Customer Reviews

Sturmgeschutz III and IV 1942-45 (New Vanguard, 37)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is very slim, even by Ospey standards - 47 pages of large font type somehow slipped between lots of pictures and tabels. But the pictures are mostly small and don't show a lot of detail for modelers. The color plates are paintings of four side views, one 3-view, one 3/4 external, and one 3/4 cutaway of Stug IIIs, and one 3-view of the Stug IV (with schurzen - not helpful!) and a corner view of a Sturmhaubitze. There are some schematic drawings, but they are at 1/76th scale which is not very useful because it is both very small, and of a not commonly used scale for modeling (1/72 would be good, 1/35 would be better). There is only a single paragraph on Stug IVs total.

It is a decent overview of the vehicle, how it is used and its strengths and weaknesses. But it isn't really helpful for people making models or looking for more than just basic information.

I am really impressed by the mini coverage of this assault gun given in this tiny book. The text is clear, many data are provide, all the pictures are described and support written information. The graphic cutaways and the drawing reinforce the well-balanced text/images conception of the New Vanguard series.

The real lack of all the Osprey book is the source. Nearly all the books edited by Osprey are lacking the bibliography and Index. Most of the books are from renowned historian with many years of background research, but they end-up with no source to validate their works.

I had to go with the more complete book Sturmgeschutz & Its Variants (Spielberger German Armor & Military Vehicles Series, Vol 2) from Schiffer publishing to ascertain the trueness of the facts imply in this Osprey book.

I am really impressed by the mini coverage of this assault gun given in this tiny book. The text is clear, many data are provide, all the pictures are described and support written information. The graphic cutaways and the drawing reinforce the well-balanced text/images conception of the New Vanguard series.

The real lack of all the Osprey book is the source. Nearly all the books edited by Osprey are lacking the bibliography and Index. Most of the books are from renowned historian with many years of background research, but they end-up with no source to validate their works.

I had to go with the more complete book Sturmgeschutz & Its Variants (Spielberger German Armor & Military Vehicles Series, Vol 2) from Schiffer publishing to ascertain the trueness of the facts imply in this Osprey book.

The Vanguard series is intended to give a brief introducton to various weapons systems used in the major wars of the 20th century. As such, they include color plates of various paint schemes on campaign, a sectional drawing of a representative vehicle, and plenty of B&W photos in the text. All this is wrapped in an elementary text based on new research in newly opened archives and presented in an attractive format. Useful to war gamers, students, and model makers.

In short.

The book left quite a lot of blank spaces on the history of the vehicle. The lack of new photos is evident and the color plates are below the standard quality of Osprey...

There is very little usefull information about the Sturmgeschutz IV.

Dissapointing book.

RE:Sturmgeschutz III and IV 1942-45 (New Vanguard, 37)

When it comes to definitive information on World War II German Armor, anything written by Tom Jenz and Hillary Doyle is about as accurate as you are going to get. I purchased this book for exactly that reason. Being an avid model builder, I strive for authenticity. Some of the various armor kit manufacturers include information and decals for a specific model that are either erroneous or more often, far fetched. To ensure authenticity, I refer to Tom Jenz and Hillary Doyle.

This book gave me all of the information I was seeking such as time lines with respect to modifications and construction series numbers. Included are several very nice drawings of both Stug III's and Stug IV's.

I highly recommend this book for fanatic modelers as myself or historians wanting to get down to the nuts and bolts of things focused toward both the later Stug III's and the Stug IV.