Could anyone tell me what company has the best kit for the german Marder II? I have become hooked on the tank and was wondering what kit is of the best quality to sate my thirst for marder

also, can PE parts be mixed, or must they go with the recommended kit?

EDIT: having checked on hannants, I am convinced that the tamiya kit is the way to go, since both Eduard and Czech Master models make pe for it. Plus a barrel and some tracks, and I may be able to make a detailed model for once.
please correct me if I am wrong in the above decision ^

Not a Marder expert by any means, but I've got the Alan Marder II Ausf D and the old Tamiya Marder II. The Alan kit is pretty good, especially for an eastern European kit. The Tamiya kit is pretty old and not as detailed. It is OOP as well.

Here is a Marder II reference site: http://www.elccweb.com/MissingLinks/Photophiles/marder2.pdf

Be careful, the detail sets for the Tamiya kit are most likely for the new Tamiya Marder III and Marder III M. Both are different vehicles based on the PzKpfw 38t and each is different from the Marder II (based on the PzKpfw II chassis).

Actually, the update set could well be for the MODERN Marder II. As a matter of fact, I do no have never seen a WW II Tamiya Marder II. The only Tamiya Marders I have seen is the MODERN Marder II, and the WWII Marder III.

Just to make sure, go see the instructions at the Eduard website (www.eduard.cz).

I have built the Tamiya Marder II it is the WW II with the Russian 7.62 cm AT gun. Matter a fact I won a box stock contest with it. I think with the add on you have listed you could make a really killer tank destroyer. One word of warning though watch the fit between the upper and lower hull is horrible!!!! I had to use one of those giant spring clamps like you use for woodworking to get mine together. But when done you get a great kit. If you really want to go nuts you could supper detail all the rivets. Also why your going at it get the Tamiya turned brass rounds for the Marder III it also uses the Russian 7.62. I also believe Friulmodel makes tracks for the Pz. II. Why your at it through in either the DML or Tristar self propelled gun crew. Ok I sure was getting a little carried away, maybe I'll have to revisit that kit. As far as being OOP you can find them on ebay pretty regularly just do a search under armor for Marder.

Rob is refering to Tamiya's TA35060 Marder II. It is being re-released in limited numbers in mid December!



Also check out this site: http://ampsnz.hobbyvista.com/gallery/WWII/German/SPG/MarderII/marderII.htm, here Steve Evans details the Tamiya kit and adds modified Dragon figures to enhance it.

Spectre

Assuming you are talking the WWII Marder II, I am presently working on one with the Eduard PE set. Goes together well - my first attempt at PE so I have only used half of the sheet. The only thing I changed was the plastic saw blade - I cut the handles off and used the plastic part as a master to cut up some soft drink can for a more in scale thickness blade.

I didn't have the upper to lower hull fit problem that Kenneth spoke of.

The positive is that the rubber band tracks provide the correct tension. Numerous photos I found on the net ot stationary Marders show no sag in the tracks.

Brian

Hey Guys,
A few things to bear in mind. It is an older Tamiya Kit so it has a few small problems. Fit is one of them but also it has motorization holes and soft detail. That said I think this kit is a great kit for someone with a few under their belts and are looking to spread their wings so to speak. It is not up to todays kit standards but with attetion to detail and a little patience it will build into a decent kit.
Cheers,
Bryan
P.S
Ken, the Tamiya Marder II acutally has a Pak 40 7.5 cm anti tank gun and not the Russian 76.2 mm at gun. The Alan Marder does have the Russian gun though.

Tamiya modern Marders are the Marder 1 and the Marder 1A2 (same kit with a Milan missile add-on sprue). I know the modern Marders since I have them both. Revell of Germany also makes a modern Marder 1A3 in both 1/35 and 1/72. I've got both of these as well. I'm not familiar with a modern Marder II, perhaps you would care to enlighten me?

Spectre asked about the WW2 Marder II (shown courtesy of Savage). I built that kit when I was stationed in Germany (87-90) and at the time, thought it was a pretty good kit. It was the first kit I ever tried using a 3x5 card with some irregular holes to do the camouflage scheme. Wasn't too bad, but I can do better now.

Tamiya made/makes five (5) kits with the Marder name:
35060 WW2 German Marder II
35098 Modern German Marder Schutzenpanzer
35162 Modern German Marder 1A2 w/Milan
35248 WW2 German Marder III
35255 WW2 German Marder III M

It is nice to know that the Tamiya Marder II is being reissued. The tracks had the smooth inner surface with a token centerguide tooth. Other than that, I remember it being a fairly nice kit.

The Alan Marder II D is decent in detail, but is a bear to build. The gun was a soft spot in this kit. I bought the Zvezda Zis-3 76mm anti-tank gun to replace the kit gun, but have not gotten around to mounting it in the Alan kit.

Apologies, apologies, apologies... I did not know Tamiya ever made the WW2 Marder II. I will go hide in shame now....

Harm
The aim, I believe, is not to shame you! It is all about collective knowledge; each little bit shared makes all of us who read it more knowledgeable.