Tankograd Gazette No. 13

Soviet
Tank-Transporter and Heavy Duty Truck MAZ-535
and
MAZ-537I

Tankograd Publishing

Tankograd Gazette #13 and
Tankograd Special No. 2
are both available from Squadron.com

S u m m a r y
Media:	Soft cover; A4 Format; glossy paper; colour and B&W photos. Gazette - 42 pages + covers Special No. 2 – 48 pages plus covers including “centrefold” 1/35 scale tech drawings.
Price:	Gazette No 13 - USD$10.96 from Squadron.com Ward LaFrance Special - USD$12.96 from Squadron.com
Review Type:	First Read
Advantages:	Gazette packed solid with information (ads on inside covers of Gazette only, no "fillers"); focuses on WWII and Post-War Soviet and Eastern Bloc vehicles. Tankograd Special 002 provides comprehensive coverage of a little-known vehicle in the West; good mix of contemporary photos, museum photos, technical drawings and text; helpful captions; all text in English.
Disadvantages:
Recommendation:	Recommended

Reviewed by Brett Green

F i r s t L o o k

Tankograd Publishing specialise in titles mainly relating to Soviet and Eastern Bloc WWII and post-war vehicles. Each of the publications are soft covered, A4 centre-stapled format, with high quality glossy paper and plenty of colour pictures.

Each book is packed with detail, mainly in the form of captioned photographs. There is a good mix of photos of vehicles in service and in museums, as well as relevant technical drawings. The text is all in English.

Tankograd Gazette Number 13 – July 2001

The Tankograd Gazette is a regular quarterly publication. Each issue is an excellent reference source in its own right.

The highlight of this edition is the detailed coverage of the SU-76 Self-Propelled Gun. This 14 page reference piece will be very valuable to modellers building the available kits in 1/35 and 1/76 scale. The remainder of the content will also be interesting, mainly to post-war Soviet aficionados.

Specific contents comprise:

· SU-76 Self-Propelled Gun (14.5 pages, b&w and colour photos; tech drawings)

· 9K714 “Oka”, SS-23 Spider Ground to Ground Missile System (9 pages, all colour)

· Romanian DAC 665 T Truck (as used with SFOR – 2 pages. All colour)

· The 76.2mm OB-25 Model 1943 field howitzer (Two pages, all colour)

· MTP-LB Technical Support Vehicle of the East German Peoples Army (8 pages, colour and b&w photos plus tech drawings)

· T-18 Pillbox (1 page)

· 2S31 VENA Automated Mortar System (2.5 pages, full colour)

Tankograd Special No. 02 –
MAZ-535 & MAZ-537

The second Tankograd Special is a logical companion to the last "Special" release on US Army Wreckers of WWII. Special No. 2 covers Soviet Tank-Transporter and Heavy-Duty Truck MAZ-535 and MAZ-537.

Although we may not be too familiar of the designations or details of this important family of vehicles, we have certainly seen variants pulling ordnance through Red Square in May Day Parades from the late 1950s onward. This book fills in the missing details about the origins of the vehicles, the variants and details in both text and photographs.

As with their first release, photo coverage is first class. A useful selection of contemporary “in service” images is combined with full-colour walkaround pictures.

A double fold-out centre section contains scale drawings in 1/35 scale.

The book suggests that French model manufacturer AZIMUT will be releasing a kit of this gigantic vehicle later in 2001. Tankograd Special No. 2 will be essential reading for anyone contemplating this new kit!

Both Recommended.

Tankgrad Publications are available from the publisher by contacting the editor by email.

Thanks to Jochen Vollert from Tankograd for the review sample.

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Tankograd Gazette Number 13 – July 2001

Review Copyright © 2001 by Brett Green This Page Created on 06 September, 2001 Last updated 22 July, 2003

Review Copyright © 2001 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 06 September, 2001
Last updated 22 July, 2003