Nuts and Bolts 41 Review by James Knaus

I recently received the newest Nuts and Bolts book Bussing's schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper (sWS) armoured and unarmoured variants. If you haven't seen a Nuts and Bolts book you're missing a lot. Focused on WWII German vehicles these books are the ultimate in detail and information. Volume 41 is no different and as I've said before each new book is better than the last. Produced with war time and museum photographs, drawings, and colour plates they detail the history and technology behind each vehicle.

The sWS is one vehicle I have to admit I know next to nothing about. I know there are models available but I haven't seen a lot of pictures with them shown. I always thought they might be what if vehicles. Well I know better now. This was the third generation of half track and came from Bussing-NAG.

The book starts with the history and technical description of this half track. It covers development of the armed and unarmed versions followed by their use. I have to say the pictures are of the highest quality and for modelers provide a wide range of ideas for building a vignette or diorama.

Following this we have some very nicely done line drawings of the various versions.The drawings are very crisp and a good size for observing detail.

The next section is all colour plates. Bright and vivid they are well detailed and offer some great ideas for when you build your own version.

The book continues with preserved and museum vehicles. I really appreciate this feature as it helps meld the historical with the now. Unfortunately you cant find all the details you want in older pictures, but you can through preserved current vehicles.

Nuts and Bolts are some of my favorite reference materials. Every subject is covered meticulously. The format is basically always the same wich I really appreciate. It allows toy to find what you want faster when thumbing through. I cant find fault with anything in these books and this volume is no different. It has the history and technical details you want. It has good drawings and fantastic colour plates. No matter if you are a history buff or a modeler it is full of good info for everyone.The book is a glossy soft back and the pages are good heavy quality satin paper.

I highly recommend these books to anyone with an interest in German WWII vehicles. The Last Cavalry has it for $40.00 U.S