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Easy 1 Productions CD Maintenance Manual:
BTM 001: Maintenance Manual for the 25-Pounder
Easy I Productions
837 S Stephenson,
Iron Mountain, MI 49801
PC CD format, .JPG images with slide show format available, 101 pages with many B&W photos and line drawings
Price $15USD
Like their American counterparts, the British War Office produced detailed manuals for soldiers charged with the operation
and maintenance of military equipment during the Second World War. While similar, British manuals are somewhat different
in approach. The newest line of electronic manuals from Mike Powell's Easy 1 Productions allows modellers to make their own comparisons, as Easy I Productions has embarked upon a series of British maintenance manuals
in electronic format. The first release is a maintenance manual for the 25-pr. field gun Marks II and III on the
Mark I carriage, as well as the gun mounts in the Sexton and Bishop self-propelled guns.
The American and British manuals differ perhaps most significantly in that while the American TMs make extensive use
of very clear black and white photographs for many illustrations, the British manual is, except for overall photos of the
25 pdr. gun, the ammunition trailer, the Sexton, and the Bishop (plus an interior photo of the Bishop's turret gun mounting),
the manual is illustrated by line drawings. This is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage (although I prefer the more
heavily photographic approach of the US TMs, the British line drawings make for very clear images), but simply a difference.
In general, however, the US manuals that I have seen are more comprehensive than their British counterparts (this manual has
98 pages, with little coverage of the self-propelled guns), but what is in this manual is valuable. Coverage of the
gun mount, trail, breech assembly, recoil system, sights, and other major components (except for the shield) is comprehensive,
and a great asset for anybody building up the old but basically sound Tamiya 25 pdr. gun.
Above: An indispensible reference for anybody building a mode of a 25 pdr. field gun. This diagram
from the maintenance manual shows in crystal clarity the key components of the 25 pdr.'s trail. Clicking on the
picture will show it at the size each image is supplied in on the Easy 1 CDs.
These documents are provided in JPEG format, and so can be read from any computer. There is a slide show utility
included for those who wish to peruse the manuals that way. Furthermore, larger scans are included of images that occupy
only part of a page in the original work, so that the images can be printed in a bigger size. Again, I have to commend
Mike for the amount of work that he has put into this project; the scanning is impeccable.
Maintenance manuals are an essential resource for anybody embarking upon a major detailing or conversion project
of the subject vehicle, and still extremely useful and informative even for modellers who do not necessarily plan to
add every nut and bolt to their model. The CD format is an ideal solution for modellers who may not need a hard
copy of every single page in a tech manual, but may want to manipulate and print out individual images for reference.
It is also a much more affordable option than trying to acquire original manuals or reprints. Highly recommended
for anybody building one of the vehicles that a CD is available for. Be sure to check out Easy 1 Productions' website regularly for new manuals to become available.
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