In Box Review of Tamiya 1/35th Scale
German Tank Destroyer
Sd.Kfz. 131, “Marder II”
Kit no. MM160
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: Out of production ( $6.50 in 70’s)
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: Out of production ( $6.50 in 70’s)
HISTORY:
The Marder II was a German tank destroyer of World War II based on the Panzer II chassis. There were two versions, the first mounted modified Soviet 7.62 cm guns firing German ammunition, while the other mounted the German 7.5 cm Pak 40 gun. Its high profile and thin open-topped armor provided minimal protection to the crew. Nevertheless, the Marder II (and similar Marder III) provided a great increase in firepower over contemporary German tanks through the 1942/43 time frame. Four Marder IIs remain today in museums.
During the very first days of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Germans were shocked to encounter Soviet T-34 medium tanks and KV heavy tanks. Although the Wehrmacht succeeded in most operations due to superior tactics, morale, and supply, it had few anti-tank weapons capable of successfully engaging these vehicles at normal ranges. An urgent need arose for a more mobile and powerful anti-tank weapon than the existing towed anti-tank guns or tank destroyers like the Panzerjäger I.
Among a series of solutions, it was decided to use light tanks, like the Panzer II, and captured vehicles, like the Lorraine Schlepper, as the basis for makeshift tank destroyers. The result was the Marder series, which were armed with either the new 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank guns or captured Soviet 7.62 cm F-22 Model 1936 field guns, large numbers of which had been acquired early in the war.
SPECIFICATIONS:
The famous Marder II "coal thief" -recognizable by the cartoon painted on both sides- on the Eastern Front in 1943. The ring markings on the barrel indicate 19 claimed kills for the vehicle.
The Marder II was a German tank destroyer of World War II based on the Panzer II chassis. There were two versions, the first mounted modified Soviet 7.62 cm guns firing German ammunition, while the other mounted the German 7.5 cm Pak 40 gun. Its high profile and thin open-topped armor provided minimal protection to the crew. Nevertheless, the Marder II (and similar Marder III) provided a great increase in firepower over contemporary German tanks through the 1942/43 time frame. Four Marder IIs remain today in museums.
During the very first days of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Germans were shocked to encounter Soviet T-34 medium tanks and KV heavy tanks. Although the Wehrmacht succeeded in most operations due to superior tactics, morale, and supply, it had few anti-tank weapons capable of successfully engaging these vehicles at normal ranges. An urgent need arose for a more mobile and powerful anti-tank weapon than the existing towed anti-tank guns or tank destroyers like the Panzerjäger I.
Among a series of solutions, it was decided to use light tanks, like the Panzer II, and captured vehicles, like the Lorraine Schlepper, as the basis for makeshift tank destroyers. The result was the Marder series, which were armed with either the new 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank guns or captured Soviet 7.62 cm F-22 Model 1936 field guns, large numbers of which had been acquired early in the war.
SPECIFICATIONS:
The famous Marder II "coal thief" -recognizable by the cartoon painted on both sides- on the Eastern Front in 1943. The ring markings on the barrel indicate 19 claimed kills for the vehicle.
Marder II
This Marder II (Sd. Kfz. 131) was nicknamed "Kohlenklau" (Coal thief), after a propaganda caricature which was very popular in Germany from 1942 onward.
Type
Tank destroyer
Place of origin
Nazi Germany
Specifications
Weight
10.8 tonnes (23,809 lb)
Length
6.36 m (20 ft 10 in)
Width
2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)
Height
2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Crew
3
Armor
5-35 mm (.19 -1.37 in)
Main
armament
1x 7.5 cm Pak 40
37 rounds
Engine
Maybach HL 62 TRM
140 PS (138 hp, 103 kW)
Power/weight
12.96 PS/tonne
Suspension
Leaf spring
Operational
range
190 km (118 mi)
Speed
40 km/h (25 mph)
This Marder II (Sd. Kfz. 131) was nicknamed "Kohlenklau" (Coal thief), after a propaganda caricature which was very popular in Germany from 1942 onward.
