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If you are planning to model any of the Accurate Armour, Hart or Airfix kits of the loveable British Scammell Pioneer Tractor Recovery Transporter in it's various guises, then this is close to being the only reference you will need.
The book opens with a brief section on the development of the famous vehicle, which, whilst it's not really relevant to modellers, is an entertaining read and provides some great pictures of the original 1927 Pioneers and the experimental variations produced pre-war. Of particular note are the armoured car and six wheel drive versions. Some scope for an adventurous conversion here, but plenty of scratch building required.
Beyond that, each of the final production variants gets a chapter, with additional sections on engine development, service use and tables for W.D registration numbers and various others bits of technical information.
For the modeller, photography throughout is excellent, with each vehicle shown from every angle imaginable and plenty of close ups of critical areas, like the Gardener engine and the walking beam suspension.
However, the book really comes into it's own with the information that brings a model to life and is so difficult to find elsewhere. There are diagrams for threading winch ropes and connecting air lines; and photographs showing wheel changing techniques, jacking positions and lots of other useful snippets besides.
If I had a complaint, it would be that the author is occasionally a little dismissive of the Scammells' abilities and shows a slight misunderstanding of the machines intended role- not everything that needs to be rescued from the battlefield weighs 40 tonnes. This is a small point to make though and may only be noticed by those, like me, whose fondness for Scammells makes them a little over protective.
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