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1/35th #BL35007K
Update set Marder IIIM

Review by Terry Ashley
Blast
This release from Blast Models is an update set for the 1/35 Tamiya Marder IIIM (kit No.35255).

The set consists of 41 resin pieces cast in a light grey resin and a turned aluminium barrel. The quality of the pieces is excellent with fine details and no blemishes evident. There is some fine resin ‘flash’ to be cleaned off some parts due to the finesse of the castings and the usual casting blocks to be removed.

The whole Tamiya barrel assembly is replaced with the metal barrel with resin breech and muzzle break. The breech features a separate block and activating handle, the detail on the breech is excellent and is an improvement over the multipart Tamiya kit breech assembly. The muzzle break also has the small retaining bolt head on the upper surface but there is some minor cleanup on the insides of the casting required, the resin breech has a pre-drilled hole which fits snugly onto the end of the metal barrel with the muzzle break fitting neatly into a hole in the end of the barrel. The barrel fits straight onto the barrel cradle (Tamiya part H11) with only the locating pin for the Tamiya breech having to be removed, all very easy.

Apart from items such as the jack and notek light the rest of the parts are for the interior of the fighting compartment. Moulded on detail from the Tamiya parts E1, E9 and E13 have to be removed and replaced with resin details.
These include all the ammo racks which have the canvas covers on the rear racks and the securing straps for the rounds, radios, personal equipment and a very nice MG42 in a wall rack.
The detail on these parts is excellent and will really bring the compartment alive.

The instructions are in the form a two sided A4 sheet with photos of the parts during assembly and also fitted onto the kit to make it easy to see where they go. Construction notes in both French and English are provided and these seem easy to follow and should make using the set trouble free.
One nice addition is the inclusion of a wiring diagram for the radio, transformer, intercom and headphones on the right wall to allow you to wire these up correctly.

Overall this is an excellent update set for Marder III to add extra details and make the Tamiya kit look even better than it already is.
The resin bits
Blast
The update set was ordered direct from the Blast Models website and the turnaround time was good with an e-mail notification received when the set was sent.



Page created 30 November 2002

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