Dragon Models

1/35 88mm Flak 37 mit Behelfslafette

Kit Number: 6523 (’39-’45 Series)

Reviewed by  Ken McDevitt, IPMS# 46356

MSRP: $44.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Description and History: The most famous German antitank weapon of WWII was the "eighty-eight", an 8.8cm cannon that appeared in several guises (for instance, Flak 18, Flak 36 or Flak 37). This deadly Flugabwehr-Kanone was originally designed as an antiaircraft weapon, but it performed admirably in the ground role as well, to the great detriment of Allied tank crews. The 8.8cm gun was built in large numbers, and it proved to be a successful design in both antiaircraft and antitank roles. In the Box: 18 sprues in 5 plastic sealed bags. 4 photo etch frets. Metal chain. 7 metal barrels. 5 decals on 1 sheet. Instruction booklet: 8 pages with 16 steps with painting and marking guide. Colors: German Field Grey, Dark Yellow, MiddleStone, Wood Brown, Gold, Flat Black, Red Brown, and Khaki Green. Additional product details at: http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/prodd.asp?pid=DRA6523. First Impressions: My scan of the parts and additional materials (frets, metal barrels, etc) found this to be a very high quality kit with no flash and only a few mold marks that would not show when assembled. The Instructions are clear with designated options and alternative use of parts (metal/PE versus plastic). There is a separate package of metal barrels, lots of PE. There is a lot of detail on the pieces with multiple parts being "built up" to create small sub-assemblies. Build Plan: I initially decided to build the kit with the option of having the shield attached to the gun and also using the PE and metal barrels and detail instrument gauges. In order to show off more of the gun detail, I will build the shield but not attach it to the gun. Also, I will build the gun in the firing position instead of the traveling mode. After these decisions I reread the instructions and highlighted the steps/sub-steps that I would follow as well as crossing off instructions that would not apply. Then I repeated the process to be sure. Construction: The process of building this kit was quick and easy with the exception of handling some small parts. So, there are not many "watch-outs" to mention. Oh, for the days of mis-aligned, uneven parts loaded with flash and mold marks as well as huge gaps to be filled...NOT! The build path is determined by the type of gun, 37, 36 or 18 that you want to build and whether you are building the shield. Following the instructions was easy. The metal gun barrel has a small opening that does not include rifling. The plastic barrel does have rifling. The supplied metal chain is not to scale and looks out of place. A smaller scale chain could be used as a substitute. Also, the clear plastic instrument panels are too thick. You might want to file these down and reduce the thickness. I masked the instrument panels before installing them. You can build the operator seats in the operation or travel mode. The cruciform base could be assembled out of sequence but I chose to follow the instruction build sequence. Again, no problems with following the build plan or with fit. Except when I got to part B30 the shell loader. There where no alignment holes in the side rail. So I drilled some holes. Unfortunately, when moving the 88 to the photo booth the gun fell off the base(I had not glued in place in order to rotate it) and the B30 part fell off and was crushed into an unrecognizable mass under my big foot. [Painting Note: The base is painted Dark Yellow and the gun is German Field Grey. Do not attach the gun to the base until both have been painted separately]. There is a section on the shield that can be left open or closed. I closed it with 2 PE parts. The shield can be configured in 2 different operation modes or 1 transport mode. I assembled 1 wooden ammo case closed and 3 wicker ammo cases. 2 ammo cases were open at one end. There are 6 shell casings and 6 unexpended shells. Progress Photos: I apologize for the shadows and tint. These photos forced me into creating a photo booth and the finish photos are much better. Finishing Up: The painting scheme I chose is of an "Unidentified Unit, Cologne 1945". There is no camouflage on this scheme but you could chose 1 of 2 other schemes with or without the shield with camouflage patterns. I used Vallejo Model Air and Vallejo Model Color. The Gold was Tamiya. I broke up the German Field Grey and Dark Yellow with some Dry Brushing, and a Wash after adding some color to some of the highly detailed control parts. Extras: These are the shells, casings and ammo boxes as well as the Shield which was not installed on the gun. Summary: This was a very quick(less than 10 hours) and easy build using top quality materials with tight fits. I highly recommend this kit.   Pros: High quality kit with fine detail, no flash and a few mold marks that would not be seen after construction. Few and minor gaps that could be filled.   Cons: Out of proportion metal chain and Instrument panels. Since I’m not an Artillery Piece expert I would have liked more information on the different configurations: Type 37, 36 or 18. I would like to thank Dragon USA for supplying the kit and IPMS for the opportunity of doing this review.