M113A2 Desert Version
1/35 Scale - Kit No.35265
First Look by Terry Ashley

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The Kit:
As with the M2A2 Bradley this is a recycled kit which has the basic parts from the 1974 M113 kit plus two additional sprues for the A2 desert version.

The kit consists of 218 parts in light beige plastic. A set of vinyl tracks, a decals sheet and the instruction sheet. The

The hull and running gear are from the original kit and while quite old are well moulded without any flash or other blemishes of note but there is also no interior included in the kit.

The new sprue E provides a new front trim vane and flotation panel plus the ACAV turret for the upper commander’s hatch, smoke grenade clusters for the front hull, new external fuel tanks for the rear hull, cut-off side sand shields and the CIP panels for the hull sides.

Other items include a new .50cal MG that is an improvement of the original and nicely done water cans plus a new commander figure which has fairly soft uniform details and the upper body for the driver.

Also included are a couple of sprues which have a good selection of personal gear (as well as small dog) plus a selection of 20mm and .50cal ammo boxes and a jerry can and water can. These will probably be included in the soon to be released Modern US military equipment set.

The tracks are the same as provided back in 1974 and are quite basic by today’s standards and will see most replacing these with aftermarket tracks.

Decals:
The decals are again typical Tamiya in quality with markings for 4 vehicles with four view drawings included to show the paint schemes and decal placement.

1. A Company (Manoeuvre Support), 3rd Forward Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Karbala, Central Iraq, March 2003 in three colour NATO cam.
2. 3rd Battalion Headquarters, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Baghdad, April 2003 in overall desert sand.
3. B Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1 st Bhgade, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Hindiyah, Southern Baghdad, April 2003 in overall desert sand.
4. 3rd Battalion Headquarters, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1 st Brigade, 1 st Armored Division, Bosnia, 1996 in three colour NATO cam.

Conclusion:
While the kit provides some of the updated parts for the latest Bradley there is also some additional work needed to bring it up to date but provides a sound basis for a nice model.

Page 3 September 2003