Type
Tank destroyer
Place of origin
Nazi Germany
Specifications
Weight
10.8 tonnes (23,809 lb)
Length
6.36 m (20 ft 10 in)
Width
2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)
Height
2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Crew
3
Armor
5-35 mm (.19 -1.37 in)
Main
armament
1x 7.5 cm Pak 40
37 rounds
Engine
Maybach HL 62 TRM
140 PS (138 hp, 103 kW)
Power/weight
12.96 PS/tonne
Suspension
Leaf spring
Operational
range
190 km (118 mi)
Speed
40 km/h (25 mph)
THE KIT:
Tamiya is a prolific older model company based in Shizuoka City, Japan. They make all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a Marder II posed against an all-white background, which is Tamiya’s signature way of doing all their box arts.
The Marder II is over-all light tan with a cartoon character on the sides of the fighting compartment and the word “Kohlenklau” beneath it (Coal Thief). It has a narrow black and white German cross in the center of the sides of the fighting compartment and a red triangle with a white center and black letters IA on the white. There are 19 white kill ring victory markings around the gun barrel. A wood crate is mounted on one fender and another one is on the rear.
Two crew figures are shown looking out of the top. They are in tan uniforms with soft peak caps. Both are standing. One is supporting himself with his right arm and his left fist is against his hip. He has head-phones on. The other is holding a pair of binoculars. A flexible MG 32 is mounted between them.
One side panel has a small color repeat of the box art, followed by the history of the Marder II in Japanese.
The other side panel has color box arts of 4 other AFV kits that Tamiya markets:
A German Tiger I
A German Jagdpanther
A U.S. M-10 Tank Destroyer
A Russian KV-1 Tank
No kit numbers are given for any of these 4 and they all show scenery backgrounds, instead of Tamiya’s usual all-white. The kit was MADE IN JAPAN.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
The kit contains 3 light tan parts trees in 3 stapled-shut cello bags, a loose light tan hull tub and hull roof part, light tan poly-caps, the decal sheet, instructions and a small catalog sheet.
The instructions consist of a single sheet that accordion-folds out into 8 pages in 7 ¼” x 10 ¼” page format.
Page 1 of the instructions begins with a black and white repeat of the box art, followed by the history of the Marder II in Japanese.
Page 2 has the parts trees illustrations, with each part named in Japanese only. A black and white photo at the bottom of the page shows the model made up in the box art scheme.
Page 3 through 7 give a grand total of 16 assembly steps. Step 16 is for assembly of the 2 crew figures.
Page 8 has the painting and decal application instructions.
However, because it is all in Japanese not much can be ascertained…sigh. I wish these instructions were in English. Back in the 70’s when this kit came to the U.S. all Tamiya kits had the texts in Japanese only.
A 3-view is shown with a base of light tan with dark spots over it. It has 6 kill rings round the barrel and a narrow black and white German cross on the sides of the fighting compartment.
A side view is overall light tan with dark wave pattern over it
Another 3-view shows a Marder II with 5 kill rings around the barrel and small German crosses on the sides of the engine compartment.
5 division markings are shown, 1 tactical marking and the cartoon character for “Kohlenklau” and the triangle with IA on it.
It would have been nice to have had the division marks identified in English.
However, all was not lost for me. A modeling friend sent me a copy of the instructions all in English.
The division markings are for: 320 Infantry Div., 216th Infantry Div., 168th Infantry Div., 16th Motorized Infantry Div. and the 10th Panzer Grenadier Div.
The tactical symbol is for a self-propelled anti-tank gun vehicle.
For the triangle with IA in it, it just says it’s a unit mark.
The colors for the first 3-view is a base of dark yellow with dark green or red brown spots.
The colors on the next profile illustration are a base of dark yellow with dark green or red brown wave pattern.
No color is mentioned for the other 3-view.
Arrows point to where division marks and the tactical sign go.
