3D-Printing Review: Modelling Miniatures book

First off, I have no experience with 3D-sculpting in a computer and do very little real life sculpting, mainly with green-stuff.

So this guide-book is very much written for someone like me, as it is a beginners guide on how to sculpt in 3D using free software.

I began by downloading the free Sculptris software, as per instructions in the guidebook. Registering, downloading and installing took less than five minutes. Five minutes well spent, as it is.

Then I just followed the guide-book and started working through the examples.

I must admit that I started with the examples, but the fun of it got me side-tracked for an hour, when I just doodled in three dimensions. Dear me, it was really fun.

After the first exhilaration I went back to the guide-book and went through more of the examples.

And it is not that hard! (Well, at least not the basics) It is actually possible to create stuff. I sure wouldn’t print anything I’ve made so far, but I see a future where I might actually produce a stl-file and load it into my printer.

I haven’t gone through it all yet, mainly because I’m fully occupied with far too much work at the moment, but I’m slowly but surely going through the book. It’s lots of fun and one thing is absolutely sure – there is no way I would have done anything 3D-sculpting without a lot of help to get started. With this guide-book I got just that help.

Great stuff, indeed. It’s a must buy if you want to try 3D-sculpting but have no, or limited, experience, as it will kick-start your efforts and flatten the learning curve significantly.

You can get this book and its sequel for only £15, as it is part of Steve Hampson’s newest kickstarter. With the two books are also files for the figures you've worked with, meaning you'll get a bunch of printable minis as part of the deal. Then you will also get two stl-advent-calendars, bringing a haul of stl-files each day from December 1 to 25. What’s not to like?

You’re in a bit of a hurry though, as the kickstarter closes on November 19, 2018.

Highly recommended!

Disclaimer - I got my copy of Modelling Miniatures as a review copy.

British BEF-Tommies – reference library

My BEF-project putters on, slowly, even though I have fluttered away to Pulp-territory, Brimstone and Dust.

I’ve done some extensive reading on BEF, and I have found two invaluable books on the subject of British uniforms and equipment. Two must-buys if you’re into this rather tricky subject.

The World War II Tommy, Martin Bradley and Richard Ingram, The Crowood Press

Great pictures of uniforms, equipment and weapons. You’ve got re-enactors dressed in the real thing, be it the ordinary Battle Dress or something totally obscure, like the Hospital Pyjamas. A great resource! Highly recommended.

British Web Equipment of the Two World Wars, Martin Bradley, The Crowood Press

This is obviously a more specialised book, covering the different webbing patterns and their equipment. Another great buy, as this is a rather tricky subject. You really want to get the 1939 pattern entrenching tool for your BEF in France, and not the 1937 pattern that was introduced in 1941. Confusing? Yes. That’s why you need this book.

I give booth books a rating of 5 out of 5.

British vehicle colours and markings - reference library

I’ve read up quite a lot on BEF and the colours used. I started with Mike Starmer’s books quite a long time ago, and there I learned a lot about the camouflage schemes used and how the colours looked like.

After that I’ve got a great series of books that really goes in-depth on British AFV:s and their colours and markings.

The books are really good if you want to penetrate this very tricky subject.

Volume 1 – 'Colours and the interpretation of photos (very interesting this), ‘Vehicle paint and camouflage schemes up to 1939’, ‘Registrations, war department numbers and census marks 1903-2003’ (never again give your Churchill the registration number of a Universal Carrier)

Volume 2 – ‘Paint and camouflage 1939-1945’ (After reading this you’ll feel a bit less confused about when to use what), ‘Sub-unit markings and callsign systems’ (get a feel for those geometric company markings, and more. Lots more.)

Volume 3 – ‘Paint and camouflage post WWII’, ‘Arm of service markings’ (those squares with different colours – they actually mean something…), ‘Formation signs’ (the marking of the different divisions, and when they were used)

Volume 4 – ‘Recognition markings’ (white squares, allied stars etc), ‘Vehicle names’ and finally ‘Miscellaneous markings’.
All published by MMP Books.

All in all a must buy if you want to penetrate the tricky subject of British vehicle camouflage and markings. I give these books a rating of five of five possible.

In the next couple of weeks you’ll see my fleet of BEF vehicles. I’m painting furiously. You’ll get tips on which colours to use, and decal manufacturers.

