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Rating: 
Summary: A cornerstone book on armour modelling
Review: A few years back I would have had no reservations about giving this five stars. While it is still a good solid reference on building techniques from one of the acknowledged masters of the hobby the painting techniques demonstrated are now dated and no longer reflect the state of the art. Copiously illustrated with excellent colour photos, beautifully reproduced. The text is quite extensive, well written throughout, and the explanations are clear and easy to follow even without the numerous step-by-step photos. Beginning with a chapter on tools the author then touches on references and available models (necessarily out of date now) before going into basic construction techniques and super-detailing. The next chapter is on conversions and scratch-building, chapter six covers specialist techniques and chapter seven painting, weathering and finishing (including three tables of insignia and organisational symbols). Chapter eight is on crew figures. A less-well-known point about this book is that this chapter has figures exclusively by Stefan Müller-Herdemertens possibly the world's most talented painter of 1/35th scale WWII figures with a detailed look at his techniques and some progressive photos. Chapter nine is an extensive gallery of Greenland's scratchbuilt, detailed and superdetailed models all of which show his attention to detail and his unerring dedication to historical accuracy. The book ends with an appendix giving sources for all of the products listed in the text which is a marvellous idea but unfortunately it predates the Internet explosion so no websites are listed. The author is to be commended for his primary research and contributions to the field and this is an essential part of the library of any serious armour modeller. There is no mention of groundwork in this book, anyone interested in placing their vehicle in a realistic setting should take a look at "How To Build Dioramas" by Sheperd Paine, Kalmbach Books, ISBN 0-89024-551-7. From basic scenic settings to complex boxed dioramas this book shows you how. Beginners are also recommend to buy Shep's "Modelling Tanks And Military Vehicles", Kalmbach Books, ISBN 0-89024-045-0, a good from-the-ground-up guide. Also highly recommended is "The Art Of Weathering" by Martyn Welch, Wild Swan Publications, ISBN 1-874103-11-9. Although aimed at the railway modeller, the author has pioneered an amazingly-realistic approach to weathering and this book is responsible for a major shift in armour finishing in the UK.
Rating: 
Summary: A necessity for anyone modeling German AFVs
Review: British master modeler Tony Greenland has produced a useful, beautifully illustrated book describing his favorite model building techniques, tools, finishing supplies, and the weathering method he was using at the time he wrote it (people who have argued that Greenland's models are "too pretty" should know he is weathering his models more extensively now). Greenland is probably one of the best scratchbuilders in the business and his models have been used as masters for the production of resin kits. His discussion of scratchbuilding techniques is worth the price of the book alone. He finishes with a gallery of inspirational photographs of some of his models. Although some may find this book a little one-note in its focus on German armor of WWII, armor modelers of all stripes and interests will find many useful tips and information. Well worth your time and money.
Rating: 
Summary: A Perfect Textbook that Needs Some Improvement
Review: If I had never read some of Tony Greenland's excellent magazine articles, I would have rated his book five stars. In his magazine articles he uses photos that directly relates to the text or he may include a 1/35 template. However all serious German WWII AFV hobby novice MUST include this book in his/her reference library. Note: his book only covers building German WWII AFV's and figurines in 1/35 scale. For the simple reason that it contains easy-to-follow tips on weathering paint, applying zimmerit, scratch building parts, rating cottage industry/major company products, selecting proper hobby tools, painting camouflage, etc. And he encourages modellers to develop a sound intellectual basis with his keen recommendations on reference materials. However, Mr. Greenland's book has some failings. I wish that he had included his templates for scratch building certain parts. In one of his old articles he had given templates for constructing an accurate Panther Auf A's turret. Another failing is that he should have included a chapter on painting, weathering, scratch building and detailing German military gear. Also, for Chapter Four on construction, he should have used photos of a step-by-step construction of one model instead of photos of different kits. It would have been easier to follow. And finally, on the chapter on figurines, it would have been nice to see more step-by-step examples especially uniforms. However, Mr. Stephan Muller-Herdemertens, an artist and accomplished 1/35 figurine painter, wrote that chapter. And in all fairness it was neither his nor Tony's decision to write such a brief chapter. What this book had lacked in details it had made up for in clarity. Mr. Greenland seems to have written his book with hobby novices in mind. His book makes seemingly difficult tasks look easy. For example; the sections on applying zimmerit, applying dry transfers, painting markings, making bolts and chain links, and his recommendations on using oils, enamels, primers, and pastels on plastics, resins, or metals make the book worth the money. I had given his book such a low rating because he should have packed more information/templates instead of having so many photos of his work. The panzer in the photos are beautiful but this is a textbook rather than being a showcase for his completed works. He should have included only photos of works-in-progress that relate directly to his text. However, by Mr. Greenland's own admission he had never taken many photos of his works-in-progress. Tony deserves five star for the helpful tips, three stars for the overall text because it is well written but too sparse on information at times, and one for the photo selections but that doesn't include chapter six, seven, and eight because those significantly enhanced the text. So, taking all three scores together it averages out to three. But all novice German WWII affectionados should buy it anyway because of Tony's easy-to-follow tips are cheaper in terms of one's money, time, and sanity than making all of the mistakes oneself.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Textbook that Needs Some Improvement
Review: If I had never read some of Tony Greenland's excellent magazine articles, I would have rated his book five stars. In his magazine articles he uses photos that directly relates to the text or he may include a 1/35 template. However all serious German WWII AFV hobby novice MUST include this book in his/her reference library. Note: his book only covers building German WWII AFV's and figurines in 1/35 scale. For the simple reason that it contains easy-to-follow tips on weathering paint, applying zimmerit, scratch building parts, rating cottage industry/major company products, selecting proper hobby tools, painting camouflage, etc. And he encourages modellers to develop a sound intellectual basis with his keen recommendations on reference materials. However, Mr. Greenland's book has some failings. I wish that he had included his templates for scratch building certain parts. In one of his old articles he had given templates for constructing an accurate Panther Auf A's turret. Another failing is that he should have included a chapter on painting, weathering, scratch building and detailing German military gear. Also, for Chapter Four on construction, he should have used photos of a step-by-step construction of one model instead of photos of different kits. It would have been easier to follow. And finally, on the chapter on figurines, it would have been nice to see more step-by-step examples especially uniforms. However, Mr. Stephan Muller-Herdemertens, an artist and accomplished 1/35 figurine painter, wrote that chapter. And in all fairness it was neither his nor Tony's decision to write such a brief chapter. What this book had lacked in details it had made up for in clarity. Mr. Greenland seems to have written his book with hobby novices in mind. His book makes seemingly difficult tasks look easy. For example; the sections on applying zimmerit, applying dry transfers, painting markings, making bolts and chain links, and his recommendations on using oils, enamels, primers, and pastels on plastics, resins, or metals make the book worth the money. I had given his book such a low rating because he should have packed more information/templates instead of having so many photos of his work. The panzer in the photos are beautiful but this is a textbook rather than being a showcase for his completed works. He should have included only photos of works-in-progress that relate directly to his text. However, by Mr. Greenland's own admission he had never taken many photos of his works-in-progress. Tony deserves five star for the helpful tips, three stars for the overall text because it is well written but too sparse on information at times, and one for the photo selections but that doesn't include chapter six, seven, and eight because those significantly enhanced the text. So, taking all three scores together it averages out to three. But all novice German WWII affectionados should buy it anyway because of Tony's easy-to-follow tips are cheaper in terms of one's money, time, and sanity than making all of the mistakes oneself.
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