Special Armour Sd.Kfz.131 Marder II 7.5cm Pak 40/2 (SA72020) 1:72

[Mike]

Sd.Kfz.131 Marder II 7.5cm Pak 40/2 (SA72020)

1:72 Special Armour by Special Hobby

 

 

Unlike the original Marder, the Marder II was based upon the chassis of the Panzer II. The German engineers mounted a 75 mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun (131) or captured Russian Pak 36(r) (132) onto a new upper hull, with a large angular shroud installed around the sides and rear of the gun and its crew. It was small and slightly out of proportion like its forebear, with the later Sd.Kfz.131 that sported the German gun having a lower silhouette and wider fighting compartment, but still with poor protection that was to plague it throughout its service life, as would the open-topped casemate that was bitingly cold in the winter months on the Eastern front, which is where the majority of them were sent.

 

Later on it was replaced by a Marder III that was built on the Czech designed Panzer 38(T) chassis that was a little better.

 

The Kit

This a rebox of Special Armour’s 2011 tooling, and arrives in an end-opening figure-sized box with two sprues of sand-coloured styrene, decal sheet and instruction booklet inside.  The sprue has been snipped to fit inside the new box, so it’s really only one sprue from a pedantic standpoint.  The instruction booklet is printed in spot colour in A5 portrait format, with full-colour painting guide on the back pages.  Detail is good, but there will be a number of ejector-pin marks that will need to be filled on the interior of the splinter shields.  The inner shield on our sample had received a blow during transit, splitting the narrow arched section over the barrel slot, but it was a clean break that should be easy to repair.

 

 

Construction begins with the lower hull, which has the sides and rear bulkhead attached, followed by the road wheels, return rollers, idlers and drive-sprockets before the single-length tracks are wrapped carefully around the drive-train and trimmed to length before final gluing in place.  The interior has a floor fitted, with side detail inserted in the lower hull and two panels in the upper hull before the latter is glued in place.  The side screens with internal equipment, plus the aft box-like assembly are made up as sub-assemblies with the radio gear, then they are integrated into the hull, with pioneer tools on the sides and rear, exhaust and towing hook at the rear, and a spare road wheel on the glacis.

 

The gun is almost a stock Pak 40, with a two-part barrel, carrier, mount and sighting gear added first, then the two-layer splinter shield and “cheek” extensions fitted around it, before it is dropped into the socket at the front of the crew compartment.  To be modelled in travel-lock mode, the two halves of the gun’s transport support holds the barrel in place, and a latch is fitted to the breech in the upward lock mode, and in a lower position if the lock isn’t being used.

 

 

Markings

There are three decal options on the little sheet, with substantially different camouflage schemes on each option.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Pz.Jg.Abt.49, Eastern Front, Winter 1943/44
• Kohlenklau/Coal Thief, 3./Pz.Jg.Abt.561, Geschützführer Uffz. Helmut Kohlke, Eastern Front, Spring 1943
• Dubbed Friedel, Unknown Unit, Eastern Front, Autumn 1943

 

 

 

The decals have been printed by Eduard, and are in good register and sharpness given their size.

 

Conclusion

A rerelease of a nice little kit that is coupled with some nice decal options to appeal to the 1:72 AFV modeller.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Yorkshire man]

This is the ex  MPK MK72 kit  7208.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Very nice they are too.