Nuts & Bolts Vol. 33
Le.F.H.18,GWI II fur le. F.H 18/2, Wespe and Hummel-Wespe
by Heiner Duske, Detlev Telisten and Tony Greenland

Reviewed by Luke Pitt

Summary

FirstRead
 
I have a friend that did not have enough information on a particular German subject he wished to model. He had searched the web downloaded the information, printed it and had it all on hand ready to start. When I found out what he was modelling I lent him my copy of the subject in the “Nuts and Bolts” range of books. He later confessed he simply threw out all the information he had collected and relied solely on the book I had lent him.  That’s what the “Nuts and Bolts” series of books are, a one stop reference source.

This new reference work has some 185 pages. The book is logically broken down into segmented parts.

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The first 49 pages are devoted to firstly the development and history of the Field howitzer itself and then it’s adaption to Pz. Kpfw. II chassis. Within this section, subsections discuss the development and technical description, followed by the differences between the prototype and production vehicles. A very useful chart describes how many were made and what units they were assigned to. The book is jammed packed with details like the variations of the weapon system itself and how they were used in the field. I particularly liked the chart describing the set up of a typical unit and all the vehicles that supported them. The next 67 pages is lavishly illustrated with a little over 59 black and white period photos of the howitzer and 127 photo’s of the “Wespe” in again, period service.

The next 15 pages are devoted to very well drawn 35th scale plans of all the known versions. John Rue never disappoints with his drawings and the three dimensional drawings just add to the experience. Twelve colour profile drawings follow over the next 6 pages and are wonderfully executed and presented. What I like about these profiles is that within the profile itself, a small black and white period photo of the relevant vehicle. This, I believe should be the industry standard. The last page of colour profiles deals with the various ammunition used together with a converted Wespe used for carrying ammunition profile.

The next section 8 pages consist of 26 colour walk around photos of the howitzer followed by 29 pages consisting of 90 again “walk around” photos of the Wespe. The entire vehicle is covered from the interior and engine through to a detailed study of the radio’s fitted. The last 12 pages are devoted to model builds.

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 .It includes information that is easy to digest and presented in a logical manner. Reference doesn’t come much better than this. I must confess I love these books they offer convenience of just grabbing them, In reality, these books are more like four traditional books in one, a development history, wartime photo coverage, line drawings and colour profiles and a comprehensive walk around photo essay

Highly Recommended

Nuts and Bolts publications are available online from their website.