Introduction
The following introduction is as provided by Tankograd
As early as 1967 the first proposals for a concept of requirements for a new armoured infantry fighting vehicle were collected in the United Kingdom. The late 1970s saw the concept taking shape under the designation MCV-80 (Mechanised Combat Vehicle for the 80s) and in 1985 the vehicle was given its official name "Warrior". Since 1987 the Warrior serves as the backbone of British armoured infantry units. This double volume publication, lavishly illustrated with 250 photos on a total of 128 pages describes the development, technology and army service of the Warrior Infantry Section Vehicle (Special 9035) as well as the variants, the operations and the upgrade programmes of the entire Warrior family of vehicles (Special 9036).
FV510: Warrior Infantry Section Vehicle (ISV)
FV511: Warrior Infantry Command Vehicle (ICV)
FV512: Warrior Mechanised Combat Repair Vehicle (MCRV)
FV513: Warrior Mechanised Recovery Vehicle (Repair) (MCV(R))
FV514: Warrior Mechanised Artillery Observation Vehicle (MAOV)
FV515: Warrior Battery Command Vehicle (BCV)
Review
Tankograd has attracted a following of their titles with modellers and two of the latest offerings covering the Warrior will I am sure appeal greatly. These two offerings are authored by Daniel Nowak. The books have a high gloss card cover with each title containing 64 pages of a high gloss paper; the result is a visually appealing book that is tactile that display their contents well. These two releases are duel language releases with German text on the left and English on the left.
The text in the titles begins with a look at history from the infantry transports starting in World War 2 and the steady progression in providing better armoured protection to insure safe delivery of the troops where required. You then get a tour of the vehicle itself before moving onto the variants of the Warrior some of which I have never seen, It was only after going through these two offerings from Tankograd that I realised just how widely spread the Warrior is and its diversity.
Over the service life of Warrior many regions of conflict have occurred and when British troops are deployed as part of the British Army or serving with UN Forces the Warrior has gone with them and protected them. These areas of conflict are covered in these titles and provide the modeller with some excellent close up of exactly how they appeared in those times. The final areas of the title look at upgrades performed on the Warrior, for me it is the various armour packages that are the most visually appealing to me. We are also presented with a look at moving forwards and I learnt the other day that Warrior is scheduled to be terminated and replaced with a wheeled vehicle; that is of course plans made prior to current events which may cause a rethink by the money men.
The photographs in the books are all of a very good quality and while there are a few black & white images most are in full colour and of a good size. The quality enables the viewer to look for specific details where the modeller is concerned and due to many of them covering the vehicle in the field gives a natural setting for this weapon of war. A walk around is provided of the Warrior which should answer many questions that you may have; for me it is those covering the interior and power pack that are the most valuable and making these a well rounded duo. The captions provided for each of the images is also duel language and well written.
Conclusion
These titles from Tankograd offer the modeller a good look at a specific subject, the Warrior and take you for a very good visual tour of the vehicle series. The text offered does a good job of guiding the reader through the Warriors’ introduction and purpose and is at the same time short enough to avoid detracting from the stars in the form of the images. I actually have three Warrior builds in my future and these titles will prove very useful in that endeavour.