Customer Reviews

Cold War Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFV Plans)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
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A welcome addition to the series. This book is organized by year, which makes the reading difficult say if you wanted to see all American tank designs or all Russian etc. at once. There is no country cross index. One must go through the table of contents year by year to see if a model is included. Also, there are at least nine and a half pages of duplication from earlier books (Sherman, Pershing, T-34/85, etc.) while notable Cold War combatants like the M60 base model, Australian & South African Centurion mods, T-62 bra armor and Pre-Lebanon Magach mods (such as Yom Kippur models) are missing. Also no AA armor such at the Duster, Sgt. York, German or Soviet designs are included. Let's all buy this one & hope for a Cold War Vol. 2 (&3 & 4 etc.). Good work George. Keep them coming.

As I've said in other reviews, there is nothing else out there quite like these Bradford books. This one covers 1945 to 1990 and contains a mix of common/expected vehicles and some downright bizarre creations (see XM808 Twister for example). It covers vehicles from the USA, UK, Russia, France, Israel, Egypt, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Holland, Czechoslovakia, South Africa, Belgium, and Austria. As Bradford points out in the introduction, the coverage is necessarily incomplete (no PT-76 for example) given the range of time and nations. The drawings are a mix of 1:72, 1:48, and 1:35 with conversions given in the front of the book.

Worth every cent.

I like this series because it highlights some little known AFVs. Modeling companies should take note...there are still a large number of interesting subjects out there. I have two other books in this series and have enjoyed them all.

Echoing an earlier review. Let's get behind this on so that George and his publishers will bring out Volume 2 and Volume 3. Duplicate of the M113A1 (Was the intent to have the M113 early and then catch the -subtle- differences of the M113A1 in the later entry?). I bought hoping to catch the M60 (not in this volume)since information on it is very thin in coverage. There are several interesting prototypes covered (US articulating turret tanks for example) that are worth the price of the book. I enjoyed the chronological format since it groups vehicles that would have been in parallel development. I'd love to see more coverage of the missing variants of the MBTs as well as support vehicles like the AA tanks, engineering variants and fire support.
If you are interested in armor of the period whether as a student or as a modeler then you should own this book.

This book is a comprehensive display of armored fighting vehicles from the end of WWII up to 1990. It starts with a few vehicles from the very end of WWII in 1945 and covers most vehicle from most nations that has been introduced since then.

The book starts with an introduction that explains the drawings and range of vehicles covered. There is also a page showing the scale conversions necessary to either enlarge or decrease the size of the illustrations for easy model-building. Each page shows a different vehicle in crisp 3 or 4 view drawings along with the scale they are drawn in and has a scale ruler on it. The drawings are very nice and show the front, rear, top, and at least one side of each vehicle. Variations on the basic design that led to different marks are also illustrated as insets on the same page as the vehicle. Also, areas that are obscured by parts of the vehicle are shown in detailed insets on the page. The range of vehicles covered varies from common ones like the M48A3, T-55, And M113 series to more obscure prototypes like the US XM808 Twister Armored Car and lesser known vehicles like the Swedish Ikv 91 Tank Destroyer. The vehicles are easily grouped by year as well.

Highly recommended for modelers and armor enthusiasts alike.