Toadman's Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t Sd.Kfz. 7 Photo Detail CD

In his continuing series of walkarounds, Chris “Toadman” Hughes has concentrated this volume to the Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t Sd.Kfz. 7 Halftrack. The Trumpeter kit needs help and Dragon has released their kit to join Tamiya's older one, so this is an opportune time to get this CD.

If you are using a Windows platform, the CD should start by itself to take you on a journey of the Sd.Kfz. 7 tractor. 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 309 photos with one GIF file used as a background.

The photo quality is excellent with a good resolution at 300dpi and a nice size of 2240 x 1499 (which is up from the previous 1504 by 1000) pixels. This translates into sharp reproduction of the images when printed. The pictures on this CD were taken at the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (MVTF) also known as the late 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. The acknowledgments even include his wife, smart move!

Upon clicking on the Main Table of Contents, a new table of contents (toc) appears for different sections of the CD such as the Exterior table of contents, Engine compartment table of contents, Chassis table of contents, Crew and troop compartment table of contents. These in turn go to a page with each individual photo page link if presented. 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.

All exterior and interior details are covered. 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 twelve dollar book only provides about 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/

Regards,

HELLO,
Hey,great headsup review.I have toadmans #9-stug 3 G,#11-German anti-tank guns,and#17-sd.kfz.222 cd's and totally agree its the boom for the buck.Cant wait to grab this one as well. THANKS TIM

Great timing Chris , this is going to be a must have with all the new 7's floating around !

Top job Saul

Jenny

Thanks Saul,

This is some great stuff!

Bob