Light tan letter A parts tree holds: the main gun parts, it’s front shield, ammo rounds etc. (45 parts)
Tamiya is a prolific older model company based in Shizuoka City, Japan. They make all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a Marder II posed against an all-white background, which is Tamiya’s signature way of doing all their box arts.
The Marder II is over-all light tan with a cartoon character on the sides of the fighting compartment and the word “Kohlenklau” beneath it (Coal Thief). It has a narrow black and white German cross in the center of the sides of the fighting compartment and a red triangle with a white center and black letters IA on the white. There are 19 white kill ring victory markings around the gun barrel. A wood crate is mounted on one fender and another one is on the rear.
Two crew figures are shown looking out of the top. They are in tan uniforms with soft peak caps. Both are standing. One is supporting himself with his right arm and his left fist is against his hip. He has head-phones on. The other is holding a pair of binoculars. A flexible MG 32 is mounted between them.
One side panel has a small color repeat of the box art, followed by the history of the Marder II in Japanese.
The other side panel has color box arts of 4 other AFV kits that Tamiya markets:
A German Tiger I
A German Jagdpanther
A U.S. M-10 Tank Destroyer
A Russian KV-1 Tank
No kit numbers are given for any of these 4 and they all show scenery backgrounds, instead of Tamiya’s usual all-white. The kit was MADE IN JAPAN.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
The kit contains 3 light tan parts trees in 3 stapled-shut cello bags, a loose light tan hull tub and hull roof part, light tan poly-caps, the decal sheet, instructions and a small catalog sheet.
The instructions consist of a single sheet that accordion-folds out into 8 pages in 7 ¼” x 10 ¼” page format.
Page 1 of the instructions begins with a black and white repeat of the box art, followed by the history of the Marder II in Japanese.
Page 2 has the parts trees illustrations, with each part named in Japanese only. A black and white photo at the bottom of the page shows the model made up in the box art scheme.
Page 3 through 7 give a grand total of 16 assembly steps. Step 16 is for assembly of the 2 crew figures.
Page 8 has the painting and decal application instructions.
However, because it is all in Japanese not much can be ascertained…sigh. I wish these instructions were in English. Back in the 70’s when this kit came to the U.S. all Tamiya kits had the texts in Japanese only.
A 3-view is shown with a base of light tan with dark spots over it. It has 6 kill rings round the barrel and a narrow black and white German cross on the sides of the fighting compartment.
A side view is overall light tan with dark wave pattern over it
Another 3-view shows a Marder II with 5 kill rings around the barrel and small German crosses on the sides of the engine compartment.
5 division markings are shown, 1 tactical marking and the cartoon character for “Kohlenklau” and the triangle with IA on it.
It would have been nice to have had the division marks identified in English.
However, all was not lost for me. A modeling friend sent me a copy of the instructions all in English.
The division markings are for: 320 Infantry Div., 216th Infantry Div., 168th Infantry Div., 16th Motorized Infantry Div. and the 10th Panzer Grenadier Div.
The tactical symbol is for a self-propelled anti-tank gun vehicle.
For the triangle with IA in it, it just says it’s a unit mark.
The colors for the first 3-view is a base of dark yellow with dark green or red brown spots.
The colors on the next profile illustration are a base of dark yellow with dark green or red brown wave pattern.
No color is mentioned for the other 3-view.
Arrows point to where division marks and the tactical sign go.
Light tan letter A parts tree holds: the main gun parts, it’s front shield, ammo rounds etc. (45 parts)
Light tan letter B parts tree holds: side shields, shovels, a pick, machine guns etc. (41 parts)
Light tan letter C parts tree holds: the floor, wood crates, figures, road wheels, drive sprockets, return rollers, idler wheels etc. (71 parts)
The individual light tan hull tub and hull roof parts are next.
This kit was also sold by Tamiya in a motorized version, so the hull tub has screw holes etc. in it that will have to be puttied up to do a static model.
The light tan tree of poly-caps holds 18 of them.
The light tan tree of poly-caps holds 18 of them.
