Introduction

Desert Eagle Publishing is the alliance between Michael Mass (Author) and Adam O’Brien (Editor) to help bring the modeling community and the world an in-depth view into the weapons used by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). With the veil lifted on the censorship of the IDF, Michael and Adam take us closer to the armor used by the IDF than ever before; for modelers, by modelers. Each book in the IDF Armor Series is an enormous collection of data and images of selected IDF machines. With the understanding that these books are created by modelers, the information is presented in a way that today’s modeler of the IDF armor can really take away something from it; the technical insight into the inner and outer workings that the community has longed for.

Review

Adding yet another glimpse into the world of IDF armor, Desert Eagle Publishing brings us the seventh installment into their IDF Armor Series entitled “DOOBI D9 Variants: D9 Bulldozers In IDF Service”. This is an amazing collection of information spread out over the 80 pages the book with more than 200 color photographs printed on high quality thick pages of the Caterpillar D9 Bulldozer and its use in the IDF.

In the introduction of this six chapter book, the author and editor briefly show us the humble beginnings where the use of tracked equipment by the IDF literally helped pave the way for Israel. This section momentarily covers the origins the tractor within the ranks in the IDF from its humble beginnings in the time of the War of Independence in 1948, through the adding of armored protection and up until the present day battlefield configuration.

There are six chapters to this book all centered around the D9R variant and her older sisters, the D9L and D9N Armored bulldozers. The trio of battlefield behemoths is not only the backbone of the modern IDF but often the spearhead as well. More than half of the book not only takes a look at the D9R in action but gives us an incredible up close and personal walk around pictorial of this tractor. End to end, the book shows us from the massive Blade to the Ripper attachment on the rear including everything in-between. The book shows us just about every facet of the D9R. Along with each photo, is an accompanying written explanation to what we are looking at. From a modeling standpoint we are able to not only see the fine details of the D9 but shows us the normal wear and tear or how the tractor weathers under its working conditions; a valuable resource for adding that realistic touch to the build.

In the book we see, amongst other things, the complete drivetrain, hydraulics and armor skin of the D9R we are able to have a look at an array of hard to find photographs of the interior of the operators’ station in a somewhat 360 degree viewpoint. This is an invaluable resource to any modeler especially with the introduction of Meng Models 1/35 Scale D9R Armored Bulldozer model kit. The model, albeit highly detailed has room for certain improvements and this book certainly covers that showing the colors, communication equipment and small add-ons features only found in the working IDF D9R tractor. Limited to not only the inside of the operators’ station we get a really nice look at the topside of the beast rarely seen from the ground taken photographs available to us. This is the most complete walk around photo collection that I have come across.

Conclusion

Within the first few minutes after receiving the book I of course needed to start thumbing my way through the pages. What jumped out at me first was the quality of the photographs inside. With this book we see just about every square inch of the D9R DOOBI. This is a fantastic tool in not only learning more about the D9R in service with the IDF as well as the quintessential pictorial reference guide when building the tractor model itself. Desert eagle publishing really has left no stone unturned in giving us this incredibly close look the D9R Bulldozer and all her parts.

Michael Mass and Adam O’Brien of Desert Eagle Publishing have certainly hit the mark of excellence with not only this book, “DOOBI D9 Variants: D9 Bulldozers In IDF Service”, but with all of their books within the IDF Armor Series. As a modeler myself, I feel this is a prized resource of the modeling community and a must have for any collection.