1VP Note: It's my pleasure to welcome Fred Bachnofer, a member of IPMS/Netherlands, to our review team! Fred brings a European perspective to the process and has access to some products that we in the States may not be familiar with. Fred's first review here is of an AFV kit, we hope there are more to come!

Visit Fred's website at https://modelfan.eu if you'd like to see more of his work. Welcome, Fred!

The YPR was developed in the United States in 1965 by FMC Corporation under the name XM765, as one of prototypes for a future armoured infantry fighting vehicle.

The XM765 was based on the M113A1, improved with a closed single-person turret and firing gates, which allowed the infantrymen to fire from the vehicle. The hull is welded aluminium, with armoured steel plates bolted to the front and sides. The spaces between the Armor plates are filled with polyurethane foam, which gives the vehicle extra buoyancy. When the vehicle is floating it is powered by the tracks, which are equipped with small blades. The diesel engine of the two-stroke vehicle is located in the front right of the fuselage. Underneath the large bow wave baffle plate at the front of the vehicle is a hatch that provides access to the commanded steering and brake differential and the drive shafts. The engine is identical to that of the M113A1, except for the larger radiator and turbocharger. To the left of the engine is the driver, who has a roof hatch that opens to the right. The driver has four M27 periscopes, the front of which can be replaced by a passive-infrared night vision periscope. Later, the driver was given HV night vision goggles. The vehicle commander sits directly behind the driver and has his own turret that can rotate all the way around. The dome has five periscopes; four of the M17 type and one that magnifies up to six times.

There is room in the back of the vehicle for seven infantrymen. Six sit back-to-back: three on the left and three on the right. The seventh sits on a folding chair between the vehicle commander and the tower. They have two M17 periscopes on each side, and one M27 periscope at the rear. Like the M113, the YPR-765 has a large cargo hatch at the top of the roof and a lowerable hatch with a small door at the rear. All YPR-765s (except the YPR-GWT casualty transport) are equipped with a smoke canister launcher with six launchers.

The U.S. Army did not include this specific prototype in its armament, after which manufacturer FMC further developed the vehicle as its own project and sold it to several other countries (including the Netherlands, South Korea and Turkey).

In 1973, the Royal Netherlands Army placed a first order for 880 Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicles (AIFVs) with FMC to replace a number of obsolete vehicles: first the French AMX PRI, then the Dutch YP-408 and the American M113. These three vehicles had entered the 1960s. The armoured tracked vehicle was then imported into the Netherlands in 1977 and renamed YPR-765 (where the Y stands for the Netherlands, P for Armor and R for Track). The last YPRs were delivered in 1989. From 2000, the vehicles were modernized to version YPR-765 A1. The A1 variants are easily recognizable by the three-color camouflage pattern. The Royal Netherlands Army has had quite a few versions in service, including the PRAT version

The PRAT Version

The Armoured Anti-Tank version is a tank destroyer. It is equipped with an M27 turret containing two TOW anti-tank missile launchers. The vehicle also has an FN MAG machine gun. The vehicle has room for ten more TOW rockets. The launcher must be manually loaded from underneath armour. The M27 tower is the same as the one on the American M901 ITV (Improved TOW Vehicle) "Hammerhead". At the top of the tower is the targeting equipment for both day and night (AN/TAS-4(a)). The missile control system is also located in the tower. The crew consists of four people (in wartime): commander, driver, gunner and loader. Inside the vehicle is a separate tripod carriage, which allows a TOW to be set up outside the vehicle. Furthermore, there are suspension brackets for two M136 AT4 portable anti-tank missiles. While driving, the tower is folded on the vehicle. One cannot drive with the TOW missiles in firing position. The TOW is guided by a wire, which requires the gunner to keep their sights on the target.In total, the Royal Netherlands Army had 303 YPR-PRAT in service

The AFV Club model has been announced for quite some time and recently the kit became available. I missed the first round so I had to wait for the second round of import and I decided to get one to prevent it from suddenly being sold out, that AVF Club is daring to bring this Dutch version to the market is great, but it will not be an immensely large edition.

