Book Review of
German BMW R75 Motorcycle
Escaping From the Falaise Pocket
From Photo to Model – The complete Story
Author: Robert Doepp
AFV Modeler Publications
ISBN: 978-0-9935646-6-6
MSRP: $35.OO
ISBN: 978-0-9935646-6-6
MSRP: $35.OO
THE BOOK:
This book is soft-cover of 112 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 5/8” page format.
The cover art shows a color photo of Doepp’s 1/8th scale scratch built BMW R75 Luftwaffe motorcycle with sidecar, driver and 3 passengers on it.
The driver wears a medium blue uniform. The 3 passengers wear camouflage jackets and field grey pants that are bloused over low shoes. The driver and two passengers wear paratrooper type steel helmets. One of these is covered with a cloth camouflaged cover. The 3rd passenger, seated behind the driver, wears a Wehrmacht type steel helmet. He has a MP40 machine gun slung around his neck. The driver has a pair of binoculars strung around his neck and a pair of goggles strung around his helmet.
The R75 is in a base of sand with green wave pattern over it. It has a Luftwaffe license plate with serial no. WL-16691 on it.
This model is absolutely very highly detailed. The scratchbuilding is superb.
There are 311 illustrations in the book. Twenty-one are black and white and the rest are in color.
The book starts with the INTRODUCTION. This holds 2 black and white wartime photos which are what the author copied exactly for his model. He is shown with his Harley Davidson and R75 motorcycle. His model he built is shown in 2 photos unpainted as yet. There are 2 color photos of a German tank commander looking out of a cupola on a tank. He is shown painted in one photo and not painted in the second photo.
In the CONSTRUCTION section of the book, there are 39 walk-around type photos of the model being built. It is said a few parts were out of a Revell kit and the rest are all scratch-built.
In the ENGINE CYLINDERS section there is 25 walk-around color photos of the engine being built.
In the SIDECAR section there are 25 walk-around color photos of it being built.
The PAINTING section contains 37 walk-around color photos of the model being painted with a variety of paints from numerous manufacturers, of tube type and bottled paints.
In the FIGURES section there is 50 walk-around color photos of the figures being constructed. They are made from skeletons built from plastic rods and covered with Magic Sculpt putty. The faces are outstanding.
In the FIGURE PANTING section there is 53 color walk-around photos.
In the BASE section there is 12 color walk-around photos of the diorama base plate being constructed.
Next is a section that has 21 all black and white wartime photos of R75’s and their crews.
This is followed by 40 color walk-around photos of a real R75 being restored, that shows every last inch of its anatomy.
The GALLERY section at the end of the book shows 9 color photos of the author’s scratch-built R75. Eight of these photos span 2 pages and the ninth one only one page.
The last photos in the book are color ones of close-ups of the faces of the 4 figures. They are OH MY GOD gorgeous.
Highly Recommend. This is a MUST HAVE book for any modeler planning on building a R75. It will be of interest to military historians also.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers, the North American distributor of AFV Modelers books for this review copy.
All AFV Modelers book titles can be viewed on Casemates web site at:
This book is soft-cover of 112 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 5/8” page format.
The cover art shows a color photo of Doepp’s 1/8th scale scratch built BMW R75 Luftwaffe motorcycle with sidecar, driver and 3 passengers on it.
The driver wears a medium blue uniform. The 3 passengers wear camouflage jackets and field grey pants that are bloused over low shoes. The driver and two passengers wear paratrooper type steel helmets. One of these is covered with a cloth camouflaged cover. The 3rd passenger, seated behind the driver, wears a Wehrmacht type steel helmet. He has a MP40 machine gun slung around his neck. The driver has a pair of binoculars strung around his neck and a pair of goggles strung around his helmet.
The R75 is in a base of sand with green wave pattern over it. It has a Luftwaffe license plate with serial no. WL-16691 on it.
This model is absolutely very highly detailed. The scratchbuilding is superb.
There are 311 illustrations in the book. Twenty-one are black and white and the rest are in color.
The book starts with the INTRODUCTION. This holds 2 black and white wartime photos which are what the author copied exactly for his model. He is shown with his Harley Davidson and R75 motorcycle. His model he built is shown in 2 photos unpainted as yet. There are 2 color photos of a German tank commander looking out of a cupola on a tank. He is shown painted in one photo and not painted in the second photo.
In the CONSTRUCTION section of the book, there are 39 walk-around type photos of the model being built. It is said a few parts were out of a Revell kit and the rest are all scratch-built.
In the ENGINE CYLINDERS section there is 25 walk-around color photos of the engine being built.
In the SIDECAR section there are 25 walk-around color photos of it being built.
The PAINTING section contains 37 walk-around color photos of the model being painted with a variety of paints from numerous manufacturers, of tube type and bottled paints.
In the FIGURES section there is 50 walk-around color photos of the figures being constructed. They are made from skeletons built from plastic rods and covered with Magic Sculpt putty. The faces are outstanding.
In the FIGURE PANTING section there is 53 color walk-around photos.
In the BASE section there is 12 color walk-around photos of the diorama base plate being constructed.
Next is a section that has 21 all black and white wartime photos of R75’s and their crews.
This is followed by 40 color walk-around photos of a real R75 being restored, that shows every last inch of its anatomy.
The GALLERY section at the end of the book shows 9 color photos of the author’s scratch-built R75. Eight of these photos span 2 pages and the ninth one only one page.
The last photos in the book are color ones of close-ups of the faces of the 4 figures. They are OH MY GOD gorgeous.
Highly Recommend. This is a MUST HAVE book for any modeler planning on building a R75. It will be of interest to military historians also.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers, the North American distributor of AFV Modelers books for this review copy.
All AFV Modelers book titles can be viewed on Casemates web site at: