Panzerwrecks 27

Book Specifics

Author: Lee Archer

Illustrator: Felipe Rodna

Price: $34.97

ISBN: 978-1-908032-29-4

Softcover, 128 pages with 156 black and white and color photos, plus 6 artworks by the llustrator

What's Inside

I probably don't have to go into too much detail on what one can expect from a new volume in the Panzerwrecks series. When you pick it up and start leafing through, it is quickly apparent why these are always near the top of the list of excellent resources for the armor modeler. Informative captions and rarely, if ever, seen photos fill up the pages. In his forward, Lee Archer celebrates 20 years of providing these sublime records of destroyed, abandoned, or captured armor of the Panzerwaffe in WWII. He then mentions the late William Auerbach who co-founded this excellent series with him back with the first volume in 2005. For about $10 more or so, there is a special Collector's Edition of this book to celebrate  the twenty years of publications and features a limited run of 400 signed and numbered copies of the standard edition with the added feature of three specially commissioned artworks by Felipe Rodna printed at the popular A5 size, perfect for framing or simply admiring and this instance of the book is only available from the Panzerwrecks website.

As above, the 6 art pieces by Rodna accompany a black and white photo of the tank represented and includes a small caption relating the history of the wreck. The photos themselves are for the most part quite clear- and any blurring comes from either the action going on in the photo or possibly the age of the photo. However, every single one is vital to telling a story of that one instant in time captured in the photo and all are of great interest and value.

There are three main sections in volume 27--

• Infra-Red Panthers in Mannheim
• Bamberg Training Tanks
• Swedish Panthers

An insert provides an index of vehicles, identified locations, identified German units and Mr. Rodna's artwork within. 

One of the things that really shines is the attention to detail- with Mr. Archer calling out details in the photo that I would have never spotted without it being pointed out. One in particular that stood out to me was on page 48 where he shows a poor-quality photo of a Jagdpanther which was one of the first he had acquired and it showing what he thought was an armored box on the back. An accompanying photo acquired 5 years later shows the same tank pulled up farther giving a better perspective so he could alter that initial observation to what was clearly sections of schürzen wedged together. Great detective work and persistance! 

Conclusion

This was another excellent installment in the Panzerwrecks series and not one to be missed. All 27 volumes in the series are gems and provide excellent resource material for the WWII tank enthusiast or modeler looking for inspiration to place their piece in a unique setting. The captions provide excellent descriptions and the author's meticulous attention to detail is evident throughout. 

Highly Recommended for anyone interested in WWII history for models or general interest.

Thanks goes out to Lee Archer from Panzerwrecks for this review sample.

Reviewed by Michael Reeves

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