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Academy 1:35 - M3 Stuart "Honey" British version (Replaces ACA01399) - Plastic Model Kit #13270
The M3 Stuart was an American light tank that had been delivered to British forces by the US Government during WWII, before the Americans officially entered the war. Subsequently it was deployed by the Allies until the capitulation of Germany.
"Stuart" was a nickname given in reference to James Stuart, an American Confederate States Army general of the Civil War. When a British tankman saw the tank for the first time, he remarked "She's a honey". That name stuck and in British service the M3 was often referred to as "Honey".
Compared to the previous Light Tank M2, the Stuart had an improved suspension, better gun recoil mechanism and thicker armour, unusual for a light tank. The vehicle was armed with a 37mm M5 gun (which was later replaced with a longer M6 version) and a several Browning machine guns. The tank production lasted from 1941 to 1943.
In 1941 the British army had 700 Stuart tanks in service, 170 of which were deployed in Operation Crusader in North Africa. Though Stuarts surpassed most of the Axis tanks in many respects, the operation was unsuccessful due to the poor tactics of British troops.
In the following years the British usually avoided using Stuarts in tank-to tank fights, deploying them mostly in reconnaissance operations. In some cases the turret was removed for the sake of lighter weight and better mobility (such versions were known as "Stuart Recce"), some other units were transformed to either armoured personnel carriers ("Stuart Kangaroo") or command vehicles ("Stuart Command"). The M3 served with the British army till the end of the war, though in smaller numbers than those used by the Americans.
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Academy 1:35 - M36/M36B2 US Army "Battle of the Bulge" - Plastic Figure Model Kit #13501
The American tank destroyer M36 was designed in 1943 when the US Army needed a powerful vehicle to combat German Panther and Tiger tanks. This new tank was nicknamed "Jackson" in reference to the Confederate General of the Civil War, Stonewall Jackson. The M36's turret mounted the 90 mm gun M3 allowing the tank to nail down any known German tanks at 1000 to 2500m range depending on the armour thickness. However, due to its open-top turret the tank was vulnerable to shell fragments and snipers. Field modifications, particularly additional roof iron plating, were hastily performed by the crews. Later on folding panels were developed for protection against shell fragments, these were adopted by the M36B2.
Kit details:
- Can be built as M36 or M36B2
- 90mm main gun
- .50 caliber machine gun
- Over 600 plastic parts
- Photo-etched parts included
- Detailed driver's station
- Detailed hull interior with crew and ammo stowage
- Detailed turret interior including stowage and gun breech
The following markings are provided:
- M36, US Army 82nd Airborne Div, Belgium, 1944
- M36, US Army 703rd TD, Belgium, 1944
- M36, US Army 2nd Cavalry, Germany 1945
- M36B2, ROK Army, 53rd Tank Company, 1953
- M36B2, France Régiment Blindé Colonial d'Extrême-Orient, Tonkin, 1951
- M36B2, France Régiment Blindé Colonial d'Extrême-Orient, Tonkin, 1953
Download the manual here
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Academy 1:35 - M4A3 76mm US Army "Battle of the Bulge" - Plastic Figure Model Kit #13500
The Medium Tank M4 Sherman was commonly used by the United States and other Western Allies during WWII. The tank was produced in large numbers, with thousands distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and Soviet Union. The British called the M4 'Sherman' after the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.
During the Second World War, about 19,247 Sherman tanks were issued to the US Army and about 1,114 to the US Marine Corps. Moreover, the U.S. supplied 17,184 tanks to Great Britain, some of which went to the Canadians and the Free Poles. The Soviet Union received 4,102 vehicles and an estimated 812 were transferred to China. These tanks were distributed to the respective countries' allied nations.
The M4A3 was a sub-type of the Sherman tank. It featured a welded hull and was powered by a Ford GAA engine. Its armament consisted of a 76mm cannon and a 12.7mm machine gun. This variant was mainly deployed by the US Army with only a few units sent to France and Nicaragua. A number of these tanks took part at the Battle of Bulge in December 1944.
Check out a step by step video of building this kit here
Download the manual here
Kit details:
- Engine deck, VVSS suspention (late version) and accessories newly tooled
- Main canon and 12.7mm machine gun accurately reproduced
- T48 duckbill tracks included
- Photo-etched parts and 6 marking options included
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Academy 1:35 - M7 105mm SPG Priest - Plastic Model Kit #13210
The M7 Priest, a 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle used during World War II by US, British and French forces. It was named Priest by the British Army because of the pulpit-style machine gun ring, and following on in theme from the Bishop and the contemporary Deacon self-propelled guns.
Download the manual here
Kit details:
- 318 parts (316 in olive green coloured styrene, 2 in steel coloured vinyl)
- Photo-etched parts and 4 marking options included
Decals provided:
- 2nd Armored Division, US Army, Sicily, July 1943
- Battery B, 14th AFAB, 2nd Armoured Division, US Army, Nomandy, July 1944
- 11th Regt, Royal Horse Artillery, 1st Armoured Division, El Alamein, 1942
- 31st Firing Battery, 64 RADB, 2nd Armoured Division, French Army, France, Sept 1944
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Academy 1:35 - T-34/76 No. 183 Factory Production - Plastic Model Kit #13505
The Soviet medium tank T-34 was the most produced tank of WWII that replaced many light and medium tanks in service with the Red Army. The initial version of the T-34 was equipped with a powerful 76.2 mm gun, and is often called the T-34/76.
Most of these tanks were produced at Factory No.183 which in September 1941 was evacuated from its original location in Kharkiv to Nizhniy Tagil when it became clear that Kharkiv was in danger of falling to the Germans. Factory No.183 in Nizhniy Tagil (Uralskiy Tankovyj Zavod, Ural Tank Factory) produced just over 15 thousand of the T-34/76 tanks. By the end of WWII, T-34's comprised at least 55% of the Soviet tank production. In the beginning of the war this figure was 4%.
When Germany launched the invasion of the Soviet Union, the T-34 was superior to any German tank and destroying T-34's in combat proved to be very difficult. However, the Red Army had still lost large numbers of these new tanks in 1941 due to the tactical and operational skills of the Germans as well as mechanical breakdowns which accounted for at least 50% of Soviet tank losses at the time. In the following years the T-34 saw a number of improvements while Germany continued to develop anti-tank guns capable of penetrating the T-34's armour. By 1943, the 76.2 mm gun was unable to penetrate the armour of the new German tanks and the Soviet Union began the production of the improved version of the T-34, the T-34/85.
Markings are provided for five options:
T-34/76, Unidentified Unit, Prokhorovka, July 1943
T-34/76, 264th Armoured Brigade, Ukraine, December 1943
T-34/76, Unidentified Unit, Kursk, July 1943
OT-34/76, Unidentified Unit, Pskov, Recovered in 2006
OT-34/76, Unidentified Unit, Unknown Area
Tank dimensions: Height 73 mm, Length 193 mm
Box size: 403 x 264 x 68 mm
Download the instruction manual here.
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Academy 1:35 - US M3A1 Stuart Light Tank (Replaces ACA01398) - Plastic Model Kit #13269
The M3 Stuart was an American light tank delivered to British forces by the US Government during WWII, before the Americans officially entered the war. Subsequently it was deployed by the Allies until the capitulation of Germany.
"Stuart" was a nickname given in reference to James Stuart, an American Confederate States Army general of the Civil War. Compared to the previous Light Tank M2, the Stuart had an improved suspension, better gun recoil mechanism and thicker armour, unusual for a light tank. The vehicle was armed with a 37mm M5 gun (which was later replaced with a longer M6 version) and several Browning machine guns. The tank production lasted from 1941 to 1943.
The M3A1 was an American variant of the Stuart, also referred to as the Stuart III. Its production started in 1942 and within the following year over 4,000 units were built. The M3A1 featured a redesigned turret with a turret basket and no cupola. Machine guns were excluded from the design, however a gun stabilizer was installed for better aiming.
Includes:
- 732 parts
- Upper hull, lower hull and turret
- Individual track links
- Rubber-band track sets
- Fibre cord
- Decal sheet
Decal options:
- M3A1 Stuart, US Army (1775-Now), 3 Platoon, company C 1 Armoured Battalion, 1 Armoured Division, World War II, Tunisia TN, December 1942, olive drab
- M3A1 Stuart, US Marine Corps (1798-Now), 3 Marine Tank Battalion Painintheass, World War II, Bouganville, November 1942, olive drab
- M3A1 Stuart, US Marine Corps (1798-Now), 3 Marine Tank Battalion The Pay Off, Bouganville, November 1942, olive drab
- M3A1 Stuart, SU Military Soviet Army, World War II, 1943
- M3A1 Stuart, SU Military Soviet Army, World War II, Voronez (summer), 1942
You can download the instruction sheets here.
