Dragon 1/35 7.5cm PaK 40 with gun crew

Development of the PaK 40 began in 1939 with development contracts being placed with Krupp and Rheinmetall to develop a 7.5 cm anti-tank gun. Priority of the project was initially low, but Operation Barbarossa in 1941 and the appearance of heavily armoured Russian tanks like the KV-1, increased the priority. The first guns were delivered in November 1941. By 1943 PaK 40 formed the bulk of the German anti-tank artillery.

The PaK 40 was the standard German anti-tank gun until the end of the war, and was supplied by Germany to its allies. Some captured pieces were used by the Red Army. After the end of the war the PaK 40 remained in service in several European armies, including Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary and Romania.

About 23,500 pieces were produced, and about 6,000 more were used to arm tank destroyers.

The weapon was effective against almost every Allied tank until the end of the war, with the exception of the Soviet IS-2 and the American M26 Pershing. However it was much heavier than the PaK 38, decreasing its mobility to the point where it was difficult or impossible to move without an artillery tractor on boggy ground.

As most of us know, rarely is a kit perfect. There may be glitches caused by lack of research or perhaps the technology isn't there to produce a shape to the sort of fidelity that will satisfy some builders. I can assure you that model companies, especially in today's market, strive to provide the most accurate representation of a subject as they can.

Dragon has done so with their fine PaK 40 kit in this Premium Edition.

Here are some of the highlights. You get a full five man gun crew, three different muzzle brake options, three different wheel options, two types of tires (new and worn out, with one set molded in rubber/vinyl), preformed, and a photo etched gun shields in a scale thickness that can only really be duplicated in brass. In addition, you get two types of plastic ammo case (a tube and a case), shells, and a workable breech that will allow you to pose it being loaded.

The kit also includes another pair of photo etch sheets for detail parts and even scale rivet/spacers so that you can properly attach the two photo etch shields together. The trails can be made to be operable so that you can pose the gun in an operational or traveling position, but one has to be very careful during construction to allow this feature.

The instructions are quite precise on the location and placement of the various parts. With over 320 parts it is imperative that one pay attention to the construction of this piece. Paint info is provided for Gunze and Model Master paints. For constructing the figures, there is a photo-realistic section showing the front and back of each figure. The part numbers are in blue and very difficult to see against the dark background. A goodly sized decal sheet is provided to add mainly stencils to various parts of things. It is well printed and should work satisfactorily. The painting guide shows that you can do this one in either panzer yellow or grey. As ubiquitous as this gun was with the German Army, you could camouflage it any way you think would be appropriate.

In line with other Premium Edition kits, this one is not for the beginner. However, everything you need to build a complete and accurate replica is right there in the kit. No need for aftermarket on this one and it should build into a real beauty.

February 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org

My thanks to the fine folks atwww.dragonmodelsusa.com for the review kit. Get yours today at your local retailer or have them order it for you.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.

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