Spielberger German Armor and Military Vehicle Series: Panzerkampwagen IV and its Variants 1935-1945 Book 2 (The Spielberger German Armor and Military Vehicle Series, 2)

Un volume dedicato a questo carro con ogni evoluzione per ogni sua versione. Comodo sia per i modellisti che per gli appassionati.

Spielberger's books on WWII German armour, along with those of Thomas Jentz & Hillary Doyle, (Panzer Tracts) both of whom contribute to this volume, represent the definitive accounts of the development of, in this case, the Vskfz 622/SdKfz 161 - otherwise known as the Panzer IV. The book includes the earlier designs for BW or 'escort' vehicles, such as the 'Grosstraktor', (large tractor) and 'Neubau Fahrzeug' (new vehicle), placing them in developmental context with the Pz.IV, and continues through all the vehicle's models, culminating in the designs for the Ausf J, a sloped armour version of the Ausf H and the proposed 'hybrid', utilizing components from both the Pz.III & IV. The volume has an excellent and comprehensive selection of both exterior and interior photographs of all marks of the vehicle, along with Hillary Doyles excellent technical illustrations. The text contains extensive developement histories for the different marks, with Spielberger's and Jentz's ability to find original documentation, walking us through each ausfurung and its changes from the previous one on display - I'm not sure anyone does it better. The Schiffer imprint is of excellent quality, good thick glossy paper and a decently robust board cover - my only criticism would be that occasionally, the reproductions of original technical diagrams can be a little faint in parts, but its not a serious problem. All-in-all the book represents the best account of the Pz.!V's developement available in a single volume (Jentz and Doyles Panzer Tracts are also excellent, but the Pz.IV runs to multiple volumes) - I would recommend it to to anyone wanting a comprehensive history of the vehicle.

Superbly detailed. Way above expectations. A must read for all enthusiasts.

Motorbuch Verlagドイツ語版オリジナルを英語版にされているので、私でもついていけます。内容はIV号資料の中でベストの一つ。

The late German author Walter Spielberger's series of technical works on German military vehicles are not new. Most of the titles date back some years and earlier volumes were not as "good" as later ones. Spielberger's old Panzer IV book was one that is not so good. Fortunately, this all new "book 2" makes up for the shortcomings of the prior tome. Typical of Spielberger's works, this one is a technical and developmental history, although the last part of the book deals with operational use of the Panzer IV. A wide variety of drawings are included, many by noted draftman Hillary Doyle, along with reproductions of original German plans, etc. Photo quality is good also, with most of them being presented in a large, clear, format. There are some common photos reproduced here, but they are used to illustrate a specific vehicle or detail and the captions point out the pertinent details. Some of the translated text is a bit uneven almost as if it were done by more than one person. For example (and on one page!) the Panzer IV's rear wheel is described as a "leading wheel" in one photo caption and then as the "idler wheel" which would be the common English term, in another caption. Unfortunately on that same page also the captions for several photos are all swapped around, making for some additional confusion. Sadly some proof reading errors like this are common in Schiffer's translated reprints. Not a huge issue but sometimes frustrating. The first portion of the book covers the development of the Grosstractor and NbFz tanks, which lead to the Panzer IV itself. The bulk of the book then covers the design, development, improvements to, and usage of the Panzer IV throught the War. Unlike the previous volume which this supplements, it does not cover Panzer IV based vehicles like the Brummbaer, Wirbelwind, etc. but rather focuses exclusively on the gun tank variants.This book appears, at first glance, to be somewhat scarce and often is listed at an excessive sale price. However, it is available (at least as of November 2011) from the publisher and also Barnes and Noble for the normal list price. I bought my copy via an Amazon sub-seller by being patient enough for a new copy to appear at the proper price. Hardbound photo books are not cheap but this one is worth the money if you are intersted in the Panzer IV.ADDENDUM: It seems that in the Schiffer/English language version of the book, the 1/35 scale line drawings are printed in various "fit the page" sizes although they may still be marked 1/35. On a four view, the side image may be 1/35 but the top view could be 1/30 and the front and back views 1/40.