Marder III M

by: Garfield Ingram

This is the Tamiya Marder IIM built straight from the box.

Despite its small size, this is not a weekend build in my view. There are plenty of tiny detail bits that can be simply assembled but call out for lots of highlighting and weathering. I found the kit to be the usal Tamiya high quality making assembly a dream. Some of the interior parts, I found to be rather hard to put together but it is due to my clumsiness.

It's a good idea to think through the assembly sequence carefully as this model is best painted as components. as getting into the deep reaches of the crew compartment for weathering will be almost impossible once the gun is in place. 

I painted the model with a base coat of Tamiya 'Panzer Yellow', and used for the first time, a salt mask before spraying on the whitewash. This is done by first painting the surface with clear water, followed by a sprinkling of table salt. A small brush was used to move it around to the areas that would have heavier wear. Once dry, Tamiya white was sprayed overall. Once this had dried, I ran the model under a tap and gently scrubbed the salt away with a soft brush. More chips and scratches were added later to make white-washed areas a bit more realistic.

Mig's 'Neutral Wash', was used next followed by a series of darker washes and streaks. At the time of this build, there are no accessories available for this kit but I am sure Hauler will be fast out of the blocks with a detail set. All in all, Tamiya has hit another home run with this kit!

Following are some in-progress shots.