I am putting together a Italeri Marder 3, and you can see a little in where the driver and machine gun operator sets, they give you two small seats for them to set in, but looking at the pictures of the real Marder 3, there is the transmission or transfer box, which ever it is called, but it is four to five times bigger then the seats, but they don't give you that piece, I wonder if they figured that all that stuff is in the sealed engine room in the back of the tank, now I can see if it is all sealed up like the back where nobody can see, but I'd think if they are going to give you the seats, that they would give this part to, anybody notice other military models that have big inaccuracies like this ? Straightedge

I think it's up to the model companies to make the arbitrary decisions what to include. My guess is that the Marder recycles parts from the 38(t), which in turn probably included the seats to either plop plastic butts into, or because they would be very visible from open hatches. Recycle the kit so the back is open, and suddenly the hidden areas are visible!

Other noticed "missing pieces" were in the Dragon BRDM-3 I put together. It has big, open transparent windows, with absolutely no interior to show behind those windows! Needless to say, the BRDM was depicted as "buttoned up" with the armor shield lowered over the windshield.

Mika

The Marder 3 has the transfer case setting inbetween the seats just as high as the seats, and goes from the front on the tank, to the back of the seats, on the real tank, you would see it way before you would the seats, as a matter of fact it looks as though the people had to climb over the back of the seats to get into the seats, just because of the big transfer case, and same way with the model if it had it, so I'm trying to scratch build one, the one good thing about it is, you don't have that much room to see it, so it doesn't haft to be perfect, just the back part where it is visable, and not able to hide. Now I'm trying to think what yours looks like, now I know the model companies can leave off anything they want, but I just can't figure how they missed this part, to when they done about everything else so good.

Hello Mika, do you have a better description then a Dragon BRDM-3, I've looked at a couple different internet stores trying to find it, to see what it looks like, and I couldn't find anything matching that description, if you would I'd appreciate it. Thank you Kerry

Never mind Mika, I finally found it, I think I looked through almost everything that Dragon made before I found it, it is an armored car with rocket launchers on top, but I could only see little vision blocks on the picture I seen, and another thing is, I never dreamed Dragon made all the stuff I seen at that model place I looked at, I didn't know they made 1/6 figures.

straightedge,

Here's my build:


Mika

See you can hide your interior, but on the Italeri Marder 3 you can't, now the Tamiya one they store ammo there, but the Italeri has it all open, to see down in to the interior, to why they are so much difference between Tamiya, and Italeri, I don't know, they have the same name, and that little box on the right side of the tank that fits on top of the fender, with little holes in the top, are the only similarities, everything else looks different by at least a little degree. Also that is a pretty good looking model you have there Mika, at first old tanks, and wheeled armor wasn't my thing, but sense I've been coming here to armorama, I have had a big change in the way I see things, as a matter of fact, I got some wheeled armored vehicles on order, and I would love to get some of the older tanks with character in their track system, but if I live long enough, I plan to get just about everyone made, my whole house is filled wall to wall, with shelf's to put them.

What about the other extreme? Just building the Trumpeter chinese multi barrel rocket launcher, nice desiel engine interior crying out for the piping wiring etc. to be added. But don't waste your time unless you leave the upper hull removable, not really an option though. All you can see once its in is the intake phlenums and a valve cover. I also picked up their 152mm spg based on same hull so I wont be doing up that engine etc. Nice builds though and intresting vehicles.