Czech Republic Army (2)

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Czech Republic Army (2)
Author: Tomas Bouchal
Softcover - 64 pages
Publisher: Tankograd
Series: Missions & Manoevres
Price: 14.95 Euros

Introduction

Tankograd Publishing - a German company, now over ten years old - was founded with the intention of tackling subjects of the kind other publishers either would not touch, or perhaps could not touch owing to a lack of the linguistic or geographic contacts necessary to make an English-text book possible. Initially, Tankograd covered the Warsaw Pact types that a re-unified Germany found itself in possession of when the Berlin Wall came down, but has since expanded its horizons to cover a wider remit. Nevertheless, by definition, this often makes Tankograd's publications something of a niche product, but it also means that they rarely put out an unwelcome book - in many cases it will be the only one you can find on a particular subject.

Having kicked myself for years over deciding not to buy a book on this subject (even without English text) whilst wandering around a bookshop in the Czech Republic some years ago, this latest Tankograd title is certainly a welcome arrival for me, as I can finally stop kicking!

Coverage

The Czech Republic's forces have played global roles that, in addition to aiding IFOR, SFOR, AFOR, KFOR, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom missions, also forged important links with what were once their Nato opposition. That's quite a wide geographic remit, with the vehicles to match, so, no shortage of diorama ideas there then. In fact, it's difficult to imagine a more esoteric collection of vehicles appearing in a book about just the one army, which makes this anything but a dull read. There's little doubt this volume will prove to be a fascinating resource for those who venture into scratchbuilding, kitbashing or detailing the more unusual modern AFV and softskin types.

Format

With a glossy soft cover, and coming in a handy magazine-sized format which runs to 64 pages, there is both room and resolution for large, high-quality image reproduction here, ably assisted by the book having been printed on glossy coated paper of a pleasing weight. Stapled, as opposed to perfect bound, the book will happily sit open on any page you care to go to, as you model away. This also means it is in no danger of losing pages over the years, which is an often overlooked plus point for what tend to end up as well-thumbed reference guides. Print reproduction is excellent throughout, with the quality of the photographs outstandingly clear in all instances, making it an ideal reference source for the fastidious modeller, even more so when suitably armed with a magnifying glass, as there is a lot of detail present in the pictures.

In a similar fashion to the Topshot and Photosniper series of books from Poland, Tankograd publications also feature dual text - German and English - in both the body copy and the captions. But the two languages are neatly laid out in a side-by-side manner, so the bilingual nature of the book is in no way detrimental to either the page or picture count - there are in fact a generous total of 132 images in this book.

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Contents

The book commences with four pages of concise explanatory text, giving a rundown of the Czech army's disposition, equipment levels, current missions, in addition to its future procurement and upgrade plans. After this, it becomes largely photographic in content, although each picture is well served by a thorough explanatory caption, invariably going into some detail on the vehicle or equipment depicted and where it is deployed. So information is remarkably complete, despite the ostensibly pictorial content of the book.

A big selection

Altogether, the book features units from: The 13th Artillery Brigade; The 601st Special Forces Group; The 15th Engineer Rescue Brigade; The 14th Logistic Support Brigade; The Distribution Centre; The 53rd Passive Systems and EW Brigade; The 26th Command, Control & Surveillance Brigade; The 25th Air Defence Missile Brigade; The 103rd CIMIC/PSYOPS Centre and finally, The 104th Support Battalion. A further section at the end of the book illustrates some examples of the future vehicle procurement plans for these units of Czech Republic Army, among these, the Austrian 8x8 Steyr Pandur II APC puts in an appearance. This, despite an apparent hold on the purchase order for these vehicles while technical issues are resolved. Procurement problems aside, this means the spread of vehicles covered in this book ranges from vehicles of 1950's vintage, right up to the very latest shiny new hardware, so the diversity of technology on show here is about as broad as you can get.

It's now getting on for 20 years since the Berlin Wall came down, when the Warsaw Pact nations broke away from the Soviet heart of their military union. Even so, most countries that had previously been Soviet Bloc entities still retain much of their Cold War legacy as far as equipment goes. But, finding themselves now free to source vehicles and systems from around the globe with which to equip their armies, is a state of affairs which has made for some interesting inventories in the military forces of Eastern Europe, not least in those of the Czech Republic. Soviet vehicles now find themselves mounting and hauling 'western' weapons systems a lot of the time, and vice versa. A sight people who grew up during the Cold War still find remarkable even today. So in addition to that broad selection in terms of technology, there's also a good deal of variety in terms of manufacturers.

This is a situation that makes the book a veritable font of inspirational ideas for the military modeller; with such a multinational array of types serving alongside one another as part of the same army, it could hardly be anything less. And whilst that might be something of a logistical nightmare where spares are concerned, it's a dream come true for the diorama builder seeking some believable, yet unusual variances. Detailing such an unusual mix of equipment in the Czech army, means this is one book that fans of modern military equipment should definitely not let pass them by.

As noted, the selection of vehicles on view is hugely varied, with everything from older Soviet and Czech types, to the very latest vehicles of both domestic and international origins. The redoubtable Praga V3S, GAZ, Skoda, Tatra and Ural in all manner of guises, (many of which have been substantially upgraded and modernised), find themselves rubbing shoulders with Caterpillar earth movers, Jeeps, Humvees, Land Rovers and a whole swath of interesting specialist tracked and wheeled AFVs both old and new. And because most vehicles are pictured whilst deployed - either in theatre, or on exercise - there's plenty of shots with bridges being laid, transporters loading and carrying various cargoes, and amphibious vehicles doing their splishy-splashy thing. Particularly worthy of note are the pictures of the Czech-made ShKH vz.77 Dana 152mm self-propelled howitzer. It's great to see some quality shots of this imposing SP gun deployed and sporting the Czech army's newer three-tone European camouflage scheme, and makes it readily apparent that a great deal of co-operation with the Czech Republic's army is behind the content.

If I had any criticism of this book at all, it would be that one or two of the more unusual vehicles depicted could do with a few more photographs from other angles, in order to aid the scratchbuilder. In fairness though, there are generally three or four pictures of each vehicle type, which is sufficient for reference in most cases. So call me picky.

An army on the advance

Conclusion

If you are looking for inspiration to model something different in the contemporary softskin or specialist AFV genre, you could certainly do a lot worse than to give this volume a look. There are potential modelling projects here ranging from a different paint job, to a full-on cut-and-shut plastic card-fest, where more than one kit would be necessary to build the thing. But if kitbashing is not your thing, it's worth noting that one or two of the more unusual vehicles in this book can be found in resin kit form. One thing is certain, you will most definitely not be short of ideas here; the variety on show is immense: Fancy building a bright red fire-fighting T-55 derivative, or a bright orange UAZ 4x4? Perhaps a stretched BVP with an extra pair of roadwheels? If you do, this is the book for you.

Very highly recommended for modern AFV buffs, as well as fans of older Soviet types.

Thankyou to Jochen Vollert for the review samples.

For full details on these and all Tankograd titles, please see their website: Tankograd