Warlord Games Marder III

The Marder is now "painted". The crew is now being painted.

No flash.

 With flash.

 There is a splash of grey paint on one o the water bottles. Now fixed.

Warlord Games Marder III

So I have undercoated the Marder, first with Citadel Chaos Black, followed by Citadel Zandri Dust spray.

 The road wheel tyres are Vallejo Black Grey. The helmets are Citadel Steel Legion Drab, the water bottles are Citadel Mournfang Brown. Though it is not really noticeable, the crate is Vallejo Old Wood.

The ammo box, two of the jerry cans, the jack and the locations of the Balkankreus identifiers are Citadel Mechanics Standard Grey. The two tarpaulins and the small pack are Citadel Death World Forest.

Tracks were painted a mix of Vallejo Black,  Black Grey and Burnt Cadmium Red. A similar mix was used on the exhaust silencer.

The track was dry brushed with Citadel Mechanicus Standard Grey.

View of the gun.

Warlord Games Marder III

In the previous post the crew of the Marder were shown in place. They were pinned using 1mm brass rod. Getting the holes in the right place took some trial and error. In the photograph below, only the arrowed holes are in the correct place.

The others will need to be filled.

Warlord Games Marder III

So I have been adding hard stowage to the Marder and trying to get the crew into position.

The gunner and loader have used heads with peaked hats from the Warlord German Grenadiers set. The commander has the right arm from the Grenadier set. Not quite decided what to do with the left arm. The jack does not really fit in the position from the instructions so I put it on the side panels above the block. A machine pistol has been hung from the base of the right hand folded up seat. Two water bottles from the ex Wargames Factory survivors are also glued to the side panels.

A turret bin from the PSC Churchill has been added to the track guard and a Rubicon large ammo crate from the Allied Stowage set has been tucked under the side plate. Another two water bottles and a Warlord Blitzkrieg helmet have also been added.

The ubiquitous bucket (another Rubicon item from the German Stowage set) is pinned under the exhaust and a Rubicon German jerry can with microstrip straps is glued to the rear right of the fighting compartment. The helmets on the seat backs are from the original heads for the crew, brutally cut off heads and then pinned under the seat cushioning.

Another two jerry cans are to be fitted on the right hand end of the fighting compartment.

The bucket, the bottles and the helmets need some Greenstuff hangings. Tarpaulins need to be added to the mudguards.

Warlord Games Marder III - the crew

On the Rubicon forum I was asked about the crew of the Marder III.

There are three crew figures included. One has a soft hat and headphones, the other two are supplied withholds with helmets.

Slightly out of focus comparison between the crew and a Warlord Blitzkrieg German.

Comparison with William Killian.

Crew and William Killian comparison.

Warlord Games Marder III - built - comparison with Warlord Games Resin Panzer 38(t)

Here is a comparison photograph with the old Warlord Games Resin Panzer 38(t).

The plastic Panzer 38(t) is due out later in the year.

Warlord Games Marder III - built

So the SDKFZ 139 Marder III is now built.

Overall it is a nice kit. There are issues with the instructions, specifically the assembly of the nose section to the hull tub, the rivet detail on the inside of the track units prevents the insertion of the nose section between them, The instructions for the assembly of the bracing/handles inside the gun shield are unclear, and if you fix the gun mounting to the hull very difficult to fit (I needed to access them from beneath to get them in the sort of correct position).

The gun is very detailed compared to the normal turret mount weapons, You can see two of the braces/handles between the gun mount and the gun shields. Not completely convinced that they are in the correct orientation.

 I drilled out three of the ready rounds as if they had been fired and not replaced in the racks. They are slightly smaller in diameter that the rounds but I was not convinced the plastic would have taken a larger diameter hole.

Overhead shot.

 Comparison shoots of the Marder III (based on the Panzer 38(t)) and a Rubicon Jagdpanzer 38(t).

The Jagdpanzer is also based on the Panzer 38(t) but has a lengthened and widened chassis.

Overhead shot, showing I should of dusted the Jagdpanzer. I will finish it someday.

The Smoking Gun - Warlord SDKFZ 139

There has been some dispute over what the Warlord Games Marder III kit represents.

Evidently the mould makers have a view.

This of course contradicts the box description as an AUSF H which is the PaK 40/3 armed version with a different superstructure.

Having read the instructions (are part numbers too difficult to put on the sprues - referring to the sprue photographs is irritating), there is a lot more detail than would be expected from a plain upscale of the PSC 38(t)/138/139 kit. Some of the parts however do show their origin, the base superstructure sides are at least 4mm thick (if not a scale foot) and the top deck (shown below) is still rather thick. However this is hidden by the sides. The track guards however are not excessively thick.

There are a couple of issues with the instructions (so far). The nose is added to the chassis after the track units have been added. This is not possible without damaging the rivet detail on the inside of the sprocket back. I would advise adding the nose to the hull tub before adding the track units.

I have also not fixed the gun mounting to the hull, it appears to be able to be placed on the hull without fouling. It should make it easier to work with.

Warlord Games Marder III

Warlord Games have released a kit of the Marder III tank destroyer.

The box claims it is a Marder III Ausf H, which is a SDKFZ 138 armed with a German 75mm PaK 40/3. Except it is a Marder III SDKFZ 139 armed with a modified Soviet 76.2mm field gun. In the descriptive text it says it is armed with the Soviet weapon.

Both were based on the Czech designed Panzer 38(t) tank.

Instruction booklet with colour photographs of painted models, data card, decals and smoke markers.

This looks like a common Panzer 38(t) chassis.

These are the components specific to the Marder III.