【TAMIYA Military Miniature Series】British 7-Ton 4x4 Armored Car Mk.IV: True-to-Life Realism

Let's enjoy the British Army armored car that ran through battlefields with a model!

Hearing military vehicles active in World War II, many people might recall profound tanks. However, on battlefields, vehicles outstanding in mobility that search enemy movements or transmit information to units also played important roles. An existence that can be called such an unsung hero is the British Army's 7-ton 4-wheel armored car. “1/48 British 7-Ton 4-Wheel Armored Car Mk.IV” introduced this time is a plastic model assembly kit reproducing its final evolved type. Its unique style equipped with powerful armor and armaments on a compact vehicle body is attractive, allowing you to taste the fun of military models different from general tanks. For people who want to enjoy a light atmosphere unique to wheeled armored cars, it is a machine we want you to pay attention to by all means.

If speaking of features of the 7-ton 4-wheel armored car, what we want to touch upon first is excellent running performance. Adopting a 90-horsepower engine and 4-wheel drive system, the maximum speed was surprisingly 72km/h. As a military armored car of those days, it held extremely light performance. Furthermore, adopting sloped armor combining armor plates arranged diagonally for the vehicle body. Making the structure conscious of defense power and undercarriage capable of moving quickly compatible is an interesting point. Differing from tanks that take enemy attacks with heavy armor, a design philosophy of carrying out missions utilizing mobility can be felt, can't it? Truly an existence like a hound running around battlefields, and knowing that rational mechanism increases the fun of looking at details of the model too.

This armored car was repeatedly improved from Mk.I to Mk.IV. In Mk.II, armor of the vehicle body was reviewed, and coming to Mk.III, it developed into a design expanding the interior volume of the turret. And in the final type Mk.IV, a major change of being equipped with a 37mm gun in place of the 15mm machine gun up to then was added. Through strengthening of armaments, a further intrepid impression was born in the exterior as well. The production count of the entire series reached over 3,600 vehicles, among which Mk.IV accounted for approximately 2,000 vehicles. From the point of being the most produced type as well, the importance of this final type can be inferred, can't it? In the late half of the war, it was deployed to the Northwest European front, Italian front, etc., playing an active role in missions such as command and reconnaissance. Producing based on such history of the actual vehicle, even in a small model a battlefield story seems capable of being felt.

The highlight as a plastic model is the unique form reproduced based on actual vehicle coverage. The scale is 1/48, and the total length upon completion is 95mm, overall width 48mm. While being a size fitting into a palm, features of the actual vehicle such as the vehicle body where sloped armor plates are combined and the turret with presence are firmly expressed. What is particularly interesting is the point where ease of assembly is considered while reproducing complex shapes. For the lower surface of the vehicle body and undercarriage of 4-wheel drive, it aims for a finish with a three-dimensional feel while suppressing the number of parts through integration of parts. Merely combining large amounts of fine parts is not the charm of plastic models. A way of enjoying where an actual vehicle-like figure appears upon completion while assembling efficiently is also a feature of this kit.

Even with a small armored car, impressions change greatly with slight directions. In this kit, because the crew hatch of the turret can be selected from open state and closed state, finishing matched to preference is possible. Furthermore, that a half-body figure of a commander is attached is also a delightful point. If opening the hatch and arranging the crew, you can imagine the figure of the armored car carrying out missions while checking surrounding situations, and if in a closed state, you can show the silhouette of the entire vehicle body neatly. The atmosphere of the completed product changing depending on which expression is chosen is interesting, isn't it? Not to mention displaying as a standalone, the fun of combining with other 1/48 scale military vehicles to make scenery expands too.