Dragon Models Limited 1/35 Scale
Kit No. 6250; 7.5 cm PaK 40 Late Type w/Fallschirmjaeger Anzio 1944
by Cookie Sewell
305 parts (291 in grey stryene, 5 etched brass, 4 in black vinyl, 4
turned brass, 1 turned aluminum); price estimated at $21-24
Advantages: state-of-the-art kit of this popular AT gun, many build options
Disadvantages: gun shields not in brass (see text); no crew weapons included;
comments about length of trails (see text)
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: to all artillery fans and German WWII fans
F I R S T L O O K
Dragon has now released a "late model" version of their fine
PaK 40 kit, the main difference being the recommendation to use different
parts on the sprues and a completely new crew set of six Fallschirmjaeger
figures (two sprues of three identical figures). It retains all of the
carded extras from the first kit (optional etched brass detail parts,
four turned brass rounds, a turned aluminum or plastic barrel, and four
vinyl tires, either new or "chewed up.") The kit provides for
options in regard to three different styles of wheels and three different
styles of muzzle brakes (each formed of a casting and a face, with the
casting being hollow molded.) Also, the modeler has optional positions
for shields, trails, suspension arms, breech block, and gun servicing
panels. The gun is fixed, however, so traverse must be set during assembly.
The gun shield is interesting, because unlike recent AFV Club efforts
the shield is composed of two injection molded styrene sections with a
brass gun mask (MA1) between them. The edges are "feathered"
to a knife edge, so the modeler winds up with a shield that looks think
but is actually quite sturdy and easy to attach.
The kit provides six figures in three poses that are new and unique to
this kit, so if nothing else figure fans will want it for that reason.
They represent figures with long sleeves and trousers under their well-known
paratroop smock and come with plentiful accessories, but again no small
arms are provided.
There are a number of additional items, such as four turned brass AP
rounds, four styrene HE rounds, two ammo crates and a number of shipping
tubes and three expended cases. The decals are primarily for these parts
and provide the necessary stencils in both black and white. Since guns
rarely bear any markings other than stray "serviced on" decals,
there are none included. Finishing options for a total of six weapons
are provided, including one that is Panzerbraun with "polka-dot"
white snow camouflage that will test the painter's eye.
Right after this kit and its competitor from AFV Club came out, there
was a slight flap on many websites that the DML kit's trails were something
around 12mm too long. This caused a number of snarls, and then other posts
came out that indicated that they were correct and that there had been
a change in the design, but DML's plans and measurements were correct.
I do not have precise enough (only an old set by Hilary Doyle) but they
seem accurate with about 1.5mm to me based on simple measurements (e.g.
about 52mm or 2 inches in scale). (I do note that the gates on the molds
have been filled in and new gates added, so the originals may have been
off and the new ones are corrected.)
Overall this is a beauty of a kit and should prove popular with anyone
having an idea for a diorama or put a 3-ton halftrack to good use.
Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.
Cookie Sewell
DML kits are available from retail and mail order shops. For details
see their web site at: www.dragonmodelsltd.com.
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