Academy Military 1/35 US Army M163 Vulcan Kit

In the late 1960s, the US Army introduced the M163 Vulcan Air Defense System (VADS) into service to replace the aging, optically-aimed M42 Duster. The M163 was armed with a variant of the M61 20mm Vulcan Gatling gun that could fire up to 3000 rounds per minute (the M61 fired at 6000 rounds per minute) and provided defense fire against air attacks that were inside the minimum range of the M48 Chaparral missile system which the M163 supported. Unlike the M42, the M163 had a radar, but it was a range-only system which did not aim/track targets. The comparable systems on the 'other side' included the ZSU-23-4 which did have a tracking radar system and fired 23mm rounds, and the SA-9 Gaskin which was also a vehicle-mounted heat-seeking missile launcher like the Chaparral. The M163 was supposed to be replaced by the M247 Sergeant York Divisional Air Defense System (DIVADS) but technical problems and cost overruns led to the cancellation of DIVADS. The M163 was eventually phased out of active duty service in 1994.

Academy has reissued their 1/35 M163 Vulcan kit. First released back in 1995, the kit is based upon their existing M113 APC tooling and you'll find extra parts in the box from other M113 releases. The kit is molded in tan styrene and presented on nine parts trees plus the hull shell, two trees molded in black, one tree molded in vinyl (rubber), two sets of rubberband track, and one set of photo-etched parts.