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Book Review

“Canadian LAV III in Afghanistan"

Review By Erik Hendriks – Sittard, The Netherlands

Basic Item Information

Title	Canadian LAV III in Afghanistan
Author, Editor and/or Illustrator	Anthony Sewards & Miloslav Hraban
Publisher	REAL Models
ISBN/Stock Number	Modelers Photo Assistant (MPA001)
Subject	LAV III In Canadian Service
Media	Soft Cover Book
Number of Pages	40
Number/Type of Photos and/or Illustrations	111 Color Photographs (not counting the ones on the Real Model conversion)
Text Language	English
Retail Price	17 EURO
Reviewer	Erik Hendriks
Review Date	April 29, 2009

Review Summary*

Review Type	Full Read
Basic Positive Features	Great value for the money. A large number of pictures, showing the Canadian counterpart of the Stryker in action.
Basic Negative Features	The author does not provide any information on the subject of vehicle itself. The book should be seen as a photographic guide to the original. The text provided only serves to point out certain features seen in the pictures.
Overall Rating	4.5 of 5.0
Accuracy of Information Rating	4.5
Editing Of Information/ Text Flow Rating	3.5
Photo and/or Illustration Quality/Selection Rating	5.0
Usefulness as Reference	5.0
Quality of Print Medium Rating	4.5
Recommendation	Highly Recommended

* For information regarding the review terms, grading scale, etc. please go to the WarWheels Review FAQ/Key

Photos

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Detailed Review

Book Content

This book was pointed out to me by Patrick Keenan, when I was gathering information about my next modelling project, converting Academy’s 1/72^nd scale M1126 Stryker into a Canadian LAV-III. Once I received my sample, I was stunned by the pictures in the book.The book manages to capture operational LAV-IIIs in a superb way and will serve the ‘reader’ for inspiration for a setting for his or her model of an LAV-III. The background landscapes almost make you want to go to Afghanistan, if it were not for a war going on there! The book only covers the standard LAV-III Infantry Section Carrier (APC) and Command Post Vehicle (CPV) but gives an overall good impression of the vehicles in Afghanistan. Not only does the book show the excessive stowage to the exterior of the LAV-III, but also the build-up of all the dust and dirt. This book is definitely a “by modellers for modellers” book on a not-so-familiar subject. For anyone looking for an in-depth description for the LAV-III, this is NOT your book. The book is not more than the author and/ or publisher state that it is, a “Modeller Photo Assistant”. With that said, this book is worth every cent (be it in Dollars or Euros) spent on it

Accuracy of Information

As the information in the book consists of mostly the pictures, the accuracy can be said to be very good. The author is the owner of Real Model and although I haven’t seen any actual models of this company, the pictures show a high quality of the models. In this respect, this book is no exception to the range of products Real Model offers.

Editing of Information/ Text Flow

By the captions to the pictures the reader knows the book was written by a person who does not speak the English language every day. Grammar-wise there are quite a few mistakes and some of the words used in the text are not up to the current English usage (on either side of the great pond). The text is very basic but so the book’s strength is not the author’s knowledge of the English language.

Photograph and/or Illustration Quality and Selection

Like I stated before, the pictures are stunning. The book covers 111 pictures on 40 pages and some are full page! The photo color is very rich and vibrant. The book shows a high quality print as well. The photographer is Anthony Sewards, whom I suspect of being part of the Regiment to which the book was dedicated (just a wild guess…) Also, the photographs provided are exceptional in both variation and quantity.

Use as Reference

In this book Real Model’s 1/35 scale conversion for the LAV-III is promoted (8 pictures, including 3 of a finished example). I guess the book was envisioned to be a reference for that kit, a task which it has fulfilled brilliantly. It shows the vehicle from all (outside) angles and gives the feel to the subject a modeller needs to get started on either a difficult or expensive conversion like this.

Quality of Medium

This soft cover book is printed in the “In Action” format. Both the cover and the pages are of high quality glossy paper, although I would have liked to have seen both a bit thicker. The book gives a delicate impression, only because of the paper thickness. The book is simply stapled in the middle, but is of sturdy construction that promises a longer life time than books that are glued.

Conclusion

Although more expensive than your Concord or Squadron In Action books, this book is still a great value for the money due to the large number of high quality color photographs. Consider this book a must have if you want to build a Canadian LAV-III (or NZLAV for that matter) or just interested in this particular subject.

Highly Recommended.