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Academy 1:35 - M18 Hellcat (ACA01375) - Plastic model kit #13255
The American M18 Hellcat, officially known as the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18, was a tank destroyer actively used by the U.S. troops at the Italian and North-West European fronts during World War II. Due to its light armour, roofless turret and small overall size, the M18 Hellcat was one of the fastest tank destroyers produced in the U.S., and thus gained the reputation of the most efficient American armoured vehicle of World War II.
However, the open turret which provided for the high velocity, could not provide the crew with proper protection against enemy shells. In addition, the 76 mm gun power was not enough to cause any serious damage in German Tiger and Panther tanks. Later, as a solution to this problem, High Velocity Armour Piercing ammunition was added to the Hellcat design thus improving its penetration abilities.
Once the war ended, plenty of M18 tank destroyers were acquired by other countries such as Yugoslavia, China and Venezuela.
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Academy 1:35 - M4A3 Sherman W/T34 Calliope - Plastic model kit #13294
The T34 (Calliope) was a tank-mounted multiple rocket launcher used by the U.S. Army during World War II. The launcher was mounted on top of the Medium Tank M4, with its prominent vertical side frames fixed to the turret's sides. It carried sixty 4.5in (114mm) rockets in 36 tubes on the top, and a pair of 12 tubes groups (24 tubes of groups that could be jettisoned) on the bottom.
The T34 was developed in 1943; small numbers were produced and used by US armour units in 1944-45. The T34 takes its name from the musical instrument "Calliope", also known as the steam organ, which had parallel pipes of a similar nature, and which had in history existed on steamboats of the Mississippi River.
£37.00 GBP
Academy 1:35 - U.S. Tank Destroyer M10 GMC '70th Anniversary of Normandy Invasion, 1944-2014' - Plastic model kit #13288
The M10 was a U.S. tank destroyer of World War II based on the chassis of the M4 Sherman tank fitted with the 3-inch (76.2mm) Gun M7. Previously known as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage, M10, it was the most important U.S. tank destroyer of World War II in terms of numbers produced and combined a nearly all-sloped armour adaptation of the Sherman hull and drivetrain, with a potent anti-tank weapon within an open-topped, 360º rotation turret mount for its main armament. This was different to the M3 GMC, whose main armament was capable of only a limited traverse, given that it was essentially an adaptation of a self-propelled artillery platform.
The M10 remained in service until the end of the war and its chassis was later re-employed with a new turret to create the M36 Jackson tank, which used a 90mm gun instead of the 76.2mm.
The M10 was dubbed the Wolverine by British troops, although unlike other vehicle names such as the M4 Sherman, the name was not adopted by American soldiers, who called it TD (a nickname for any tank destroyer in general) beyond its formal designation.
£36.00 GBP
Academy 1:35 - U.S. Tank Destroyer M36B1 - Plastic model kit #13279
The M36 tank destroyer, also known as the '90mm Gun Motor Carriage - M36', was an American tank destroyer used during World War II. The M36 was essentially an improved M10, replacing the M10's 3 inch (76.2mm) M7 with a more powerful 90mm gun.
The vehicle first began to appear in September 1944 in European Operations. About 1,400 M36's were produced in total during the war. The requirement for 90mm gunned tank destroyers was so urgent that during late 1944, 187 conversions of the standard Medium Tank M4A3 (Sherman tank) hulls were produced by Grand Blanc Arsenal. These were designated M36B1, rushed to operations and used in combat alongside other M36's.
The M36 proved to be a match for any German tanks. It also later saw use in the Korean War, and was able to defeat any of the Soviet made tank armour it faced. Some were supplied to Korea as part of the MAP (Military Assistance Program), others served in Yugoslavia, which operated into the 1990s, two remained in service with the Republic of China Army until 2001.
American soldiers referred to M36's as TD's or 'tank destroyers'. The US Army assigned the nickname Jackson in 1944 to honour the Civil War Confederate General, but this name did not stick during the war, only becoming popular later in the 1970s.
Kit details:
10 plastic sprues
1 small photo-etched fret
1 length of string
1 small decal sheet
Instruction Sheet