The Factory Publishing

The New Breed North Africa Color and Markings Series, Part 1

by  Dennis Oliver & Michael Starmer

Reviewed By  Robert DeMaio, IPMS# 45186

MSRP: $26.95 ISBN: 978-0-9804631-0-1 Review copy courtesy of Dragon Models USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Publisher's website: www.thefactorypublishing.com This 33 page, soft cover book is packed with terrific reference material for the historian and modeler alike. The paper is of that high-quality, glossy stock that all pictures should be printed on. This is the first of a series and it contains 30 black-and-white photos along with 12 pages of color illustrations depicting detailed British camouflage and markings of the M4 Sherman Tanks and M7 Priest self-propelled guns. The time period covered is from El Alamein to Tunis. The authors apologize for past publication info and pictures prior to this book, and explained that they wanted to cover the topic completely under one cover. The authors also wanted to cover the history and organization of each armored brigade as well as the markings of each regiment. The color illustrations were derived from a collection of black-and-white photos available to the authors plus Imperial War Museum material of the military directives that verify the accuracy of the illustrations. The book opens with a short history and modifications to the Sherman and Priest vehicles while in the North African campaign. The modeler will value the tank markings that are explained in detail with the tactical signs, formation badges, arm of service markings and unit serial numbers mixed in with the war history in North Africa. The authors cover a brief history of each brigade and Royal Tank Regiment of this time period and combine information on the markings and camouflage used by referencing the tagged color plates. The Appendix in the back is a great read for additional history and camouflage verifications. The text for the picture captions weren’t just brief mentions. The pictures were given four or five lines of explanation. Don’t let this thin, softcover book deceive you. The information within is very accurate and concise for the material covered -- with plenty of details for the modelers. But, at $26.95, your wallet will take a hit. I recommend this one for your shelf and I’m patiently looking forward to part two. Thank you to The Factory Publishing, Dragon Models USA and IPMS for this review copy.

Information, images, and all other items placed electronically on this site are the intellectual property of IPMS/USA ®.