Introduction

The following is taken from the Pens and Sword website:

The Second World War Jeep was one of the most famous and influential military vehicles of all time, and over 600,000 were produced. It served with all the Allied forces during the war on every front and it has been the inspiration behind the design of light, versatile, rugged military and civilian vehicles ever since. In this, the first volume in Pen & Sword’s LandCraft series, Lance Cole traces the design, development and manufacturing history of the Jeep and describes its operational role within the Allied armies.

A selection of archive photographs showing the Jeep in service in European and Pacific campaigns gives a graphic impression of how adaptable the Jeep was and records the variety of equipment it could carry. The book is an excellent source for the modeller, providing details of available kits, together with specially commissioned colour profiles recording how the Jeeps used by different units and armies appeared.

Lance Cole's introduction to the Jeep is necessary reading and reference for enthusiasts and modellers.

Review

This offering from Pen and Sword as part of their Land Craft series, covers the The Jeep during the Second World War. The author of this release is Lance Cole, who has authored many books covering civilian cars, civilian aircraft and the Spitfire. This book as with the series as a whole, is a soft backed book with a glossy card cover, protecting the contents. The series as a whole all contain 64 pages and are roughly A4 in size. The books are presented in a portrait format. The contents of the book are presented as follows:

Introduction

Design and Development

The Jeep in detail

Camouflage and Markings

Model Showcase

Modelling Products

In Service and in Action

Second World War Jeep Variants

The text in this offering from Pen and Sword, is well written in a clear font but the text did make my eyes struggle as in areas it was difficult to read. Due to the utilitarian nature of the Jeep being used for everything from a Officer transport to a weapon of war, and even used as an ambulance, a book of this size could never hope to cover it.  The text in this offering is interspersed with black and white period photographs, and even offers the odd schematic. Lance Cole has copied many other versions of these books, as in Land Craft, Tank Craft and placed the modelling section in the middle of the title, and which is also in the middle of a chapter. The result of this, is to make the book look like that will do - I will stick it there, rather than placing it at the end of the book which would then present the title in a methodical manner. That said the text does provide a reasonable levels of information. 

Just prior to the modelling section, we are presented with a very good number of artists impressions of the Jeep in a number of variants. These has been presented in a four way format, showing the left side, top, front and rear of the vehicles. Which will give the modeller some ideas for presentation.

The modelling section of the title, presents the following models for your viewing pleasure:

SAS Jeep British L Detachment SAS, North Africa 1/35th scale Przemek Marek

SAS Command Car, Western Front, 1/35th scale Brian Richardson

Willy’s MB, Italian Campaign, 1944, 1/35th scale Przemek Marek

Willy’s MB, 5th Armoured Division, Normandy, Summer 1944, 1/35th scale Brian Richardson

The models presented here are wonderful representations of the Jeep, but they have limited value to the modeller as they do not really cover how the artist achieved their results.

Conclusion

This offering from Pen and Sword authored by Lance Cole, does a reasonable job of presenting the modeller with a good level of information on the physical vehicle, some nice artists impressions, a look at what can be achieved with a model and finally a list of some of the products available for dressing up your build. I am again pleased to see the Bronco kits get a mention, and even the venerable Tamiya offering which is at least 25 years old, if not more. But the title is let down, by the modelling section being placed in the middle of the book, but also in the middle of a chapter, which makes its inclusion seem like an afterthought.