I’m back in WWII-mode.

Book review – January and February 2013

I’ll try a more condensed sort of books reviews for a while. Everything relating to history and modelling I’ve read each month, with a couple of words on each book. Hopefully to whet your appetite.

Much WWI in early 2013, some brand new titles and some oldies.

Images of War  Blitzkrieg in the West, Ian Baxter, Pen & Sword, 2010, around 140 pages. Lots of interesting photos, but sadly some facts wrong in the text. 4 out of 5.

Erwin Rommel, Karl-Gunnar Hoffman, Osprey, 2004, around 125 pages. Rather badly written and no analyses to speak of. Rather bad actually. I rate it a weak 2 out of 5.

Flames of Calais – A soldiers battle 1940, Airey Neave, Pen & Sword, penned in 1972, around 220 pages. Thomas pointed me to this book a long time ago, and I finally got around to reading it. It is written by a veteran of the battle of Calais in 1940, and a really good read. Especially good as the gaming group is playing some of games from the Too Fat Lardies’ scenario-book The Defence of Calais. You’ll find accounts of some of the battles in that book here, from a guy that was there. He is even a Big Man in some of the scenarios. I rate it a 4 out of 5.

Italian Medium Tanks 1939-45, Osprey New Vanguard no 195, 2012, 48 pages. It’s an Osprey… Interesting about the topic, relatively well written, and some good photos. 3 out of 5, just as you expect from an average Osprey.

Chuchill vol. 1, Leszek Moczulski, AJ-Press, 2008, around 175 pages. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Churchill tank, with loads of photos and drawings. Great book. A rating of4 out of 5

Images of War – Special Forces Vehicles, 1940 to the present day, Pat Ware, Pen & Sword, 2012, 144 pages. Loads of photos and info on special forces vehicles, just as it says. I would have liked more SAS/LRDG, but that’s me. Rating 3 of 5.

Images of War – British Tanks, the Second World War, Pat Ware, Pen & Sword, 2012, 144 pages. I have this thing for British AFV:s, and I got my fix here. Very nice book about the topic, with great pics. Also American tanks in British service. Rating 4 of 5

Italian Navy & Air Force Elite Units & Special Forces 1940-45, Piero Crociani and Pier Paolo Battistelli, Osprey Elite 191, 2013, 64 pages. A good summary of Italian elite units, both before armistice and after. Good compliment to the other books on the italian armed forces I have. Rating 4 out of 5.

Book review – British Military Trucks of World War Two

When I started to build a British force for France 1940 I had quite some problems when it came to soft-skins. First off, there aren’t that many in plastics, but a myriad in metal and resin. But the question was: Which of them were used in 1940? The net helped me somewhat, but, being who I am, I really wanted a reference book. Looking around I didn’t find anything interesting about British soft-skins in book-form. Nothing.

But a couple of months ago I saw that Tankograd Publishing had released what I was looking for. My local favourite hobby store, Hobbybokhandeln, took in a couple and I went down there during lunch break, looked at the book and promptly bought it.

British Military Trucks of World War Two – Manufacturers, Types, Variants and Service of Trucks in British Army and Royal Air Force Service 1939-45, Les Freathy, Tankograd Publishing, 256 pages hardcover with 680 photographs, 2012.

Do you recognize AEC, Albion, Austin, Bedford, Commer, Crossley, Dennis, Dodge, ERF, Foden, Ford, FWD, Garner, Guy, Hillman, Humber, Karrier, Leyland, Maudsley, Morris, Scammel, Standard or Thornycroft? They all produced trucks for the British Army or RAF, and you will get details of the different truck types that these manufacturers made during the war. Every type gets between a half and 13 pages worth of pictures, technical data and other information. Usually very clear pictures giving a lot of details and very useful for modelling.

There are also sections on lend-lease vehicles and trailers.

The only thing I missed, which is an important omission I think, is dates of use. This information is often in the text, but not always. It would have been nice to see it clearly in for example the tables of technical data for each vehicle, or maybe in a separate table where the dates of all vehicles were collected.

All in all I think this is a great reference book on something that, to my knowledge, simply hasn’t been covered in detail before. If you need or want to know all there is on British soft-skins, then you have to buy this book, and I give it a rating of 5 out of 5. Simply a must buy.