The AFV model is for the first (or early) series of the YPR-765. This makes sense because all previous YPR models from AFV are also (see the timeline at Scalemates) such as the 35016, 35S14 (NL) and the 35119 (NL-SFOR). AFV Club claims "new tooling" on its box, which is only partly true because they only added frames to build this NL PRAT version. Scalemates mentions this as "new parts" The manufacturer also indicates this neatly in the parts list where you can see that there are frames of the 35002, 35S14, 35016 and the 35369, added is a frame with the MAG machine gun and attachment and of course the decal set.For the second later A1 you miss the stowage wire racks at the back, wire cutters on the front and the Diehl tracks to mention the most important.There are already some aftermarket solutions for this, by the way.

In this model, all injection moulded frames are individually wrapped in cellophane, including the clear parts. In my opinion neatly taken care of! The photoetch parts are packed together with the decal set, but separately in plastic bags. In total there are seven frames, a separate fairing section and plastic/rubber tracks this could be better. The parts don't have flash, and I haven't come across any annoying ejection pins anywhere. Neatly cared for as with the other models of the YPR-765 from AFV Club.

The back hatch is moulded in one piece, the door is cast in. So, it is not possible to mount the door in an open position and show some interior. The hatch itself cannot be fitted in the open position. The solution for this is to use the hatch and door from Perfect Scale. The hatch on the upper deck is separately attached to a frame and can therefore be mounted in an open position. It is essential then that you construct an interior.

On the box and in all advertisements, the model is depicted firing a TOW missile, which you may actually be able to imitate with the model. Personally, this doesn't really appeal to me. If you do show the firing, I think you should do it as realistically as possible with the accompanying effects, but to each his own, right? That's the great thing about modelling!

The TOW launcher can be placed in three different positions. Firing position, reload position and stored position. If I understand the manual correctly, the idea is that the launch pad can move to get into these positions, but I do see that different parts have to be fitted, but I think they are replaceable. This is also a nice option for a possible diorama. Also included are the empty cartridges of the TOW missiles to simulate that TOWS have been fired.No antennas or antenna wires are included, for this the "stretched sprue" method is indicated in the instructions.
Because AFV uses previously designed frames, the errors that are in these are of course included in this PRAT version. You won't get a flawless PRAT with this model, but you can do whatever you want about it, including an interior. To build a super PRAT I would like to advise you to read the build of priegelmaster Walter Jonkers on the Twenot forum "Fiddling with a YPR-PRAT: Shutters open and lights on". This is a build from 2021 based on the then available AFV Club YPR-765 and not this one, but this article flawlessly shows what a PRAT model should look like including a fabulous interior, really worth it.

The manual is in black and white with the colour indications of the various early versions at the end.As already indicated, this is not the A1 version. In other words, the simple olive drab scheme. Theconstruction is described in 28 steps. The versions that are available from the decal sheet are:

• 12th Armoured Antitank Company – 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade KY-50-04
• 12th Armoured Antitank Company – 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade KY-50-55
• 48th Armoured Infantry Battalion - 11^thArmoured Infantry Brigade KY5028
• 17^thArmoured Infantry Battalion – 13^thArmoured Infantry Brigade KY-50-40

The decal sheet. Well, that's where things went wrong with the flags. Unfortunately, the red, white, blue has shifted, minimally, clearly visible with a magnifying glass. Also decal 11 that should be on the door in the rear hatch is not centred. Other than that, the sheet looks acceptable.

Conclusion

Once again, AFV Club has made us happy with a Royal Netherlands Army model. The quality of the model offered is good, based on the previously released models of the YPR-765 by AFV. So, the mistakes come along. This is the first/early version. If you want to build the A1 version, you have to rebuild. You can score stowage racks and wire cutters from Sylly's Miniature Models and Diehl tracks from Perfect Scale. Perhaps more aftermarket products/decals will be offered in the coming period and yes, 3D printing also offers more and more possibilities.

Highly recommended for any modeler interested in Royal Netherlands Army models, but in general a specific model to have in your display case.