Photo CD Content

Platypus Publications is an Australian company that specializes in providing reference Compact Discs (CDs) containing photographs of specific military vehicles or museum collections of vehicles. Their products are available only on Compact Disc (CD) and can be used on any basic personal computer.  I tried mine on a PC and it worked fine, but I did not get a chance to try it on an Apple Computer; although I would assume it would work fine.

This review is of Platypus’ “Moscow Armed Forces Museum” Photo CD.  It covers vehicles at the museum as they appeared in 2010.  The vehicles are presumably restored and/or rebuilt, so we should keep in mind that these vehicles are probably not in original condition. The CD covers the following vehicles and the numbers in parenthesis are the number of photos that cover each specific vehicle/subject.

Armored Cars/Wheeled Fighting Vehicles

·        BA-6 Armored Car (10)

·        BA-64 Armored Car (4)

·        BTR-40 APC (3)

·        BTR-152 B-1 (4)

·        BTR-80 APC (5)

Other Vehicles/Subjects

·        General Museum Photos (2)

·        Uniforms (3)

·        Soviet Armored Train (32)

·        BK 1125 Bronekater Armored Gun Boat (13)

·        T-26 Light Tank (11)

·        T-38 Light Tank (8)

·        BT-7 Medium Tank (10)

·        T-28 Heavy Tank (11)

·        T-34 (Model 1941) Medium Tank (3)

·        T-10M Heavy Tank (3)

·        KV-1 Heavy Tank (7)

·        KV-2 Heavy Tank (5)

·        JS-2 Heavy Tank (5)

·        SU-76M SPG (5)

·        SU-85 Tank Destroyer (3)

·        SU-100 Tank Destroyer (3)

·        JSU-122 Tank Destroyer (3)

·        JSU-152 Tank Destroyer (5)

·        T-54 (1951) MBT (5)

·        T-64B MBT (3)

·        BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (6)

·        BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (5)

·        PT-76 Amphibious Tank (6)

·        BMD Airborne Tank Variants (14)

Photograph and/or Illustration Quality and Selection

Most of the 197 color photos that are contained on the reference CD are of ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’ quality.  However, there are a small number of photos that are of lesser quality as they are bit blurry or not fully focused. That fact doesn’t take anything away from one’s viewing pleasure though as there are plenty of excellent pictures.

As for the selection of the photos included with this CD, we get coverage of approximately 25 different Soviet/Russian vehicles. Although there are some close up/detail photos of a few of the vehicles (the armored train, T-28, Bronekater, etc) most of the pictures are full vehicle shots.  Personally, I would have really appreciated more detail photos of a majority of the vehicles.

This Photo CD is a nice addition to your “virtual library” especially if you are interested in seeing the vehicles housed in this museum which many of us may never get to visit.  It gives you a nice overall view of the museum’s collection, along with some excellent detail shots of a few of the vehicles.  However, if you are looking for a reference with a lot of super detail photos provided you would have to also get other resources as well.  With that being said, Platypus Publications never claims to provide a lot of detail photos; they claim (and succeed) to provide photos of vehicles at the Moscow Armed Forces Museum.

Platypus Publications has given us a nice basic reference of vehicles located at the Moscow Armed Forces Museum; some of which are quite uncommon or even rare  Most of the photographs provided are of very good to excellent quality but most of them are full vehicle pictures.  Although only a small number of detail photos are provided, you do get coverage of a museum many of us outside of Russia/Europe will never be able to see in person.

Recommendation: “Highly Recommended” for Soviet Vehicle enthusiasts and/or modelers.

Thanks to Ley Reynolds of Platypus Productions for the opportunity to review this CD.  For information or to order Platypus products, you can contact Ley via e-mail at cldkrau@yahoo.com.au .