Introduction
The following introduction is taken from the Tankograd website:
The 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment “Warriors“ – the OPposing FORce (OPFOR) – was the last active US Army unit to field the M60 main battle tank, using it from 1990 to 2005 to simulate the Russian T-80 MBT at the Combat Manoeuvre Training Centre located at the Hohenfels Training Area, Germany.
This publication grants, for the very first time comprehensively and with over a hundred action-packed exercise photographs, a close look at the “M60’s last fight” in US service. More than 20 colour plates additionally highlight the unusual camouflage schemes, ranging from “effective” to “flamboyant”, of the “M60A3 TTS T-80”.
Review
This offering from Tankograd is a soft backed title, meaning you get a sturdy glossy card cover that protects 64 pages of about A4 size also in high gloss. This release is one of Tankograd dual language titles, with German on the left and English on the right of each page. This title enables you to take a look at the last M60 MBTs in service with the US forces and performing the role of aggressor forces playing the role of T80 tanks. So here you will see the very last camouflage used on this tank that saw long service with I believe several countries, and if memory serves was popular with crews due to the amount of space inside. The text in this release is restricted to the first 4 pages, with the rest of the title consisting of period photographs and artistic profiles. The text in the book is listed as:
Continual increase in combat effectiveness up to the late M60, A3, TTS
Decommissioning of the M60, A3, TTS within USAREUR
The OPFOR Units
The OPFOR M60, A3, TTS, T-80
The text itself is well written, using a font and size that I was able to read despite my eyes getting older. Despite the limited amount of space put aside for text, this release authored by Walter Bohm provides enough information to for the purpose of the title.
Moving on the the photographs within the release, Tankograd have managed to squeeze in 112 colour photographs and 21 artistic plates. Something this title offers the modeller, that I have not seen before are unique finishing options, that will enable the modeller to replicate a very unique model of the M6A3TTS. The photographs themselves all show these vehicles in the field and performing training duties. The result of this is that this is an excellent resource for how the dirt and mud become layered on the vehicle so that your model can have a natural look. The artists prints within the book have been used to show the finishing options covered within the title photographs, due to the amount of mud and dirt that has accumulated making if difficult to determine what is paint and what is not.
Tankograd Publications has had to make a small increase in the price of their titles, now costing 18.95€ some may bemoan this increase, however I still believe the publications from Tankograd offer value for money and having looked through this title my opinion has not altered.