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In his continuing series of walkarounds, Chris “Toadman” Hughes has concentrated this volume to the T-34 turreted tanks. There are recent kit releases of the T-34/76 Model 1940, T-34/76 Model 1941, several T-34/85 kits, and a couple of classic T-34 releases which include the Model 1943.
If you are using a Windows platform, the CD should start by itself to take you on a journey of the T-34 reference CD. I prefer to look at the images in a graphics program so as to be able to manipulate them. For this, I right click on the CD drive and click on Explore. This opens a folder where I can then right click on a file, ‘open with’, and choose the graphics program. Using a graphics program will let me zoom in, change the gamma or increase the brightness of an image.
Now, let’s get back to this CD. Inside, there are 419 photos with three GIF files used as a background. The 76mm gets a whopping 235 photos in great detail. The 85mm is represented with 184 photos.
The photo quality is excellent with a good resolution at 300dpi and a nice size of 1504 by 1000 pixels. This translates into clear images when printed. The pictures on this CD were taken at the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (MVTF) also known as Jacques Littlefield’s collection.
The autoplay feature has the user come to a table of contents which allows one to view the acknowledgement page. Here, one can find a bibliography, reference sources, and mission statement. This CD was created with the modeler in mind…and it shows.
Upon clicking on the Main Table of Contents, a new table of contents appears for two tanks. Each then directs the user to another table of contents which list each of the areas of the photos pages. Each HTML page has simple but interesting captions which point out details as well as a navigation which allows one to go to the next page, the previous page, the sections table of contents, or the main table of contents. Certainly a well thought out plan. A nice feature is the link to other similar photos which illustrate differences on an item between the two tanks. I did notice that the end of one photo series, the 76mm, did not offer the user to go to the next subject. I had to back up to the main Table of Contents for that.
Quite interesting are the pedigree of some of the tanks. The 76mm Tank has been upgraded postwar and is most probably from Poland. The captions correctly point out that the wheels are of a later design than when manufactured. Chris even opened some of the boxes to allow the viewer to see the contents. The 85mm has an infantry call button which is also a postwar addition seen on Czech manufactured tanks.
Great attention was paid to each of the vehicles. Almost all details are covered including views of the hull bottom (toad’s views as I call them). One should never forget that these are restorations and, as accurate as MVTF usually is, compare the photos to period photos to ensure authenticity.
This CD-Rom is one of many references which I am really happy to have acquired. At the asking price, it is certainly a bargain when one considers that the average ten dollar book only gives about a 125 photos at most. I highly recommend the Toadman Walkarounds for any modeler whether on a budget or not! Get your copy by visiting: http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/
Now, how long must we wait before we see an in depth coverage of the T-34 based variants?
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