Reference the ICM website,

The SPz Marder 1 is a German infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) developed by Rheinmetall that has served as the main combat vehicle of the armored infantry divisions of the Bundeswehr since the 1970s.

The vehicle underwent several modernizations throughout its service life, with the A3 upgrade program launching in 1988. This modernization included 1600 kilograms of improved armor, reinforced suspension, a new braking system, and a modified turret configuration. The resulting SPz Marder 1A3 has proven to be one of the world’s most battle-tested and reliable IFVs.

Historical and Reference Notes

There are any number of articles about the Abrams tanks, as it was used widely in the Gulf wars and is still being refitted and continually upgraded in the US Army and the US Marine Corps (though the USMC has now traded theirs and discontinued their use of tanks). It was a significant improvement to the M60 series tanks which it replaced This is the culmination of years of research and started in the early 90’s to build over 4600 Chobham armored Abrams tanks (with approximately half of them now in storage). These heavy tanks have almost all been upgraded in several packages each of which have some unique design qualities (including the M1A1, M1A2 SEPv2, and the most advanced M1A2 SEPv3). There are also a total 10,000 Abrams that have been produced worldwide. They range in weights over 147,200 pounds (66.8 tons) and can weigh up to and over 170,000 with added armor and protection details.

I’ve built a few Tamiya armor kits over the years but never one of their new 1/48^th scale kits. I thought that I would dip my toes into Tamiya’s quarter scale pond with their new U.S. Light Tank M5A1 Stuart. By the time the M5A1 entered service it’s 37mm gun was no longer effective against German armor. However, the M5 still saw extensive service in all theaters of the war until its end. The Stuart had the advantages of having speed, reliability, mobility, and transportability, and were available in large numbers. The Stuart was used effectively for scouting and infantry fire support.

The kit includes four trees of olive-drab plastic, instructions, decals, polycaps, thread for simulating the tow cable, and two steel weights. The kit depicts a relatively early version of the M5A1 with disk road wheels, without the turret machine gun shield, no sand shields, and no rear stowage bin.

ICM continues to be prolific with both kits and paint sets. The Acrylic Paint Set for WWII French Armored Vehicles continues this trend and consists of six 12ml wide mouthed paint bottles. The front packaging includes a presentation of a FCM 36 light infantry tank. The back shows three left-profile views of a Panhard 178 AMD-35 (Kit No. 35373), two FCM 36 (Kit No. 3573) in two different camouflage schemes, and with color callouts.

The colors include:

• Olive Green (No. 1068)
• Green 4BO (No. 1073)
• Deep Brown (No. 1008)
• Buff (No. 1041)
• Dark Rust (No. 1051)
• Gun Metal (No. 1027)

Painting instructions are on the side of the packaging, stating

What a kit!! No flash anywhere with excellent engravings and details.

When I first received the G4 kit I knew I had to do something different with it – I was going to make a surf rod out of it. Searching through my spare parts I found some Center Line wheels along with some wide tires. The first modification was to cut out the spare tire wells on the front fenders and then fill them in with styrene and Bondo. While the putty was setting up I frenched the taillights.

The 4 wheel drive rear suspension would be next. It’s a very detailed assembly and could be a model in its own. I used different colors of paint to bring out some of the details.

The engine was the next assembly and I went the different color paints to bring out some of the details.