Another contender for the stash!

Is this that Argentinian tank based on Marder components? Looks nice & competent. Wonder who else uses them. Good kit subject.

Yes, the TAM -Tanque Argentino Mediano, for Argentine Medium Tank- project started in the early 70's, and was a joint work between Argentine Army and Tyssen Henschel, developed by an Argentinian and German engineer team, largely based on the Marder IFV. So far no other countries had got the TAM, no matter some attempts made by Argentine authorities. It's hard to compete with major players in this field, even Brazil has just been able to be a significant producer only within the light armored vehicles market and light trainer planes. Their MBT project "Osorio" didn't go beyond the prototype stage. To be fair, you have to keep in mind that the TAM is a very light tank, with a weight around the 30 tons. This means agility but very light armor. So not everyone's needs... Nowadays the TAM fleet cries out for a serious modernisation and proper maintenance, but chronical budget restraints keep it relegated -the never started TAM C2 upgrade is a good example-. Back to the kit, I bought it yesterday and expect to receive it today or tomorrow, so let's wait and see what comes inside the box... It looks quite good so far.

If I'm seeing the price correctly, at 11850 Argentine peso to dollar, that converts to $160 American. Are the numbers right?? If so, the price is steep, but doable.

Well, it's a matter of exchange rates. I will not go too deep into Argentine uber-complicated and uber-regulated exchange system, but let's say that for us local people, those $11500 Argentine pesos equal to around US$ 110/120 -we basically need a bit more than $100 to buy a US dollar, due to a 30% tax we have to pay-. Not too steep price for a resin kit with a metal barrel. For non-Argentine residents the price will be pretty higher, due to the forementioned exchange rate.

I see the kit is available, but will we have to wait on an American distributer?? The site is in all Spanish...and I didn't see shipment possibilities to the USA. True?

We at Dukel Hobbies are very grateful for your interest in our 1/35 TAM Tanque Argentino Mediano kit. So in case someone is interested in our model, we suggest writing to us at [email protected] where we will clarify all your doubts regarding the model, its price and shipping cost to anywhere in the world. Thanks for your interest! Dukel Hobbies