From 21st Century Toys  
Ultimate Soldier 1:32 scale
German Marder III Sd.Kfz. 321
self-propelled tank destroyer

 99413 S2

The German Marders were a series of self-propelled tank destroyers mostly built as stop gap solutions until purpose designed and built equipment could reach the field. The Marder III was the first production version in the Marder III series. The gun was centrally located, due to weight issues. With the engine mounted at the rear of its chassis, the gun had to be mounted elsewhere in order to keep the tank from being unbalanced. The later Marder IIIM version had the engine relocated to the center of the chassis, hence the designation “M” (middle), and the gun compartment was located on the back of the hull. Both versions had lightly armored crew compartments and were open in the top and rear. The Soviet 76.2 mm field gun was captured in large quantities and it was decided to use these by mating them to the Panzer 38(t) chassis. The resulting Marder III was an effective anti-tank weapon and was used widely by the Germans in WWII.