Italeri

1/72 German Gun Set

Kit Number 7026

Reviewed By Jack Kennedy, #12511

MSRP: $11.50 USD

John Noack just sent me the 1/72 Italeri German Gun Set.  It looked so cool that I just couldn’t wait to get into it.

The gun set consists of a 3.7 cm Pak 37, a 7.5 cm Pak 40 and a 2 cm Flakvierling 38.  This set is just what the doctor ordered if you plan to make a small-scale diorama.  It also includes eight nicely detailed figures in various poses.  The figures are for each piece but may be interchanged with any of the guns.

Upon opening the box I was amazed at the number of tiny pieces.  The instructions are very clear and each gun is shown with a blowup assembly drawing plus the usual sprue with the pieces numbered.  Assembly was very straightforward and did not present any problems.  The parts required a little more cleanup that I am used to and because of the size of some of the parts great care needed to be taken.

I assembled each gun in order of size with the smallest being first.  The detail on the Pak 37 is amazing.  I painted the entire gun in panzer grey and the tires black.  Following the instructions this piece went together quite quickly.  When it was fully assembled, I gave it a dirty wash and then dry brushed with a lighter grey to pop out the details.  I was quite pleased with the look of this gun.  It looked just right.

I next tackled the Pak 40.  Again this was a very easy build.  I took a little time to clean up the mold pin marks and a tiny bit of flash.  This is one of my favorite guns so I took my time on this one.  Care must be taken to ensure that some of the tiny parts don’t get clipped too short and that they don’t fly off into the distance when gluing them.  It happened to me and I had a swell time looking for a tiny part.  I finally found it and immediately glued it on the gun.

I painted the Pak 40 as I did the Pak 37.  Panzer grey, dirty wash and when that was dry, a dry brushing of a light grey to bring out the details.  A four man gun crew complements this piece nicely.

The last piece was a 2 cm Flakvierling 38.  This is an anti-aircraft weapon and it may be displayed on it carriage or can be put into one of the many German AA vehicles.  This gun didn’t have the fine detail of the other two in the set and I don’t know why.  Still and all, it’s a nice piece when finished.  As with the other two guns, I used panzer grey with the dirty wash, and light grey dry brushing.  Alongside the other two guns, it looks great.

As for the figures, they are posed nicely but require a lot of cleanup.  The pin marks are in very bad places and require some careful scalpel work.  The faces are detailed and may be made very presentable with washes and dry brushing.

What do I think if this set?  I liked it.  Would I recommend it?  You bet.  As I said earlier, this is perfect for dioramas.

Thanks to John Noack and Italeri for providing this kit for review.

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