Black Label previously announced its most ambitious project yet in 1/35 scale, a plastic model of the MIM-104B Patriot PAC-1 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system (Item No.3558). Now Dragon has followed up with an even more modern version of the famous Patriot in the same Black Label series. This time it’s a MIM-104F Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) SAM system that has a much improved anti-ballistic missile capacity. The kit features a trailer-mounted M901 Launching Station mounted on an M860 semitrailer. The PAC-3 is easily differentiated because there are 16 missiles fitted in canisters instead of the four carried in preceding PAC versions.
This 1/35 scale kit is utterly fantastic thanks to its impressive size and detail. Dragon’s engineers have created an extremely accurate depiction of this massive combination of trailer and missile launcher. The M901 Launching Station, with trailer stabilizers extended, can be posed with the missiles elevated and/or rotated for firing. It can even be dramatically depicted as though a PAC-3 missile is in the midst of being launched from a canister. The correct four-cell canisters (16 per launcher) for the PAC-3 are brand new, as are two Enhanced Launcher Electronics Assembly units mounted on the semitrailer. Vehicle tires are made from DS for extra realism, and detail such as the tread plate pattern is particularly well done. For modelers willing to launch into an absolutely stunning creation, this modern Patriot PAC-3 combination is the answer!