If you have a passing interest then it could be anything from a 1 to a 4, it is simply so specialized that it depends on the circumstances. But if you don’t buy it, then it could be a good idea to let someone else do, and borrow it J

Welcome followers

- Mojo with the blog WeaponsInMassProduction – a very nice blog on wargaming. Well worth a visit.

- Friendly Fire – I haven’t found out if he has a blog. When I googled Friendly Fire and blogspot/blogger I got quite a few, erm, interesting sites. Some more presentable than others, and some not fit for print on a family friendly site. If you have a site, then please comment below and I will give an update.

Book review – Images of War – German Guns of the Third Reich

Images of War – German Guns of the Third Reich –Rare photographs from wartime archives, Ian Baxter, Pen & Sword Books, 2004, 128 pages.

One book I really miss in my WWII library is one on German WWII artillery. I would like something with technical and operational details and detailed descriptions on the guns, preferably with a lot of photos and a blue-print or two.

This book looked promising.

.

So, what’s in it?

The chapters are

- Introduction

- Structure and training

- Infantry guns

- Heavy guns

- Anti-aircraft guns

- Anti-tank guns

- Transporting guns

- Super heavy guns

- Mounted self-propelled guns

Now this looks promising, and leafing through the book I was hopeful. But what I found out was that the text wasn’t that good really. Very basic about the different gun families, and a bit about some of the guns. But no hard facts.

But the photos? The book title does mention photos. No worry, they are here, there are a lot of really good ones, and it’s hard to find them.

Who decided that this book didn’t need an index?

That was a really bad decision! At the moment I build a couple of Pak 36. It would be nice to easily find some detailed photos of them.

That will not happen, unfortunately. If I check through the book, I find pictures of this 37mm gun on pages 25, 83, 84, 85, 90 and 109. And none of them give me a clear look on how it looks on the backside of the shield, the info I was looking for…

Well, I have a photo of that of my own, from Museo Militar in Seville

So, all in all, I’m a bit disappointed. On the one hand good photos, on the other hand… they are hard to find and don’t necessarily give the detailing I wanted, and the text wasn’t that informative really. But, the title really says it all, it's about photos. So, not the book I was looking for, but not a bad book. Not necessarily a great one either.

I give this book a rating of a 3 out of 5.

Book review – Italian Light Tanks 1919-45

Italian Light Tanks 1919-45, Filippo Cappellano and Pier Paolo Battistelli with illustrations by Richard Chasemore, Osprey New Vanguard 191, 48 pages, 2012

As we are playing the desert war, and especially early action with Italians, I have read up a bit on the equipment used. Finding something on Italian armour isn’t the easiest, so I was pleased when this title showed up.

So, let’s see what we get. The different chapters:

Historical Background – how it started and why

Early tanks and units – Fiat 3000 (an Italian version of the famous French FT 17), CV 29 and the first tank units

The CV 33 / L3 tank and derivatives – the well-known turret-less tankette, useful against tribesmen in Ethiopia but more or less worthless against someone with armour and AT-guns. Also flamethrower variants and others. A photo of a silly one-man MG-armed tank weighting 470 kilos – fantastic suicide vehicle.

The L 6/40 Tank, L 40 self-propelled gun and derivatives – a light tank with a turret-mounted 20mm quick-firing gun and a Semovente with a 47mm gun.

The interwar years- Ethiopia and the Spanish Civil War, the development of Italian armour

World War II – Experiences during the war, how they were used etc. Also a bit on their use in German hands.

Camouflage and markings

Surviving vehicles – very short on where you can find them today.

Specifications – for the L3/35, L 6/40 and Semovente L 40

Bibliography – understandably but unfortunately mostly Italian titles.

Index

Lots of very good pictures and some colour ones on surviving vehicles, a cut-away two page spread of an L3/35, four one-page plates of different vehicles, and two action plates, that I feel is a bit of a filler. Now, these two are rather good, so it is forgiven for this book…

I feel this is what I want from an Osprey. Good text, informative plates and photos and very little filler. So, I’m very happy with this book. I rate it a strong 4 out of 5. Recommended!

