Home > Reviews > Germany WWII > DML's 7.5cm Pak 40 with Heer Gun Crew (1/35th); Item number 6249

 


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.