Altaya Diecast Military Vehicles (1:72 Scale)

The Leichter Panzerspahwagen (roughly "Light Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle") were a series of light 4 x 4 armored cars produced by Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1944.

Early in 1943, orders were given to design a heavy, self-propelled anti-tank gun, which would mate a 12.8cm gun with a Tiger II chassis. On October 20th, 1943 a wooden mock-up of the enormous vehicle was shown to the OKH planners who authorized that a prototype be finished by April 1944.

The Leichter Panzerspahwagen (roughly "Light Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle") were a series of light 4 x 4 armored cars produced by Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1944.

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The Landwasserschlepper was an unarmed amphibious tractor produced in Germany during World War II. Ordered by the Heereswaffenamt in 1935 for use by German Army engineers, the Landwasserschlepper (or LWS) was intended as a lightweight river tug with some capacity to operate on land.

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Early in 1943, orders were given to design a heavy, self-propelled anti-tank gun, which would mate a 12.8cm gun with a Tiger II chassis. On October 20th, 1943 a wooden mock-up of the enormous vehicle was shown to the OKH planners who authorized that a prototype be finished by April 1944.

The Jagdpanzer IV, Sd.Kfz. 162, was a German tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer (tank destroyer, literally "hunting tank") designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the Sturmgeschutz III (StuG III).

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In 1944, three Tiger I tanks were field converted by the sPzAbt 509 to recovery vehicles and redesignated Bergepanzer Tiger. In November of 1944, all three were transferred to the sPzAbt 501.

The Ariete is a main battle tank developed for the Italian Army to meet the needs of the 21st Century, by providing a credible indigenous tank design capable of competing with other current tanks on the battlefield and in the export market. Iveco Fiat and Oto Melara combined forces to develop a new tank utilizing modern firepower, mobility, and protection technologies.

The Leopard 2 was an offshoot of the MBT-70 -- a cancelled joint development project between the USA and West Germany undertaken in the late 1960s. Even though the US had withdrawn from the project, the West Germans, under the auspices of Krauss-Maffei,  continued research and development on the renamed Leopard 2 project.

The Jagdpanther mounted a powerful 8.8cm Pak L/71 cannon within a fixed turret, which was situated atop a standard Panther V chassis. Although production of the tank was begun at MIAG in January 1944, it took another ten months before the larger NMH plant could expand the production run in time for the Wacht am Rhein ("Watch on the Rhine") winter counteroffensive.

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The Type 61 was a main battle tank (MBT) developed and used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Development started in 1955 and the vehicle was first deployed in April 1961.

The T-54 and T-55 main battle tanks were the Soviet Union's replacements for the World War II era T-34 tank. The T-54/55 tank series is the most produced in the world, and very widely employed, especially by former client states of the Soviet Union.

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The M1 Abrams was the next stage in American tank development after the M60 series. Chrysler completed the prototype in 1978 and the first production vehicles appeared in 1980 with 30 tanks a month being built in the years that followed by General Dynamics, then a division of Chrysler Motors.

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When the Korean War began, the US military had no medium tanks in production. The M47 appeared as an interim measure but work immediately began on the M48. The first 'Pattons' were completed in July 1952.

The Merkava Mk 3 Baz entered service with the IDF at the beginning of 1990. The main features of the Merkava Mk 3 are a new suspension system, a 1,200hp engine and new transmission, a higher power main gun, and particularly new armor protection.

Designed as a stopgap measure until the M4 Sherman tank could come on line, the M3 General Grant medium tank saw action in the North African campaign with both US and British forces battling the Afrika Korps. The M3 tank was unusual because it mounted two large caliber weapons in the body of the vehicle.

The Type 90 tank is the main battle tank (MBT) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) as of 2014. It was designed and built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a replacement for all deployed Type 61 and Type 74 tanks, and entered service in 1990.

The Sturmpanzer (a.k.a. Brummbar or "Grizzly Bear") was developed by Alkett, who designed the superstructure, and Krupp, who modified their PzKpfw IV chassis to accomodate the design changes. After seeing Alkett's plans on October 20, 1942, Hitler demanded that forty to sixty production models be built as quickly as possible.

The Chieftain FV4201 was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It was one of the most advanced tanks of its era, and at the time of its introduction in 1966 had the most powerful main gun and most effective armour of any tank in the world.