographs in this offering is that they are not staged as in propaganda pictures, they are by the men who used these vehicles and were taken for their own reasons; this has provided a good look at various uniform as well as the vehicles.

The end of the book provides clear photographic evidence on wheel pattern types and front and rear shots of the vehicles, it is this that will help you quickly identify what you are looking at in uncaptioned images you may find online. The title finishes with a line drawing guide to the sizes of the various vehicles in the line up.

Conclusion

This title from MMP Books is a great visual reference title to the modeller and will also help with the weathering and dioramas display you may wish to use. For those whose interest lays in reading about the vehicle the author points you in the direction of titles provided by the likes of H. Doyle, that I feel shows that the author is open about the market he is aiming at.