And welcome to new follower Chuck Cathcart, who don’t seem to have a blog of his own (correct me if I’m wrong)

Book review – Humber Light Reconnaissance Car 1941-45

Humber Light Reconnaissance Car 1941-45, Richard Doherty, illustrations by Henry Morshead, Osprey New Vanguard 177, 48 pages, 2011.

Another British armoured car getting a well-deserved Osprey. This time it is the Humber LRC.

The chapters:

Introduction

Design and Development – Humber Ironside (LRC Mk I), Special Ironside Saloon (used by the Royal Family and Members of Cabinet – a ‘luxury’ model), Humber LRC Mk II, Mk III/IIIA, production totals and users.

Operating History – The Mediterranean, North-West Europe

Other Users – RAF regiment, Royal Navy, Other Allied nations, A Canadian cousin

Bibliography

Index

The above looks promising, and the book started as a good read.

The Humber LRC was designed shortly after Dunkirk, as a defensive vehicle in case the Germans invaded, and production began in July 1940. I guess they were rather desperate for anything with armour at the time… Mk I was, well, not the optimal AFV, so in 1941 Mk II came, a much better vehicle, with an open-topped turret among other things. Later the same year Mk III appeared, having four-wheel drive, a bit better armour and other improvements.

That’s the first 20 or so pages. Then comes Operating History, and now we get snippets of a lot of operations. Some details on what happened, but not enough to give me something to build a scenario on, or really to interest me much. I left this long chapter disappointed. As it was only fragments of operations I really didn’t remember much, it all merged into a vague feeling of what had happened during the war (essentially: it wasn’t altogether healthy to travel in a LRC). No, not good enough.

Other Uses, bibliography and index covers the last four pages.

As usual in an Osprey we get a lot of interesting photos, a cut-away two-page spread of the Mk IIIA, four one-page plates showing different vehicles and camouflage, and two one-page ‘action’ plates showing the vehicles in an action scene. Let’s just say that Mr Morshead should concentrate on vehicles, and don’t mess with people and especially heads…

So, mixed feeling for this book. A lot of good stuff, and a lot that really gave me nearly nothing. I’ll give it a rating of a weak 3 out of 5 if you’re interested in British AFV:s.

Book Review – The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car

The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car, David Fletcher, illustrated by Henry Morshead, Osprey New Vanguard no 189, 48 pages, published 2012.

If you ever wanted to travel in style wearing an uniform, then a Rolls-Royce would certainly have been the thing to drive. The armoured car saw its debut in 1914, it was used during the inter-war years and even saw action in the desert war of WWII.

The chapters of this book, totally dedicated to this luxury car, are:

- Introduction: Who had the idea to put armour on his Rolls, why were Rolls-Royce chassis used, and a bit on how the early cars evolved.

- Design: what it says

- World War I: Naval Operations, The Machine Gun Corps, Gallipoli, Africa/Middle East, The Yeomanry and India.

- The Interwar Years: The different patterns (marks), RAF-use, Ireland and India

- World War II: Home Guard and other uses

- Bibliography

- Index

As usual in an Osprey there are colour plates, five one-page plates depicting two different cars each (great if you want to get a feel for the different colour schemes and differences in the patterns), one two-page spread with a cut-away view of a 1920 pattern car with numbered details (interesting) and a one page in-action drawing (not impressed, the figures really don’t look human, perspective is hard… a apge-filler that could have been used far better)

This is an Osprey as they are supposed to be: a good primer for a specific vehicle in this case. Recommended, I’ll give it a 4 out of 5 if you have any interest in British armoured cars.

Book review – Into the Vally

Into the Vally – The Vallentine tank and derivates 1938 to 1960, Dick Taylor, MMPBooks, 2012.

I’m primarily interested in early WWII, as frequent readers of this blog know. Lately I have read more and more about the British army and equipment. The tanks are fascinating, ugly and less than perfect, can you not love them?

Into the Vally is a book about one tank, the Valentine. 192 pages of Valentine. If you have no, or very limited, interest in that tank this is obviously not the book for you. But if you are fascinated with the British army, really like details and have any unanswered questions on this tank, then this is a book for you. It is also filled with photos.

There are chapters on:

- Design, development and production: The Valentine was a private venture, and we get details on how it came about, very detailed production figures and info on the variants produced in Canada.

