| |
DML's 7.5cm Pak 40 with Heer Gun
Crew (1/35th); Item number 6249
by Frank De Sisto
This offering contains 229 styrene parts, one turned aluminum gun tube,
four turned brass rounds, four soft styrene tires, six photo-etched brass
parts, one waterslide decal sheet and six pages of instructions in 10
steps.
Price: Unavailable.
DML is the fourth manufacturer to release a kit of this work-horse anti-tank
gun in 1/35th-scale plastic, joining the ranks of Tamiya and Italeri who
released their kits back in the 1970s and the most recent entry from AFV
Club. Because of this, there has been quite a bit of comparison going
on at the various web sites that post kit reviews. For another point of
view, I heartily recommend that the reader check out Terry Ashley’s
PMMS site for an excellent treatment of the current kits, as well as an
appended side-by-side comparison of the older Tamiya offering and the
latest DML and AFV Club offerings. If you have read the reviews above,
then you already know that there appear to be problems with DML’s
kit. Mainly, the gun’s cradle is too short, while the trail arms
are too long. This is according to drawings found in the Nuts & Bolts
Volume 17 book on the Marder III and Pak 40 (which I recently reviewed
on this site). I have no accurate measurements of this gun, but if the
drawings cited are correct, then the DML kit does indeed have relatively
major problems with accuracy. The trails are an easy fix; just cut apart,
trim and re-splice, taking care to properly place the details. But, the
cradle is another matter. However, the cradle’s length issue is
not quite as large a discrepancy as the trails, so perhaps the modeler
may wish to ignore it. And, there is ample reason to do so.There are many
options regarding the gun and how it can be built. For instance, there
are three different muzzle breaks supplied. These are pre-bored using
slide-mold technology and also include plastic or etched brass inserts
at the bore end, as well as the set screw that held them in place on the
gun tube. There are three different pairs of wheels included, two of which
can be verified in references that I own. There are two different pairs
of soft styrene tires, one of which features a worn appearance. Both have
been produced in such a way as to delete any mold seams, totally eliminating
the difficult task of clean-up usually associated with this type of material.
The gun can be built in the traveling or firing mode and includes some
nice touches such as three different positions for the axle height, fold-up
lower shields and two gun sight brackets, one of which does not have the
sight fitted (as would normally be the case when the gun was in travel
mode). The spaced gun shields are very convincingly done, featuring nicely
thinned edges. Also included are etched plates for the gun sight aperture,
as well as for the sliding portion of the shield above the gun tube.There
is an optional turned aluminum or plastic gun tube, either of which can
be fitted with an opened or closed breech block assembly. Another nice
feature is the ability to have a round being placed in the chamber, since
the plastic gun tube has a separate part at the breech end that will allow
for a hollow chamber. This is a nice idea and sure to be appreciated by
modelers who wish to create an “in-action” vignette.The kits
four figures are comprised of 76 parts, depicting a partial gun crew wearing
typical early war great coats and high boots. They are all fully equipped
with a pair of binoculars, rifle and MP ammo pouches, gas mask cases,
bread bags, water bottles, mess kits, bayonets and entrenching tools.
The heads are separate as are the steel helmets. There are no personal
weapons or side-arms. Molding is quite nice, with the lower parts of each
man’s great coat being separate for maximum realism. Likewise, their
uniforms, belts and boots feature nice detail. These guys should look
fine when properly painted, and even better with replacement heads. The
sprue with the ammunition rounds, steel canisters and wood crates is an
excellent addition, and along with the figures, make this offering a “vignette
in a box”. There are two wood crates, which have separate lids,
as do six of the ten steel canisters. The open canisters are molded with
hollow ends (as are the three spent round cartridge cases) by the unique
method of employing a slide mold that passes through the outer edge of
the sprue, directly into the case. There are eight complete rounds (four
each of two different types), in plastic, as well as four turned brass
complete rounds (two each of two different types). There are decals to
label all of the canisters and crates, as well as the ammunition, providing
for maximum realism. Well done, DML!The instructions appear to be clearly
laid out, but construction will require care due to the many options and
the relative smallness of some of the parts. There is no specific mention
of what combination of steps are needed to model the gun in travel or
firing mode, so the modeler must know what to look for before hand. As
with any kit of an artillery piece, careful clean-up of the parts is a
must, since several options include moveable items. Color schemes given
for the gun are for either dunkelgrau RAL7021 or dunkelgelb RAL7028 as
a base coat. But, the only limit on camouflage schemes is the imagination
of the modeler. The figure painting instructions (and the title on the
box top) indicate that the gun’s crew are all to be painted as Heere
(Army) troops, b
ut it would not take much to make them SS as well.I must
agree with Mr. Ashley’s assessment, where he contends that there
are problems with this kit, but he commends it for its options and accessories.
I would recommend this kit if price is a consideration, as it gives much
better value for money than the AFV Club release. This is primarily because
it includes a nice set of figures and a very well done set of ammunition,
with the options included also being rather alluring. If building a diorama
or vignette with the gun in the firing position, I’d go with this
kit.
Recommended.
DML kits are available from retail and mail order shops. For details
see their web site at: www.dragonmodelsltd.com.
|
|
