This has got to be the best last couple of years for the Middle East Wars modeler enthusiast. Tamiya is releasing an M-1 Super Sherman (not really Super, just a Sherman used by the IDF). Dragon is releasing several useable kits for the period, one of which is a newly tooled Bison II that could be used by the Egyptian Army. A company called Meng Model has offered an injection molded import pickup truck with ZPU-1. SabingaMartin has released another book, and Bronco has released three versions of the YW series APC along with two versions of this little GAZ-69.

The FT-17 and its American copy, the M1917, set the stage for the modern tank by having a revolving turret, a front driver, and a rear engine. It was used by armed forces of many different countries and it was still in service with some minor European armies at the outbreak of WWII.

The book is profusely illustrated with color photographs, although all the pictures are from restored units in museums. Four view line drawings provide details of both the M1917 and the FT-17.

The pictures correspond to over a dozen examples from different museums across the world and they are depicted in different camouflages and markings, providing ideas to modelers on how to finish their kits.

Modelers will find the line drawings very useful, while the all-around pictures provide great details for super detailing your model.

Military Police units have the mission, among many others, to provide armed escort to supply convoys in a combat zone. During the Vietnam War there were never enough military police combat support units to accomplish this mission. Commanders of truck companies in the 8th Transportation Group began to arm and armor 2-1/2 ton and 5 ton cargo trucks to provide convoy security. The 8th Trans Group became the major user of gun trucks during the war.

This book, number 184 in the New Vanguard series published by Osprey Publishing, describes the development and employment of gun trucks during the last half of the Vietnam War. The first half of the volume describes the U.S. Army motor transport units deployed in South Vietnam, the Army convoy system itself, and the threat the convoys faced. The second half provides a good description of gun truck design and development and gun truck tactics.

The Vehicle

The Sd.Kfz.250/1 (neu) was a compact version of the SdKfz251. Its mission was to carry a scout section for reconnaissance purposes. There was a previous (alt) version which had multi-faceted armor plate which stood up better than the simpler flat plates used by the “neu” version. But because the older version was more difficult to build and cost more, the newer one became the standard in early 1944

The armor of the Sd.Kfz 250/1 could stop rifle caliber bullets and shell fragments, but didn’t stand up to anything heavier, such as a .50 caliber or larger weapon. The half track design was superior to wheeled armored cars when off-road, so the 250 was preferred in many situations.

The Model

Ace has produced a vehicle which we haven’t seen kitted previously. ESCI had a 250/9, but it’s a different vehicle in that it has a screened top to prevent insertion of grenades and other litter.

This kit represents a field modification of an SdKfz 10 Halftrack to mount the 3.7cm PaK 35/36 in the bed. The AT gun basically just had the wheels removed and was placed in a specially designed cradle in the bed of the halftrack. The sprues are from the halftrack kit (new) and the 3.7cm PaK kit (old), along with the special sprue for the mounting of the gun. There are Magic Tracks for the tracks and, if you are careful, they will moveable and will allow for a good representation of the track sag. There is one sprue of clear plastic and one small fret of photo etched parts.

Step 1. This step builds the drive sprocket, idler wheel, and the two front wheels. It has been noted elsewhere that the drive sprocket is undersize in both the diameter and the thickness. After I built a run of the track I found that the drive rollers are too wide and, to get the tracks to fit, I had to sand off a little of the drive rollers on both sides.