- Technical description: descriptions, illustrations, drawings, layouts and detailed photos of just about everything on the tank.

- Description of gun tank marks: Everything you would need to know about the different marks of the Valentine.

- Operational use: Which units used it, where and when, and some action reports.

- Painting and markings: Colour plates etc.

- Overseas service: The Valentine was used in by Canada, USSR, New Zealand, Egypt, India, Jordan, Lebanon, South Africa, Portugal and Turkey. If you’re interested in marks, what they were used for, when and what they were bought for, you wil probably find an answer in this section.

- Variants: Bridgelayers, mine flayers, duplex drive (amphibious), Bishop (self propelled artillery), Archer (self propelled anti-tank gun) and some other variants.

- Walkaround: Detailed photos of existing tanks.

- Conclusions: Just that

- Reference list: If you’re not satisfied with what you got, you have every chance so delve deeper.

- Colour plates: Good if you want inspiration for painting your next model.

All in all a wonderful book if you’re into details and have any interest in the Valentine. For you it is a rating of five out of five.

If details and/or Valentine is not your cup of tea, then you might skip it. But I think you might enjoy it anyway, so try to convince a friend to buy it and then borrow it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Now. I’m off to buy a couple of Valentines and maybe a Bishop in 1/72.

Book review – Striking Back

Striking Back – Britain’s airborne and commando raids 1940-42, Niall Cherry, 2009, approximately 400 pages.

The book will give you a very detailed account of both the birth of the commandos and paras, their training and detailed accounts of the early raids. And I mean really detailed.

Some of the raids covered in the book:

Operation Collar – the French coast, June 1940.  A small commando raid. Not a huge success, actually quite a failure.

Operation Ambassador – Guernsey, July 1940. A total failure. One group didn’t find any enemies, but were shot at when leaving. Another didn’t even reach the Island (due to one craft starting to sink, among other things), the third party had a faulty compass, and probably landed on the island of Sark.

Operation Colossus – Italy, February 1941. This airborne raid, with about 40 men, to blow an aqueduct, was also a failure. The aqueduct was blown, but it was sturdier than expected and most of the explosives were dropped in the wrong place, so the damage was limited, and it was repaired in a couple of days. The men didn’t fare so well.

Operation Claymore – Norway, March 1941. Believe it or not, but one of the targets were a fish-liver oil factory. It succeeded, and there was much rejoicing among the children of Germany, I guess.

Operation Flipper – North Africa, November 1941. The attack of Rommel’s headquarters. It would have been a sensation, if only it had been Rommel’s headquarters…

Operation Biting - The Bruneval Raid - France, February 1942. The famous raid to hi-jack a German radar.

Operation Musketoon – Norway, September 1942. A raid to blow up a power station that supplied an aluminium smelting plant with electricity.

The first 275 or so pages detail these, and a couple of other raids, training etc of the units. All of it very interesting, and some hilarious (Like the first parachute jump of one of the men, using the pull-off method (you sit backwards in the place where the rear gun turret used to be, on a small platform about a foot square more or less in the open, release your parachute and off you go). The instructor told him how to release the parachute, the nervous chap said “OK, like this?” and in the second it took for the chute to open, heard the instructor yell “Not now, you bloody fool!”. I read that part while sitting by the bed of my youngest, waiting for her to fall asleep. She didn’t, because of my laughter...)

After that the appendixes, and these are real treasure troves (Yes, I do love details. They show that the author has done his work. A good reference list is also something of a must, in my opinion.). Everything you would need is here, in 120 pages:

Copies of letters, orders, reports, specifications on personnel, weapons, equipment (just for your knowledge; every man in Operation Colossus were to carry chewing gum and a little toilet paper, among other things), decorations received and more. Even I was satisfied.

And last, a short bibliography and an index.

This is a truly excellent book. It has everything. Very well written, full of details and well researched. You will learn something, even if you thought you knew it all. If you intend to write a scenario based on any of these raids, then this book is a must.

I cannot recommend Striking Back enough. Full marks, 5 out of 5! Read it!

Book Review – Sturmgeschütz III Assault Gun 1940-42

Sturmgeschütz III Assault Gun 1940-42, Hilary Doyle & Tom Jentz, illustrated by Peter Sarson, Osprey New Vanguard no 19, first published 1996, 48 pages.

