My furry photo assistant

When I'm taking pictures at various museums, I get really involved in what I'm doing.  You know, trying to get the real good detail shot or trying to worm my way into places that my 255 pound frame was never meant to get into.  There are times when I get the feeling that I'm being watched, especially when I'm somewhere really quiet.  Well, that was the case this past weekend and this time, I was being watched:

 I'd like you to introduce you to my new photo assistant at the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, "Adolph".  Yes, that's this cat's name, for obvious reasons.  If you ever make it to the MVTF, you'll probably see him as he's a fixture at the museum.  He's very friendly and quite often, one of the stars of the tour. 

During this photo visit, he decided to join me inside the Panther Ausf. A while I was taking pictures for some future projects.  As you can see below, he made himself right at home.

Once I climbed back outside of the turret, he was quick to follow me as he doesn't like being cooped up inside the tanks.  Can you blame him? 

Now along with my foot prints, I'm going to have to clean his paw prints off of the tank during a maintenance day at the museum in a couple of weeks.  At least he didn't leave a "present" inside the vehicle.

Israeli Half Tracks by Dr. Robert Manasherob

Yesterday, I had the chance to hang out with a friend of mine, Dr. Robert Manasherob, author of several books on Israeli and Arab armor.  He gave me a copy of his latest book, Israeli Half Tracks, volume 1.  This book is available through his site, SabIngaMartin Publications. 

The book is 80 pages in length and is loaded with photographs of M5 half-tracks and M14's converted into APCs as used by the Israelis during the 1948 war.  There are 4 pages of color photos showing an improvised flame thrower unit that was used in some of the half-tracks along with 30 pages of color photos showing the major frame and suspension components of a half-track under going restoration.  And finally, there are various 1/35 scale line drawings and 6 pages of color plates along with marking and painting information.

If you're into Israeli armor, this book is for you.  As mentioned above, this book can be purchased directly from Dr. Manasherob at SabIngaMartin Publications for $35.00 plus shipping.

Now if we can only get one of the major model manufacturers to come out with a kit of one of these vehicles....