Mercedes L4500 R -Maultier-

Plastic kit for a half-track MB L 4500R Maultier

• 1:35 scale
• 342 parts on 8 sprues, plus transparent parts
• detailed engine
• with 2 figures
• Plastic tarpaulin included
• segment tracks
• unbuilt, unpainted
• Paint and glue not included

By the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, most of the Wehrmacht's vehicles were trucks, produced under the “urgent truck production program” (Schnell Programm). Their cross-country ability was quite satisfactory for the Western European theater of operations with its extensive network of highways, but in the harsh climatic conditions of Russia, with the almost complete absence
paved roads, thousands of cars got stuck in the mud and snow and were abandoned during the first war winter.

Even all-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz L4500A could not carry goods on Russian off-road. therefore in 1943, on its basis, the semi-tracked all-terrain vehicle Mercedes-Benz L 4500R "Maultier" was created. To do this, instead of the rear drive axle, a caterpillar mover from the Pz.Kpfw light tank was installed. II. The own weight of the car increased, the carrying capacity decreased to 4.5 tons, the maximum speed dropped to 36 km / h, and fuel consumption reached up to 200 liters per 100 km, but the Maultier could move through any mud. The L4500R was produced until 1944, having managed to build 1486 of these machines.