Trumpeter Puma 4x4 AFV

The Puma light wheeled armoured fighting vehicle family consists of the Puma 6x6 and the Puma 4x4. The vehicles were developed and are produced by the Consorzio Iveco Fiat - Oto Melara of Italy for the Italian Army. First prototypes completed in 1988, with a total of five testbed vehicles being completed by 1990.

The 4x4 variant carries 3 troops plus driver, the 6x6 variant carries 6 troops plus driver.

At first the Puma was intended to complement the Centauro wheeled tank destroyer in service with the Italian Army's Cavalry Regiments, but today most infantry regiments of the Italian Army have also been equipped with Pumas. Eight cavalry regiments and two special forces regiments are equipped with a total of 330 Puma 4x4 vehicles. 250 Puma 6x6 vehicles are in service with the Italian Army Lagunari Regiment “Serenissima”, the “Folgore” Parachutist Brigade, the 66th Air Assault Regiment and the Alpini Regiments.

In Italian service, the 4X4 variant carries two soldiers in addition to the driver and gunner, and is used in pairs for battlefield reconnaissance. The 6X6 version carries four soldiers plus driver and gunner, and together with another Puma 6X6 can carry an entire Italian infantry squad of eight men.

At the end of 1999, the Italian Army ordered 580 Puma vehicles, 250 of the 6x6 configuration, and 330 4x4 vehicles. First vehicles were completed in mid-2003.

In 2007 the Italian Army ordered 19 Hitrole 12.7mm machine gun remote controlled turrets from Oto Melara and is planning to add extra armor to the vehicle.

 Molded in a nice light grey plastic, this kit has a complete upper hull and lower hull with are actually slid into each other in the initial construction step. The kit is a curbside with no interior. The suspension is very nicely molded and detailed as is the drive line. An interesting feature that I found on their Aerosan kit is that parts of the lower A-arm attachment are photo etch. You might think this a bit flimsy, but it actually works quite well. The kit comes with four very nicely molded rubber tires and the two piece wheels have poly caps on the inside for ease of attachment to the axles.

The back section of the kit is a separate item and here is where quite a bit of the photo etch is used. There are three frets, one of which contains but a single piece (obviously something that was found missing on one of the other frets). Much of this is used for various brackets, but one has quite a bit for use with a construct that fits on the back of the vehicle. I am not at all sure what this is, but it is a complicated piece that fits on the right rear.

There is a lot of stuff that fits on the outside of the hull. Things like what looks to be a cable cutter, various places for tools, lights, radio antenna mounts and hatches. These appear to be molded in the closed position only though there is interior hatch detail provided. It also appears that there is a retractable gun shield on the forward hull. This can be modeled either up or down, though if up, it would seem to block the vision of the driver. A turret of sorts is provided for the machine gunner. It has a hatch that can be moved into either the up or down position. I am thinking this provides rear armor protection for the gunner when the gun ismanned. This is also a nicely detailed construct and takes some of that photo etch.

Trumpeter instructions are superb and like the norm, provide clearly drawn construction steps and no 'in work' color information. That has to wait until the full color painting and markings guide. Two options are provided, one as shown on the box art in all white UN markings and the other in a standard NATO camouflage of black, green and tan. No unit info is provided. The decal sheet is nicely done and includes both registration plates and unit badges.

 Another great modern wheeled vehicle from Trumpeter. I like the choices of subjects they have been doing as of late and this one is a superb addition to any modern vehicle collection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puma_%28AFV%29

November 2012

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