Hobby Master Military Vehicles

Hobby Master British Light Utility Car "Tilly" M1137629, North Africa

1/48 Scale

Early in WWII the need for a small utility vehicle became apparent. To expedite the manufacturing process some civilian car designs were modified. These small utility vehicles were usually referred to as “tilly”, a play on the word utility. There were 4 major producers of these vehicles, Austin, Hillman, Standard and Morris. Manufacturers kept some of their distinctive physical features such as hoods (bonnets) and grilles. The “tilly” was well suited for the multitude of tasks it was assigned and became an iconic WWII British vehicle.

Hobby Master Schwinnwagen Type 166 Volks-Werver-Brigade 8, 1944

1/48 Scale

Last One Box not Good

Hobby Master 1/48 US Willys Jeep 101st Airborne iv., 506th A.B. Regiment, Company `C`, Normandy, 6 June 1944 HG1601

Hobby Master M151A2 MUTT US ARMY 02G90768, War of Vietnam

1/48 Scale

In 1951 Ford Motor Company was awarded a contract to develop a replacement for the M38 Jeep Light Utility Vehicle. The vehicle had to be a 1/4 ton 4x4 Military Utility Tactical Truck (M151 MUTT) and after extensive testing began production in 1959 until 1982. The M151, M151A1, and M151A2 are a general purpose personnel or cargo carrier. Eventually manufacturing contracts were awarded to Kaiser and AM General Corp and well over 100,000 MUTTs of many variants produced.

Hobby Master M10 US Tank Destroyer Pistol Packin Mama of US TD School, Texas, 1943

1/72 Scale

The M-10 was America's first tank destroyer built on a Sherman hull with a 76mm 50 caliber cannon. The cannon was so heavy a counter-weight had to be mounted on the rear of the turret. It had light angular armor and counted on speed and agility for survival. Extra armor could be bolted to the turret and hull. The turret had an open-top exposing the crew to enemy fire and the elements. The M-36 with its 90mm cannon eventually replaced the M-10.

The US M10 was the most produced US tank destroyer of WWII. The British M10s were called Achilles IIC because of the modification of the main gun from a 3 inch gun to a quick-firing British 17 Pounder. The conversions took place at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. The Mk. IC had a diesel engine while the Mk. IIC had a gasoline engine. Even the gun of the Mk. IIC was having difficulty against the heavy armor of the German Panthers and Tigers. Gradually the M36 Jackson with its heavier armor began to take over from the M10 and Achilles.

The 76 mm M18 tank destroyer was produced by General Motors Buick Division who named the M18 the "Hellcat". The M18 was the fastest tracked AFV of WWII reaching speeds up to 60 mph. The speed was possible because of the lack of heavy armor. The theory was speed would be the vehicles protection. Quite often German Panthers and Tigers would fall victim to the M18 because the German tanks turret couldn’t turn fast enough to return fire. The M18 was also present in the war in the Pacific.

The JS tanks were named after Joseph Stalin. The JS-2 had a 122mm D-25T main gun and 6 road wheels to improve soft ground track performance. In 1944 new specifications included new armour tempering, a 60-degree glacis replaced the 30-degree and the driver’s front hatch was removed. Also a relocated wider porthole, improved mantlet, increased lower hull side armor and a new periscope sight. The commander’s cupola moved to the left and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun attached. In 1944 2,250 JS-2’s were produced and no further improvements were made until 1954.

Hobby Master British Light Utility Car "Tilly", North Africa

1/48 Scale

Early in WWII the need for a small utility vehicle became apparent. To expedite the manufacturing process some civilian car designs were modified. These small utility vehicles were usually referred to as “tilly”, a play on the word utility. There were 4 major producers of these vehicles, Austin, Hillman, Standard and Morris. Manufacturers kept some of their distinctive physical features such as hoods (bonnets) and grilles. The “tilly” was well suited for the multitude of tasks it was assigned and became an iconic WWII British vehicle.

Hobby Master Sd. Kfz. 234/3 116th Panzer Division Normandy, Autumn 1944

1/72 Scale

During WWII the German Army used Schwerer Panzerspahwagen (Heavy Armored Reconnaissance Vehicles) to scout ahead and determine the enemy strength and report back to the main units. In spite of its size and weight the Puma was very fast and equipped with a 5cm gun and a 7.92 mm MG. Two unique features of the Sd. Kfz. 234/2 was the ability of the radio operator to drive the vehicle in reverse during emergency situations and it was the only variant with a turret. Production ran from September 1943 to September 1944.

The Sd.Kfz.234/3 chassis saw little change from the Sd.KFZ.234/2 Puma. What was changed was that the superstructure and top armoured plate was removed. With the turret removed it was replaced by armour plates on all 4 sides. A new 7.5cm KwK51 L/24 short barreled main gun was installed in the open topped fighting compartment. 6 Sd.Kfz.234/3 vehicles made up a platoon of the Panzerspahwagen Company to support the SdKfz 234/1s.

Hobby Master Sd. Kfz. 234/3 Schwerer Panzerspahwagen 116 Panzer Division,

1/72 Scale

During WWII the German Army used Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (Heavy Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicles) to scout ahead and determine the enemy strength and report back to the main units. In spite of its size and weight the Puma was very fast and equipped with a 5cm gun and a 7.92 mm MG. Two unique features of the Sd. Kfz. 234/2 was the ability of the radio operator to drive the vehicle in reverse during emergency situations and it was the only variant with a turret. Production ran from September 1943 to September 1944.

The Sd.Kfz.234/3 chassis saw little change from the Sd.KFZ.234/2 Puma. What was changed was the superstructure and the top armored plate was removed. With the turret removed it was replaced by armor plates on all 4 sides. A new 7.5cm KwK51 L/24 short barreled main gun was installed in the open topped fighting compartment. 6 Sd.Kfz.234/3 vehicles made up a platoon of the Panzerspähwagen Company to support the SdKfz 234/1s.

Hobby Master Sd. Kfz.11 German 3-Ton Half-Track Unit Unkown, Poland "WH-133669"

Borgward was tasked to design a 3 ton towing vehicle. The prototype was ready in 1933 but it only had a 72 HP engine and four road-wheels per side. The second prototype wasn’t any better so in 1938 the project was given to Hanomag. The company added two more road- wheels per side, changed the transmission and gave it a 100 HP engine. The demand was so great that 5 more companies were added to the production of the Sd.Kfz.11. Between 1937 and 1945 25,000 vehicles were produced in 5 variants.

Hobby Master Sd. Kfz. 234/4 Pakwagen Fall of Reich, Battle for Britain, May 1945 (Unknown unit)

1/72 Scale

During WWII the German Army used Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (Heavy Armored Reconnaissance Vehicles) to scout ahead and determine the enemy strength and report back to the main units. In spite of its size and weight the Puma was very fast and equipped with a 5cm gun and a 7.92 mm MG. Two unique features of the Sd. Kfz. 234/2 was the ability of the radio operator to drive the vehicle in reverse during emergency situations and it was the only variant with a turret. Production ran from September 1943 to September 1944.

The C Sd.Kfz.234/4 was created as a stop gap measure. Designed as an anti-tank destroyer it was in a way similar to the Marder Tank Destroyer because it was poorly armored and had an open top making the crew very vulnerable. This vehicle was able to neutralize almost every enemy tank of that time as long as it wasn’t a head to head engagement. The Sd.Kfz.234/4 was primarily used by reconnaissance companies and provided anti-tank support for other reconnaissance vehicles.