Tanker Techniques: Extra Armor Book Review

By Michael Benolkin

Review

Here is the second installment in AK Interactive's Tanker Techniques series. This title looks at a variety of vehicle subjects that have been given improvised armor for various reasons and in a variety of backdrops. The projects/techniques covered are:

• Battlefield Taxi BMP-2
• Up-Armored Krupp Protze
• M36 Serbian Jackson
• Lebanese M113 Mod
• Zombie Slayers
• Apocalypse Vehicles
• Buick Max Apocalypse
• Marder on Steroids
• Tracks as Extra Armor
• Uparmored Vehicle Reference
• Painting Impacts
• Sandbags with Magic Sculpt

While there are a couple of World War II examples, you'll find some other interesting subjects including an up-armored BMP-2 being used in combat operations in Eastern Ukraine, a modified M36 pressed into service in Serbia, Lebanese Army M113 APCs with improvised armor in the war on terror, and even post-apocalyptic vehicles inspired by the Mad Max movies. There is a little here for everyone but the techniques fall in line, how do you replicate and weather added to a vehicle (usually welded) and how can you show some impacts deflected by that armor?

Unlike other titles from AK Interactive, this reference doesn't take a subject from beginning to end. Instead the authors focus on different ways of developing degrees of rust and the variety of techiques out there to achieve convincing results. You can get many new ideas for tackling different projects from scanning through this title and how to use the variety of rust-related products out there (and when).

Titles like these are very inspirational and while they may not cover a subject of interest to you, the techniques presented here are very much usable with any armor, AFV, or soft-skin combat vehicle. You'll want to add Tanker Techniques: Extra Armor to your workbench reference library!

Definitely recommended!

My sincere thanks to AK Interactive for this review copy!