KG Wings - ACE Panhard M3 VTT 1:72 scale

Panhard M3 VTT
Armored Personnel Carrier

Flag of Iraq

Iraqi Army
1991

ACE

This model added to kgwings.com on September 25, 2011

The Panhard M3 VTT (French: Véhicule de Transport de Troupes) Armored Personnel Carrier was designed as a private venture with the first prototype completed in 1969 and the first production vehicle in1971.

The M3 is fully amphibious without preparation and can carry up to 10 combat troops in addition to the crew of 2, or it can carry 3,000lbs (1360kg.) of cargo.

The M3 shares 95% of its working parts with the Panhard AML reconnaissance vehicle, encouraging many countries to employ both the M3 and the AML in order to reduce operational costs.

There are four doors in the M3, one in each side of the hull and two in the rear. The rear doors both have circular firing ports. Along the top of each side of the hull are three hatches that can be locked open.

There are two circular hatches in the roof, the one at the rear has a single-piece hatch cover and the one behind the engine compartment is fitted with an STB ring mount where the hatch opens forward to form a shield for the 7.62 mm machine gun.

The M3 has a maximum speed of 56MPH (90 km/h) on road and its Panhard 4HD V4 gas engine is relatively fuel efficient resulting in good range.

When production ended in 1994, more than 1,220 vehicles were made for export and many of these vehicles are still in use today.

This kit by ACE is a limited run kit so it takes a bit more effort to assemble than most of today's state-of-the-art kits. ACE tends to make up for this shortcoming by offering subjects that no other manufacturer has produced, and usually with a relatively high degree of accuracy.

Included in the kit are 6 external gas cans, fire extinguisher, and 2 pairs of machine guns.

The railing for the rear machine gun is not included in the kit so I made mine out of scrap of copper electrical wire.

The soft vinyl/rubber tires provided in the kit have very nice tread and sidewall detail, they really help the kit to look less toy-like.

I really love the design of the forward hatch that doubles for a shield, a very clever design.

Here is my M3 before painting. You can see the masking tape and copper wire I added for extra detail. Also note the filler required at the hull seams.

The last detail added before painting was this tarp made from folded aluminum foil and masking tape.

After a base coat of Yellow Sand it's starting to look pretty good. Here it's parked on the workbench next to my ERC-90 F1, another ACE kit.

Typical of other ACE kits, the M3 takes extra care to assemble, but the end result is well worth the effort. I'm very happy to add this kit to my collection.

Kit: ACE #72411

Scale: 1/72

Value:

The online price for this kit is usually around $13.00(US) which is a pretty good deal in today's inflated hobby market.

Decals:

Decals are provided for Nigerian UN Forces Somolia 1993, United Arab Emirates Somalia 1993, Iraq Army 1991, and Spanish Marine Corps (Fuerzas Navales) 1976.
My decals were printed very sharp and in register however they were extremely brittle and broke apart when separating from the sheet. I had to assemble them like a jigsaw puzzle in place on the kit, this is the first time I've had this problem with ACE decals.

Assembly:

The kit includes 68 parts molded in white plastic on 4 sprue trees, 5 soft rubber/vinyl tires, one decal sheet and a 4-page black and white instruction sheet.

Construction begins with the assembly of the 5 pieces that form the hull. There are no locating pins so careful sanding and test fitting is required to get the hull aligned properly. Filler is needed to fill small gaps along the roof and floor.

Nearly all parts require light sanding to remove seams and/or excess flash.

Confusing directions are provided to modify the coil spring/shock-absorbers and suspension arms so the tires fit properly. I found it best to attach the fenders first, then carefully sand and test fit the wheel assemblies until everything fits. The soft rubber/vinyl tires are very nicely molded and take paint well. A spare wheel and hub are included for stowage on the side of the hull, not evident on the instruction sheet is the hub should mount outer-face-in onto the hull.

The drivers hatch and both roof hatches can be positioned opened or closed. The roof openings are small enough that it's nearly impossible to notice there are no internal details provided in the kit. It would be a good idea to scratch build the front wall of the engine compartment if the driver's hatch is left open as it would be noticeably empty there.

Separately molded pioneer tools, fire extinguisher and petrol cans are included. The pick was too large to fit where the instructions suggest so I left it of.

Two options of armament are provided, a pair of Belgian FN MAG 7.62mm machine guns and a pair of French 7.62mm AAT-NF1.

Six external gas cans are provided with instructions for optional mounting positions.

For the most part, once the hull and suspension is assembled, the rest goes together very smoothly.

After Market Parts Used: None

Customizations:

Copper wire was used to create the rail-mount for the rear machine gun. Wire was also used to make lifting hooks on the roof hull. Strips of masking tape were used to make tie-down straps for the gas cans. Stretched sprue was used to make antennae.

Recommendation:

This should be an interesting subject for any fan of modern day armored cars. To my knowledge it is the only offering of the M3 VTT in any scale. For this reason alone the kit is worth purchasing. Being a short run kit it requires clean up and test fitting, so it is not an ideal kit for a beginner, but a mid-skill level modeler will be able to tackle it with a bit of patience.

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