The M109 is a turreted self-propelled howitzer that first appeared in the early 1960s. It mounts a 155mm gun and the vehicle has been upgraded several times during its service life. It first made its combat debut with the US Army during the Vietnam war and has seen service with a number of other countries including Greece, Iran, The UAE, Switzerland etc. The vehicle is also seeing action in Ukraine as twenty two former Belgian units were bought and refurbished by the UK before being handed over to the Ukrainian military. It also served with the British Army but was eventually replaced by the AS90 and European countries are replacing it with the Panzerhaubitze 2000.
The Italeri kit of the M09 has been around for a long time, first appearing as a new tool kit in 1983 that has been repackaged over the years, even being re-boxed by Matchbox in the mid 90’s, Revell, Academy and even Tamiya.
A model of this size has been condensed onto just three sprues moulded in an olive green plastic with the addition of two track types (T-136 chevron and NM-116 NATO) moulded in vinyl and a decal sheet printed by Zanchetti Buccinasco.