Nuts & Bolts Vol.30
Nebel-, Panzer-and Vielfachwerfer

Reviewed by Luke Pitt

Summary

FirstRead

I have a confession to make. I love vehicle reference books, and I like the convenience of just grabbing a book when I need it and opening a page when I require it. Yeah, it’s old school, but for me it works so much better than trawling the web for the information I require.

The Nuts and Bolts series of reference titles really need no introduction. What they offer is a one-stop reference source for the particular vehicle they cover.
This new reference work covers the Nebel-, Panzer-and Vielfachwerfer, and has some 208 pages. Prepared, with the aid of restored examples it offers a rare example of a complete history of the Nebelwerfer and its many variations, together with purpose built Panzewerfer vehicles.

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This reference work is broken down into logical sections. The first 129 pages are devoted to the development and history of the weapon’s use in German service. Within this section selected, chapters discuss the development and technical description, followed by the differences between the prototype and production vehicles. A very useful chart describes these changes and modifications and is aimed at the modeller. The next subsection covers all the units that operated this vehicle. The book is jammed packed with details like the firing sequences of the tubes, the variations of the weapon itself and how they were set up in the field. This first section is lavishly illustrated with a little over 256 black and white war time photos.

The following 25 pages are devoted to very well drawn 1:35 scale plans of all the known versions of the weapon system and its purpose built Panzewerfer 42. John Rue has again really captured the essence of the vehicle in these drawings.

19 colour profile drawings come next over the next nine pages and are wonderfully executed and presented. What I like about these profiles is within the profile itself is a small black and white photo it is based on. I believe this really should be the industry standard.

Then follows 39 pages of walk around photos included from the various restored examples. Almost the entire vehicle is covered from the interior and engine through to a detailed study of the running gear. The last 8 pages are devoted to a number of model builds and are generally to a high standard. 

In my opinion, this is the best reference source I have come across for this weapon type. It strikes the right balance between historical fact, photo coverage and high quality colour profiles. For me, it is all I would ever need (reference wise) to detail and finish a model. It includes information that was both easy to digest and presented in a logical manner.
Reference doesn’t come much better than this.

Highly Recommended.

Nuts and Bolts publications are available online from their website.