Most armor modelers are familiar with the Allied-Axis series put out by Ampersand Publishing. This issue (#25) has the following items in it:

• 40mm Gun Motor Carriage M19
  
• Panther Ausf. A
  
• General Electric 60" Searchlight
  
• SdKfz 222 Armored Car
  
• Ford Bomb Truck
  
• Ford Fordor Staff Car

The issue is 96 pages and though it includes color photos on the cover and back cover, the internal pages are all black and white. Many of the photos are from museum or collection vehicles/equipment. There are also war-time photos in the book as well. Captions are provided on almost all of the photos in the book.

Subjects Covered

40mm Gun Motor Carriage M19
There are (21) archive photos and (43) contemporary reference photos in this section. The archival photos include shots from the Aberdeen proving grounds (1943-45), as well as photos of units in the factory being assembled (LaCarne, Ohio), and also in combat (Korea). The reference photos are of the M19A1 owned by the National Museum of Americans at Wartime. The reference photos cover a wide array of photos both external and internal.

Panther Ausf. A
There are only (2) combat photos of the Panther before transitioning to the contemporary reference photos (52 of them). Chris Hughes (toadman) is credited with these photos so I am going to go out on a short limb here and say these are photos of the Littlefield Panther.

General Electric 60" Searchlight
Certainly an interesting subject, this section has (3) war-time photos of a unit being deployed in Puerto Rico (1943). There are (41) contemporary reference photos as well.

SdKfz 222 Armored Car
This section has (5) war-time photos showing the vehicle in North Africa and Russia, as well as period photo of a captured unit with the words "GERMAN KFZ 222" stenciled in white on its side. There are (43) contemporary reference photos taken of a vehicle at the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation in Portola, CA.

Ford Bomb Truck
There are (49) mostly reference photos in this section. It includes photos of both the truck and trailer

Ford Staff Car
This section includes (16) reference photos (and the color photo on the rear cover). This vehicle is owned by Art Pope and has the markings of a HQ car of the 367th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force in North Africa (1942-43).

Conclusions

Overall this book has some very nice photos. I am sure the publisher would be able to say how much more the soft-cover book would have had to cost if it had included more color reference photos, so that said I am sure there are those of us who appreciate the book not being twice the price. At close to 100 pages, this edition certainly has a lot of info and photo reference to be highly useful to modelers.