Military Model Scene

Title: Soviet Cold War Weaponry

Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones

Publisher: Pen and Sword Books

ISBN: 978-1-78303-296-9

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This title in Pen and Sword's 'Modern Warfare' series was published back in 2015 and provides a good mix of photo coverage of the various AFV types along with knowledgeable background text that gives more depth to the subjects you are seeing.  As someone who grew up during the Cold War it rings so many bells of memory of what might have been if East had met West in another war.  Ultimately it cost the Soviet Union too much, and the arms race became unsustainable that it broke the Warsaw Pact.  The sheer numbers of armoured vehicles remained however.

The book is split into 12 chapters which break down into the various AFV types.  Starting with the T54/55 it goes on through T62 and T64, T72 and T80 which cover the Battle Tanks; then the PT76 Amphibious Light Tank; the BTR series of wheeled Armoured Personnel Carriers; the BMP Infantry Fighting Vehicles and MT-LB Personnel Carriers; then airborne equipment such as the ASU assault vehicles and BMD airborne combat vehicles; the BRDM amphibious scout cars; Self-propelled artillery; anti-tank missiles; anti-tank helicopters and finally, a look at Soviet Equipment in Combat, mostly with their various export customers.

The armoured vehicles of the Soviet Union were an interesting subject, and these days, since so much more information is now readily available, now much better understood here in the West.  For the modeller there are now a large number of excellent, detailed models of these machines available on the market, making them a popular subject.  The information in here, coupled with the archive photos make for some more useful references for modellers.

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Thanks to Pen and Sword for this review copy.

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Robin