Tamiya 35390 M36 Tank Destroyer 1/35 Scale Plastic Model Kit

Tamiya ventured into the modeling business in 1948, with a scale wooden ship model kit. Since then, Tamiya has been striving to offer merchandise that can truly be called 'First in Quality Around the World.' Now Tamiya is offering more than 300 different products, both in the fields of precision static models and high performance radio control vehicles. These products are not only sold in Japan but also exported in vast quantities to the United States, Europe, South East Asia, and to many other parts of the world. The standard of excellence achieved by Tamiya is regarded as among the very finest in the world of model hobbies. This finely detailed plastic model kit requires assembly and painting. Item is brand new and in its original factory packaging. Listing images are stock pictures provided by the manufacturer or the distributor. This 1/35 scale plastic model assembly kit recreates the U.S. Tank Destroyer M36 with a length of 216mm and width of 88mm. Originally released in 1968 as a motorized single motor kit, the M36 has now been entirely retooled from the ground up, except for the M2 heavy machine gun and clear parts, which are shared with other Tamiya WWII kits. Based on extensive research of the actual tank, this updated version faithfully captures the open-top turret design and features detailed turret interiors including the 90mm gun breech and auxiliary machinery. The M36 was developed during WWII as an improvement over the M10 tank destroyer, which had proven ineffective against heavily armored German tanks like the Tiger and Panther. Built on the M10A1 chassis and powered by a 450hp gasoline engine, the M36 featured a new turret design and first saw action on the Franco-German border in October 1944, continuing in service until Germany’s surrender in May 1945, with over 1,000 units deployed across 21 battalions. The kit also includes a realistically shaped turret rear counterweight with curved form and cast surface texture achieved via slide molding, along with a full interior featuring shell racks, bulkheads, and flooring. Additional parts allow for the assembly of the exhaust deflector, tow hooks, tow cables, ammunition cases, and one full-body tanker figure. The tracks are of the assembly type with one-piece straight sections, and two marking options are provided to recreate either a 3rd Army vehicle in Luxembourg or a 774th Tank Destroyer Battalion vehicle in Germany.