Continuing with their larger books in the 'green' series, this one is on a subject about which I have seen very little written. As the title suggests, it is on the colors and markings of British Army vehicles from the turn of the 20th century to the Iraq invasion of 2003.

As they say in the trade, the book is profusely illustrated with period photographs as well as a few color profiles to help show how these vehicles would have looked. There are going to be several volumes to this work as there is far more information as can be supplied in one book. This  volume concentrates on colors and camo from 1903 until the start of WWII.  It opens with a description of just what colors are and how difficult it is to interpret the exact shade. This is especially true of black and white photography, where development of the film and even the type of film would provide differences. The author states that verbal descriptions are often the most reliable when trying to determine early colors. This is the opposite of what many aircraft camouflage experts state, so you can see that there are differences in opinion on the subject. Of course, one can also compare the camouflage tonal quality with a known color in the photograph, but still even with some color film, determining exact shades without a standard is difficult.

In addition to covering the camouflage and colors of this period, there is an extensive section on vehicle registrations, war department numbers and census markings. Much of this was totally new to me as I have never really paid any attention to these things when it comes to British military equipment. I knew that up to WWII, these vehicles needed a license plate much like automobiles, but that was about it. The full mysteries of the subject are brought to light in this final section, and one that is rather large as things go. It is completed with several pages of charts that show the various serial and series blocks and those vehicles that were assigned to that sequence. Quite useful for a modeler or enthusiast who is trying to determine the exact identity of a vehicle.

In all, a superb look at the often black arts of color identification and registrations. One that needs to be on the shelves of any serious military modeler.

June 2008

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