Introduction

Model Centrum Progress has achieved a good following of their Armor Color Gallery series and this the 16th edition will I am sure prove just as popular. This release looks at the Camouflage and Markings of Axis Armor in the Balkans Campaigns 1940 - 1941.

Review

This offering from Model Centrum Progress is a soft backed book of 72 pages. The cover is a reasonably robust card with pages inside being a good quality gloss paper that displays the photographs very well. The paper in these titles is also unusual in that it is black. The author of this title is Jeffrey Plowman and he is an author I have come to like from the Images at War series of books.

The contents of this release break down as follows:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
War in Albanian Epirus
Bulgaria Joins the Axis
The Attack on Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Greece
Axis Armor on Crete
Color Plates

This offering is a collection of period photographs covering specific aspects of World War 2. It consists of a images of Axis forces in relation to the listed areas above. The author has supplied short introductions for each section of this title laying out the story behind each element. The story itself being told properly in pictorial form rather than words and doing a very good job of it.

The period black and white photographs are well chosen, being of a very good quality in regards to clarity. The images have not been wedged in and so I would say they are original size or better when quality has allowed. What makes these titles so popular I believe is the effort put into the captions that accompany each and every image, the author must put a lot of time into the research as most of the photographs will tell you not on what and where but also who and when. While this is not always possible Jeffrey Plowman takes the opportunity to provide other snippets of information such as not where insignia is present and what that insignia is.

The last seven pages of this release provide colour plates covering primarily German armour, but the Italians have not been forgotten with a couple of vehicles covered at the end of the section. The colour plates have been very well done as they show vehicles that are not pristine and so give the modeller an idea of how to subtly weather their models. Included with the colour plates are a number markings that relate to the vehicle they are beside and what they signify.

Conclusion

This book and the series generally are very well done providing the reader with clear and precise information. The text is limited to introduction on each chapter and exceptional captions with each image. The photographs have been very well chosen being both in focus and covering the elements well. I like the colour plates at the end of this title as it is good to see drawings that are not pristine but instead has light weathering present.