The Kriegsmarine
A Collector’s Guide

By Christopher Ailsby
Ian Allan Publishing, ©2007
ISBN 978-071103099-2
Softbound, 160 Pages
Available from Casemate for $28.95

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

This interesting title came across the review desk, and on the surface it seemed to be just another general collector’s guide. A closer inspection, though, reveals just how interesting and useful this book is to the modeler. This book presents various emblems and insignia worn by Kriegsmarine crews, and this makes it a great reference for those wanting to paint figures of those crewmen.

The book is broken down into several chapters covering various types of insignia, from cap tallies and cuff titles to rank insignia and duty badges. Each section is filled with color photos showing these various pieces in great detail, along with a text description. Some of these emblems are quite rare, but others are standard attire.

For those interested in collecting memorabilia, this is an understandably excellent book to have. For the modeler, though, it presents many interesting possibilities, from accurate insignia for figures to interesting display base options (a copy of a Schnellboot badge, for example, would make for an interesting display option for the Revell 1/72 kit). Either way, this book is worth a look if you are interested in the Kriegsmarine. My thanks to Casemate Publishing for the review copy.