Tristar Models
|
|
|
The 2cm FlaK 38 can trace its roots back to a 2cm naval anti aircraft gun which was developed into Wehrmacht's Flak 30, the 38's direct ancestor. Poor performance of the Flak 30 gave way to the much better Flak 38 with almost twice the rate of fire, longer barrel and a lower weight. The Flak 38 was introduced into service in 1939 and served up until the end of WW2. As the war progressed the gun became less effective against low flying ground attack fighters, its primary role, as they became faster. Small improvements were introduced during the Flak 38's service including longer barrels and different sights. A standard trailer, the Sd.Ah.51, was used for towing the Flak 38. This trailer was basically a frame with wheels to which several "loads" could be mounted. In addition to the Flak 38 (and 30), a box body for ammunition (as in Tristar's "late" kit #35029), fuel tanks, etc. Typical prime movers for the gun during the early war included the Krupp Protze. Throughout the was the Flak 38 was mounted on several vehicles both as standard modifications and field mounts. Field conversions varied and included trucks such as the Opel Blitz and Maultier and some oddities such as the complete gun and platform begin mounted on platforms constructed on the Horch Kfz.15 and Krupp Protze. Standard mounts included the Sd.Kfz.10 and Opel Blitz both of which required the vehicles to be modified in the factory. Several armoured vehicle mounts where constructed including the Sd.Kfz.251/17 which has fold down sides and the Flakpanzer 38(t). There have been a few kits available of the Flak 38 over the years, the first was from Tamiya in the early '80s. While good for the time, it is crude compared to today's standard. The Tamiya kit represented an "early" Flak 38. Dragon have one (or maybe more) in their catalogue. Italeri also have a Flak 38, but I do not have it or the Dragon kits. Incidentally, Esci had a Flak 30 kit available in the '70s, again while good for the time, it is not up to today's standard (we could do with a modern tooled Flak 30). Tristar have released several Flak 38 kits over the years. Recently adding a "late" (#35029) and now this "early" kit (#35037), both feature new tooling that supercedes their earlier effort, kit (#35010). Tristar have also released the Flak as part of their Flakpanzer I Ausf.A (#35019) and Flakpanzer 38(t) (#35035) kits. The Kit The Tristar kit is moulded in sandy coloured styrene. Moulding overall is quite sharp, in fact it is as good as I have seen in a Tristar kit, there is no flash, warp-age or short shot problems (which is a problem with new kits). The styrene assembles well with both Testors Liquid Cement and Tenax-7R. A lot of the parts in this kit have been "seen" before in other Tristar kits. Sprue "A" is actually from the original Flak 38 kit (#35010) as is sprue "B" the trailer. The gun shields are from the recent "late" version of this kit as is the retooled barrel and receiver. The only new Flak gun parts unique to this kit are on sprue "C". The figures are new to the kit too. The instruction sheet is an eight page fold out printed in black & white. Included are sprue layouts and a short description in Japanese and English. Paint references for the Flak are given for Tamiya acrylics and Mr. Color. The instructions are clear and well laid out.
Flak 38 Overall the Flak 38 gun is excellent. The gun shields are particularly well done, being moulded close to scale -- _without_ having tapered edges. Many of the smaller detailed are depicted such as the little knobs on the gunner's seat. Small photo-etched details like the tiny retaining chains for the travel locks are included. There are a few areas on the gun left available for super-detailing. Most of this would be thinning out the kit parts. For example part A23 the foot trigger: the foot supports could be cut off, thinned out and glued back on. Other details will present themselves by studying references. An excellent reference would be the Tamiya booklet (Ref. 1). That said however, the gun is excellent built as-is. New parts include the early style gun sight and it's mount. These are included on sprue "C" with some of the more delicate parts in photo-etched brass. A new barrel and receiver is included to replace the incorrect parts from the original kit (#35010). The original parts are still included on sprue "A" so care must be taken to install the correct parts. The new barrel is now the correct length as is the receiver. The moulding is excellent on these new parts, featuring accurate details and a slide moulded flash suppressor. Personally I would prefer to replace the gun barrel with a turned metal one, mostly because I find it difficult to clean the mould lines off thin barrels like the 20mm and still retain a circular cross section. There are several options available, I prefer the 1.3m 20mm barrel from Armour Scale. Sd.Ah.51 Trailer The Sd.Ah.51 Trailer can be built in a towed configuration or supported by the small retractable "leg" near the front. As far as details go... the trailer frame looks good, there are excellent photographs in the Tamiya booklet showing the frame close up. Weld beads, very fine ones, could be added around the joints. These welds are evident in the Tamiya booklet (ref. 1). The fenders are really thick and could be thinned down, this could be a little tricky due to the shape, so a motor tool will help. The wheels are nicely detailed with a correct pattern, however there are three big sprue connection point per tyre and will take some care to remove without ruining the tread pattern. There is a complete sprue containing ammunition boxes and a spare barrel case included. The whole sprue is actually marked "Parts not for use." on the instruction sheet which is bizarre. In any case these are useful and appropriate for this kit. Tristar also make a full accessory kit of ammunition and tools boxes for this Flak too. The Figures Four figures wearing typical Waffen SS garb are included. They are new mouldings not seen in any other Tristar kit. They are manhandling the Flak gun on its carriage into position. The poses are generally good with one exception. Figures "B", "C" and "D" do appear posed well but figure "A", the one holding the right tyre seems really awkward to me. I can't see how he is actually helping, I'd probably just replace him with that old cliché: a pointing commander figure. These figures could easily be adapted to other uses, such as a un-ditching a bogged down truck. These figures couldalso be finished as Herman Goring Div., as this unit used smocks and helmet covers similar to the SS pattern. The collar flashes will have to be scraped off and HG ones added. The moulding is very good with the camouflage smock being particularly well captured. Each figure is wearing ankle books and gaiters, which is a little "late war" for this gun. Their boots have caulk details on the soles and care needs to be taken cleaning up the sprue attachment points. The figure's hand are well done too as are the faces. A full set of infantry equipment is included for each figure. This includes a gas mask case, canteen, food tin, bread bag, two Kar 98k ammunition pouches, entrenching tool and a covered helmet. These are all well moulded. Each figure is equipped with a Kar 98k rifle, this is not moulded well however. They could be replaced with spares from Tamiya's "German Infantry Weapons Set A (Early/Mid WWII)", one figure could get promoted and receive an MP-40. Paint matches are given for Tamiya, Gunze Mr. Color and Aqueous Hobby Color as well as Humbrol Superenamel. The painting guide printed on the bottom of the box is unfortunately printed in black and white, this is not very helpful especially for beginners. There are small colour examples given on the box sides. Conclusions This is a good kit of the "early" Flak 38. It is accurate, well detailed and well moulded. Tristar kits generally are more involved and beginner modellers may have difficulty with assembly, so it is best to have some experience and patience. It is a great conversion piece too and I'm sure it will find its way onto many vehicle kits, the new Tamiya Opel Blitz comes to mind... which will be a blog soon from Glenn Bartolotti. Tristar supplied this kit to Track-Link as a review sample. References
|
User Contributed Notes |