Do you want to know everything about the early StuG III? Well, you will find some things of interest here, but I’m not sure if it is enough to warrant a purchase.

The book covers the Ausf. A to E, that is, the StuG:s armed with the short 75 mm L/24 gun. The later variants, with the longer (L/43 and later L/48) 75mm anti-tank gun is missing, but the title gives that away in a sense, since the Ausf. F entered production in the spring of 42.

It begins with a rather interesting chapter on Design and Development followed by one on Product Modifications. The latter chapter specifies the differences between the different variants, and has 1:76^th scale drawings of all Ausf. Sadly only one of the drawings has side, top-down, front and back views, the others only get one or two views. One problem also, is the fact that 1:76 is rather tiny when you want to study details.

After this a very short chapter on Production History, followed by one on Capabilities, mainly covering its firepower.

So far so good, but the following chapters, on Operational History and Tactical Employment were rather disappointing, as they only contain excerpts from a manual called Instructions for the employment of Sturmartillerie. Just excerpts, nothing more, no analyses, nothing. Very disappointing. To be frank, one diagram was interesting, namely one that identifies the vulnerable zones on some of the allied tanks.

The chapter Organisation starts rather well, with interesting organisation on command vehicles etc. Then comes a couple of action reports, from France and Russia, which consists of original combat reports. Here, as above, nothing more, no analyses, nothing. I expected more.

Finally, as usual in Ospreys, you’ll get some colour plates, in this case eight pages in total, where one two-page spread is a cut-away view of a StuG and its interior. The latter was very informative, the others where, well, okay.

So, all in all, I wasn’t impressed. Some of it was interesting, but I think I could find it in my private library already. Other pieces were less so. I think that the internet can supplant books like this, if they don't provide more of expert knowledge.

My rating… I’m afraid I can’t give it more than a 2 out of 5 rating. Mostly disappointing.

Book Review - Desert Raiders

Desert Raiders: Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940-43, Andrea Molinari, Osprey Battle Orders no 23, 96 pages.

I continue to read more on LRDG and British Special Forces, and this book covers the raiding forces of both sides of the desert war.

On the British side there is quite a lot on LRDG, and the most interesting for me was the information on unit organization. Tables on vehicles, crews and armament of different patrols at different times. Very useful information

There is also organization data on Free French forces similar to LRDG, Italian Sahariana and other forces and a couple of German special units.

Some info on doctrine and training and a big chunk on tactics, especially of some LRDG raids. A couple of pages on command, control, communications and intelligence, the same on weapons and equipment . The book end with a couple of pages on lessons learned, a nice chronology and a useful bibliography.

All in all a very useful book and a very good companion to the Osprey Long Range Desert Group Patrolman. I fully recommend it and give it a rating of 4 out of 5.

Book review – In Rommel’s backyard

In Rommel’s backyard – A memoir of the Long Range Desert Group, by Alastair Timpson with Andrew Gibson-Wait, 2000, close to 200 pages.

Alastair Timpson was the second-in-command, and later commander, of “G” (Guards) Patrol of the Long Range Desert Group during September 1941 to December 1942. He kept records during the war and didn’t think them very interesting for anyone but himself and his family. He died in 1997 leaving a lot of materials for a book, but it was unfortunately not very readable for the public. His son offered it for publication, and Andrew Gibson-Watt edited the material down to this book.

It is about G patrol, and more in detail on what happened to Alastair’s half-patrol, “G1” or “G2”.

This is a very good read, and will give you a real feeling for what happened, both during the desert trips, road-watch, attacks on and by the enemy and much more. A couple of good maps in the front of the book made it possible to follow the movements of his patrol and that is so important in a book like this. Good maps really makes a difference, and here they are just right. Maps have unfortunately been rather bad in the other LRDG books I’ve read or is reading. Now I have this book on the side to be able to follow what is happening in the other stories.

Lots of interesting details, like when in March -42 “G” Patrol painted their new vehicles in “the most glorious pink, yellow and green” with the comment “if they did not elude detection from enemy aircraft they would at least dazzle them”. One of the drivers said he would not be seen driving in Cairo in such a thing, but he grudgingly obeyed orders.

