Introduction

Few (if any) military vehicles have served in so many of the world's conflicts as has the T34. From it's introduction in the early 1940s until the present day, the T34 has been photographed on every continent and (virtually) within every conflict in the modern period. This book has limited pretensions. In its 79 pages it indtends to do little more than provide a (highly) detailed 'walk-round' of the T34/85 with images of such items as hatches, full coverage of the engine compartment and a multitude of external views of the vehicle.
Logically, this book is a reference source for ANY T34/85 kit on the market in any scale. Where it will 'earn its keep' is for anyone who is working on the Trumpeter 1/16th scale kits - with these kits, the possibilities of real super-detailing become far easier to plan...

Content

The book is not given seperate chapter headings as such. Rather the book moves on from section to section in a self-explanatory manner. The vehicles used in this book are all preserved examples in museums - all of which seem to be in an excellent state of both preservation and completeness.The photos are taken from every conceivable angle (including from above). Every few pages, the photos are interspersed with highly-detailed line-drawings covering details such as the hatch-locking mechanism, the internal turret arrangement, shell racks, and cut-away drawings of the rear idler wheel as examples...The photographs/plans are of an adequate size bearing in mind this is an A5 ublicaion, rather than the (more normal) A4 format. The quality of reproduction is excellent wit sufficient crispness to allow good reproduction of the (notably) rough cast-texture of the hull/turret. Casting numbers are also clearly reproduced which will serve as a useful gude to both their positioning and format. Unfortunately, the nomenclature on the diagrams is only in Polish, however, anyone wiith a modicum of mechanical knowledge wll soon figure out the components in English. The photographs are virtually all labelled bilingually. I can't confirm it, but I do get the impression that many of the line-drawings come from the original maintenance manuals due to the 'mechanical' emphasis of the schematics.

Conclusions

Within the pages of this book, you will find an extraordinary level of detailwhich will serve to keep even the most obsessive of super-detailers happy for months. The possibilties of building an 'enhanced' interior for the Trumpeter become just that little easier to execute. Nor should other scales be forgotten either, anyone wishing to enhance any of the existing T34/85s in 1/35th scale will find some inspiring ideas within this books pages. As I said at the beginning of this review, this is a reference source par-excellence. Combine this with one or two books with photographs of the vehice in combat service and you will have a pretty definitive modeller's guide indeed.

I have said it before and I will repeat it here. Currently, the greatest source for high-quality publications is Eastern-Europe and in particular Poland. The relation between price and quality is literally unbeatable. Rossagraph is producing an incredible range of publications at an incredibly realistic price. More and more I am finding myself looking and purchasing their books, not only of Soviet vehicles but also of German and Commonwealth subjects as well.

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Acknowledgements:

The book was supplied for review by ROSSAGRAPH thanks to the work done by Pawel Krupowicz (VODNIK). The Rossagraph books are widely available on-line from a number of retailers....