Hobby master: 1/72 HG4109 BMM Sd.Kfz.139 Marder III German Army 2.PzDiv, Stalingrad, USSR, 1943

 Diecast Model

BMM Sd.Kfz.139 Marder III
Designed to respond to a demand from the German army for an anti-tank weapon that is more powerful and mobile than towed anti-tank guns such as the Pak 36, the Marder III served from 1942 to 1945. This makeshift tank destroyer was built on obsolete German tanks and captured French vehicles, and was installed on a Panzer 38(t) chassis. Armed with captured 76.2 mm Soviet guns, the first Marder IIIs had an open roof and weak armor at the front and sides. Later models used 7.5 cm PaK 40 anti-tank guns and offered slightly better protection to the crew, but in 1944, the Marder III was withdrawn from production in favour of fully armoured vehicles.

After some German units had advised that they were close enough to Moscow to see the Kremlin, the winter of 1941-1942 stopped the German advance and the great Soviet winter offensive was able to push the German forces westward where the Germans established a defensive front in the Karmanowo area. The 2nd Panzer Division fought many battles, including at Klin, Karmanowo, Bjeloje and the Rzhev Salient where it suffered heavy casualties. The German forces managed to remain in the area throughout 1942, but they paid with heavy losses.

1. Construction in die-cast metal with some plastic components.
2. Rotating turret, lifting gun and precise hull.
3. Painted, mounted, immobile tracks on detailed fixed wheels.
4. Realistic panel lines, antennas, access panels and surface details.
5. Pad-printed markings and placards that will not fade or flake like decals.
6. Transparent acrylic display to protect the model.