Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Ground Power Series HG3807 M8 Light Armored Car (Republic Of Korea - South) ROK III Corps, Yongwoi, 1951

True 1/72 scale.

Professionally painted.

Great attention to detail.

All markings are Tampoed (pad applied).

Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic.

Highly collectable.

The American M8 was equipped with a 37mm gun and 6X6 wheel drive and was the main recon vehicle used by the US military during WWII. The only positive thing the crews had to say about the vehicle was it was reliable and fast on roads. It performed poorly off road, was very lightly armored with only sheet metal for a floor. It had an open top with no periscopes and exposed the crew to weather and enemy fire. Over 8,500 were manufactured in 1942 - 1943.

November 1950 saw the formation of ROK III Corps, consisting of the ROK 2nd, 5th, 9th & 11th Divisions. Originally they operated against guerrillas in central and southern Korea. In April 1951 ROKA troops were tasked with protecting Seoul. ROKA III Corps was part of the defensive eastern front and fought well against the Chinese fifth offensive. However during the sixth offensive III Corps fell apart and ended up fleeing leaving the ROKA I Corps and the U.S. X Corps to fill the gap which they did successfully. Because of the embarrassment this poor action caused the ROKA III Corps was disbanded on May 26 1951.

Specifications for the Ford M8 light armored car Crew - 4 Performance Engine - Hercules JXD 6-cylinder gasoline 110 hp (82Kw) Speed - 56mph (90km/h) Range - 349.8 miles (563km) Turn radius - 28ft (8.5m) Maximum grade - 60% Suspension - 6X6 wheel with leaf springs Dimensions Length - 16.4ft (5m) Width - 8.33ft (2.54m) Height - 7.38ft (2.25m)

Armor - maximum 0.75in (19mm)

Armament Primary - 37mm M6 gun Secondary - 1 X 0.30 caliber M1919A4 machine gun 1 X 0.50 caliber M2 machine gun