Also details on how the patrols were organized, life and difficulties in the field, in-depth about some of the rather scary action they went through, and much more. In the end there is a real good list of books about the LRDG.

This book seems to be the book to read if you would like to get a feeling on what the LRDG did. Highly recommended! I give it a rating of 4,5 of 5. 

Book review – Sting of the Scorpion

Sting of the Scorpion – The inside story of the Long range Desert Group, by Mike Morgan. Approximately 250 pages and 32 pages of photos.

This book covers the LRDG from its start in the desert of North Africa and the well-known action there, through training in Lebanon, disaster in the Greek archipelago and final action in the Balkans.

The book is essentially a collection of short stories, or snippets, collected from veterans. Mostly a short introduction, a couple of lines, on what’s to come, and then a page or two of story. The stories are in the veterans own words, on everything from daily life to battle.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it does give you a feeling of how life in the LRDG was, it is well written and quite a few interesting pictures, on the other hand it is just a lot of anecdotes. The latter makes it hard to get a feeling of the whole picture.

As I’m in the process of reading a handful of books about LRDG I believe this will give me an extra dimension to the history of the unit. But if you want to read just one book about LRDG, and get a chronological account of the action, then this is not the book for you.

I give it a rating of a weak 3 out of 5.

Book review: Italian Army Elite Units & Special Forces 1940-43

Italian Army Elite Units & Special Forces 1940-43

Osprey Elite 99, 2011, Piero Crociani and Pier Paolo Battistelli, illustrations by Johnny Shumate, 64 pages.

This book is supposed to cover a lot, and the result is that it doesn’t cover much at all. There are chapters on armoured and motorized divisions, paratroopers, combat engineers, mountain troops, X Reggimento Arditi, foreign volunteers, blackshirt special units and a short segment on uniforms and personal equipment.

A lot of different units, and when I was finished reading the book I felt that I haven’t learned much at all. Describing so many units in one volume means that the coverage is rather shallow, unfortunately. No, I’m disappointed, and will only give this book a rating of 2 of 5. 

Book Review – Long Range Desert Group Patrolman

Long Range Desert Group Patrolman – The Western Desert 1940-43, Osprey Warrior no 148, Tim Moreman with illustrations by Raffaele Ruggeri.

I continue to read up on British special forces in general, and LRDG specifically. A book I’ve had a couple of years, and I reread it for the coming project.

So, it’s an Osprey, and it gives what it promises, a short (64 pages) and rather informative description of the unit, its roles, men, equipment, life in the field and descriptions on road watches and the raid on Barse.

The Barse raid was a large attack behind enemy lines on an Italian-held airfield and town in northern Cyrenaica. We plan to make a game of something similar, so this was of course interesting. Rather in-depth, 7 pages, about the raid.

Informative pictures, mainly of the cars and crews, and some not so interesting colour prints.

The usefulness of this book? It is a good primer for LRDG, just like an Osprey is intended to be. I rate it a 3 out of 5.

Book review – The SAS in World War II

The SAS in World War II – An illustrated history by Gavin Mortimer, published by Osprey in 2011, is a 250 page hardcover book.

As we’re planning to stage a LRDG-attack on an Italian airfield as our convention game this year I’m reading up on British Special Forces.

The book gives a in depth history of the SAS; how they formed and detailed descriptions about the action in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and North-West Europe. I found the very interesting and well written. Of special interest for me was description of the battles the SAS was involved in, and as these are very detailed there is a lot of wargaming potential here. Some of the jeep-borne action in NW Europe does really lend itself to gaming.

Other information is just very interesting, for example the way the men trained for parachuting in the early day. No plane? No problem, just jump from the back of a speeding truck. The downside was rather obvious, broken wrists etc.

Some is just reminds you how awful real war is, for example the description of the men led into the woods to be executed as saboteurs – a couple of them made a run for it, and a few survived.

The photos are first-rate, and are very informative if you’re to model one of their jeeps for example.

All in all a beautiful book and a good read. I give it a rating of 4.

2011 – The Books

2011 was a good year for books. I bought too many, as usual, and (surprise) I seem to have read even more. There are less unread books now actually than it was last year-end.

All in all I read more than 50 books this year, and here is a summary of the war-realted. 

