COBI M48 Patton Set 3104

COBI's M48 Patton is a 1:72 model built from 127 blocks, 12 cm long, with a turret that rotates and a barrel that elevates. American markings are printed onto the blocks.

It ran on petrol, and that was a problem

The M48 as first built had a petrol engine. It gave good power, and it gave the tank a range of barely 110 kilometres and a habit of catching fire when hit.

Petrol vapour ignites easily, and a tank that has just been penetrated is full of it. Diesel does not behave that way — it needs heat and pressure to burn — and crews on the receiving end noticed the difference long before the paperwork caught up.

The fix was the M48A3 of the early 1960s, with a diesel engine that roughly doubled the range and made the vehicle markedly harder to set alight. That is the version that went to Vietnam in numbers, and the reason the M48 is remembered as a good tank rather than a dangerous one.

Named after General George Patton, produced from 1952 to 1961, and still in service with a few armies today.

In the COBI range

Part of the 1:72 mini series. Set 3105 is the Leopard 1, its NATO contemporary.

Specifications

Pieces: 127 · Scale: 1:72
Model dimensions: 12 × 5 cm (4.7 × 2.0 in)