The book is now listed on Amazon.co.uk and on Amazon.com. North Star will be wholesaling it to wargames stores. Official available to buy in bookshops date is 22nd October.
Here is a brief explanation of the content.
Chapter 1 Research & Planning
Chapter 1 is a primer for military modellers and wargamers. The history of WW2 is condensed into 800 words so that the reader has an overview of key events and locations. Next comes a brief explanation of military organisation and how that translates to types of wargames. Figure size and scale are explained.
Chapter 2 German Uniforms and Equipment
Chapter 2 is a detailed explanation of German uniforms and their development through WW2. This will help the modeller to identify the garments and equipment and then decide what colour it should be painted. It also helps to prevent historical mistakes such as an early war figure having equipment that was not issued until the late war period. At 8,000 words, this one chapter alone is about the equivalent of the useful content of one Osprey book.
Chapter 3 German Camouflage Patterns
This is the part that is unique and will appeal to historians, military modellers and experienced wargamers. This expands on an article that was published by the author in 2008. The German armed forces used many different camouflage patterns during WW2. This chapter explains which patterns were used on which garments and when. Robert Moss was commissioned to create illustrations for the book of various uniform garments with the appropriate camouflage patterns.
Chapter 4 Materials and Tools
This section describes the different ways that figures are manufactured. It also describes the hobby tools, paint, and materials in detail. This will be very useful for a newcomer but also interesting for experienced modellers as it includes that latest materials and techniques.
Chapter 5 Building and Painting Techniques
Building and painting, of both metal and plastic figures, is described in great detail. To help explain techniques, there are examples from highly respected professional painters.
Chapter 6 Painting Recipes
This section is arranged like a Jamie Oliver Cook book. Brief uniform notes and photos of painted figures are accompanied by a table of colours with paint references for Vallejo Model Colour paints. Techniques for painting complicated camouflage patterns are shown in easy to follow step by step sequences.
15 November 2006, 10:29:45 AM