Ospreys:

Men-at-arms 74 The Spanish Civil War 1936-39 – very short texts on the conflict, really bad maps, decent uniform plates. Rating 2,5.

Men-at-arms 139 German Airborne Troops 1939-45 – it is what it says, as with all Ospreys. I give this book a rating of 3,5.

Men-at-arms 234 German Combat Equipment 1939-45 – rating 3

Men-at-arms 309 The Italian invasion of Abyssinia 1935-36 – an interesting conflict. Rating 3.

Men-at-arms 326 The German Army 1939-45 (3) Eastern Front 1941-43 – rating 3

Men-at-arms 330 The German Army 1939-45 (4) Eastern Front 1943-45 – rating 3

Men-at-arms 336 The German Army 1939-45 (5) Western Front 1943-45 – rating 3

Warrior 38 Fallshirmjäger - German Paratrooper 1935-45 – quite a lot about life at camp and during education. Rather bad and few illustrations. Disappointing. Rating 2.

Fortress 20 British home defences 1940-45 – rating 3,5.

Elite 160 Word War II infantry tactics – tactics, equipment and national characteristics. Rating 2,5.

Raid 9 Rescuing Mussolini - Gran Sasso 1943 – informative about the glider-raid and the ground action. Critical of Skorzeny. Rating 4.

Other English Books (or books available in English (I might have read a version i Swedish))

Channel Islands Occupied, Richard Mayne, a short book about the only occupied part of UK. Rather uninformative. Rating 2.

Fallshirmjäger in Crete, Jean-Yves Nasse. Informative and interesting pictures. Rating 4

Warpaint - colours and markings of British army vehicles, Dick Taylor. Very interesting. Rating 4.

The Eastern Front 1914 – 1920, David Jordan. Interesting on a part of WWI I didn’t know much about, also the Russian Civil War. Rating 4.

Book in Swedish and probably unavailable in English

From SMB:

Hitlers hemliga vapen del1 (Hitler’s secret weapons, part 1) by Igor Witkowski. I think this is a translation of ”Die Warheit über die Wunderwaffe”. Anyway a very interesting book on technical development and with good work done in the archives. I highly recommend it. Rating 4,5.

Rommels krig i Afrika - Ökenrävar mot Ökenråttor (Rommel’s war in Africa – Desert Foxes against desert rats) Wolf Heckmann and a translation of ”Rommels Krieg in Afrika – ”Wüstenfüchse” gegen ”Wüstenratten””. Rather interesting and critical of Rommel. Rating 3,5.

Avgörande ögonblick under andra världskriget (Decisive moments of WWII) edited by Anders Franksson. Well written by several authors, but nothing new. Rating 3.

Other:

Striderna i Suomussalmi (The battles of Soumussalmi), HJ Siilasvuo. About the fighting in Soumussalmi and on the Raate-road during the Finnish Winter War. Written by the Finnish commander. Rating 3 (and if you want to wargame this, it’s a 5)

Krigsfångarna (Prisoners of War) Guido Knopp. A translation of ”Die Gefangenen) and I’m not sure if there is a english translation of this book yet. Anyway this is a very important, and horrifying, book about what happened to the millions of Germans that became POWs during and after WWII. Something of a must-read. Rating 4,5.

Adolf Hitler by Bengt Liljegren. I was sceptical, but a lot of my friends said this was the best biography of Adolf Hitler made. I haven’t read the others, but this is one very good biography, by an author who have taken the time to actually look into a lot of archives to find out some truth about the person Adolf Hitler. There doesn’t seem to be an English translation, bad for you! Excellent book! Rating 4,5.

Brödrabataljonen (The battalion of brothers) by Eino Hanski. It’s about the men from Ingermanland who fought in the Soviet Army, was made POW in Finland during the Continuation War, was recruited into the Finnish Army with a promise of Finnish citizenship after the war, and who finally was betrayed when the war was over for Finland. An important book. Rating 4.

Sista striden – Ilomants, augusti 1944 (The last battle – Ilomants, August 1944) by Erik Appel. About the last fights of the Finnish Continuation War in Ilomants. Hard to follow the descriptions and bad maps. Unfortunately a rating of 1,5.

Modelling

Aspects of Modelling – Scenery, John Hobden. How to build scenery, mainly for railways. Interesting and some good advice. Rating 3.