The hull top is shown in the parts trees illustrations, but the hull tub is not shown. Neither are the poly-caps. These parts are not alphabetized either.
I also purchased the Elefant Model Accessories brand kit no. 35,400G of the 75mm Pak 40 turned aluminum gun barrel designed for this kit.
I also purchased the Elefant Model Accessories brand kit no. 35,400G of the 75mm Pak 40 turned aluminum gun barrel designed for this kit.
The kits vinyl tracks.
Kit decals
This kit has very nice detail. Highly recommended.
The kit has a copyright date of 1971 and that is about when I purchased my kit at my local hobby shop.
THE KIT:
Tamiya is a prolific older model company based in Shizuoka City, Japan. They make all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a Marder II posed against an all-white background, which is Tamiya’s signature way of doing all their box arts.
The Marder II is over-all light tan with a cartoon character on the sides of the fighting compartment and the word “Kohlenklau” beneath it (Coal Thief). It has a narrow black and white German cross in the center of the sides of the fighting compartment and a red triangle with a white center and black letters IA on the white. There are 19 white kill ring victory markings around the gun barrel. A wood crate is mounted on one fender and another one is on the rear.
Two crew figures are shown looking out of the top. They are in tan uniforms with soft peak caps. Both are standing. One is supporting himself with his right arm and his left fist is against his hip. He has head-phones on. The other is holding a pair of binoculars. A flexable MG 32 is mounted between them.
One side panel has a small color repeat of the box art, followed by the history of the Marder II in Japanese.
The other side panel has color box arts of 4 other AFV kits that Tamiya markets:
A German Tiger I
A German Jagdpanther
A U.S. M-10 Tank Destroyer
A Russian KV-1 Tank
No kit numbers are given for any of these 4 and they all show scenery backgrounds, instead of Tamiya’s usual all-white. The kit was MADE IN JAPAN.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
The kit contains 3 light tan parts trees in 3 stapled-shut cello bags, a loose light tan hull tub and hull roof part, light tan poly-caps, the decal sheet, instructions and a small catalog sheet.
The instructions consist of a single sheet that accordion-folds out into 8 pages in 7 ¼” x 10 ¼” page format.
Page 1 of the instructions begins with a black and white repeat of the box art, followed by the history of the Marder II in Japanese.
Page 2 has the parts trees illustrations, with each part named in Japanese only. A black and white photo at the bottom of the page shows the model made up in the box art scheme.
Page 3 through 7 give a grand total of 16 assembly steps. Step 16 is for assembly of the 2 crew figures.
Page 8 has the painting and decal application instructions.
However, because it is all in Japanese not much can be ascertained…sigh. I wish these instructions were in English. Back in the 70’s when this kit came to the U.S. all Tamiya kits had the texts in Japanese only.
A 3-view is shown with a base of light tan with dark spots over it. It has 6 kill rings round the barrel and a narrow black and white German cross on the sides of the fighting compartment.
A side view is overall light tan with dark wave pattern over it
Another 3-view shows a Marder II with 5 kill rings around the barrel and small German crosses on the sides of the engine compartment.
5 division markings are shown, 1 tactical marking and the cartoon character for “Kohlenklau” and the triangle with IA on it.
It would have been nice to have had the division marks identified in English.
However, all was not lost for me. A modeling friend sent me a copy of the instructions all in English.
The division markings are for: 320 Infantry Div., 216th Infantry Div., 168th Infantry Div., 16th Motorized Infantry Div. and the 10th Panzer Grenadier Div.
The tactical symbol is for a self-propelled anti-tank gun vehicle.
For the triangle with IA in it, it just says it’s a unit mark.
The colors for the first 3-view is a base of dark yellow with dark green or red brown spots.
The colors on the next profile illustration are a base of dark yellow with dark green or red brown wave pattern.
No color is mentioned for the other 3-view.
Arrows point to where division marks and the tactical sign go.
Light tan letter A parts tree holds: the main gun parts, it’s front shield, ammo rounds etc. (45 parts)