Trackpad Publishing – Biber Leopard 1 Bridgelayer

By Kenneth Østergaard

Model Foto Focus Series

80 Pages

Link to Trackpad Publishing – http://www.trackpadpublishing.com/#!buy/cnec

ISBN – 978-0-9928425-7-4

MSRP – £16.50 / $23.95 US

Trackpad Publishing has been around for a couple years now and have produced several armor related publications to date. Trackpad’s goal is creating a limited run books focused on military vehicles of basically any type and form any period. Continuing with their series, Model Foto Focus which included looks at the Canadian Leopard 2A4M CAN and Canadian Leopard 2A4M CAN in Afghanistan, Trackpad presents their latest addition to the series, Biber Leopard 1 Bridgelayer.

Kenneth Østergaard, along with photography supplied by Carl Shultz and Ralf Zwiling, gives us a highly in depth look at the Biber Leopard 1 Bridgelayer. This is a seven chapter photographic manuscript spread out over eighty pages with complete focus on the Biber Bridgelayer.

· Biber Introduced

· In The Field

· The Bridge

· Picking Up

· Launch Mechanisms

· The Launch Vehicle

· Variations on a Theme

As seen with previous releases in the Model Foto Focus series, Biber Leopard 1 Bridgelayer continues to be a modeler’s delight when it comes to photographic walk around displays. Aside from the one-page written history about the Biber in the forward of this book, the entire publication is packed front to back with highly detailed color photographs of this engineering marvel and some of its variations. Each and every one of the over 240 photographs are all supported by informative captions to point out key features of what is being seen in these pictures.

The book starts us off with a detailed overview to allow us to familiarize ourselves with this tank in Biber Introduced. This chapter shows us the basic operational understating of how this vehicle works and its pivotal role it plays in the ranks of the Bundeswehr (Federal Defense Forces of Germany). Following the introduction is a pictographic expose showing this mechanical beast under its normal operating conditions; In The Field. The author shows us active Bibers transporting, deploying and retrieving their bridgelayers. This chapter gives us an amazing insight into how the men and these tanks operate in the field; all beautifully illustrated and supported with helpful captions.

Once past the introduction and field display of the Biber Leopard 1 tanks, we are taken on a step by step, extremely detailed walk around tour of these beasts. Just about every inch, both inside and out, of this bridgelayer is meticulously presented in this book. Broken down into three individual chapters, The Bridge, Picking Up and The Launch Mechanism, we are shown a highly technical view of the bridge laying equipment mounted on this Leopard 1.

The walk around continues in the chapter, The Launch Vehicle. The author guides us through an amazing detailed look at the Leopard 1 platform to the Biber. Not only is basically the entire exterior of this tank covered in this chapter, the author gives us many views inside hatches, compartments and accesses typically unseen. Both the driver’s and commander’s compartments are displayed in photographs allowing us basically a 360 degree look into the belly of the beast.

In the final chapter of Biber Leopard 1 Bridgelayer, we are given a list of differences between Bibers as used by different nations. In this chapter, the author chose to highlight three specific variations, Dutch, Australian and the Danish. Each of the variants differ slightly as they are customized to each individual military’s personal needs..

Conclusion

Trackpad Publishing continues their driven success in providing a high quality and highly detailed publications with their latest release, Biber Leopard 1 Bridgelayer. The author and photographic contributors to this book have gone above and beyond to give us a beautifully rendered display of this engineering vehicle. In short, basically no stone…or bolt if you will, has been left un-turned. This book is an essential resource for anyone interested in modelling the Biber Leopard 1 Bridgelayer. Being able to get this amount of information, presented in such detail and all within one publication is absolutely invaluable. Well done!