Model Collect 12.8cm Flak 40 Errors & Simplifications
kit no.s UA72094, UA72098 & UA72101

All of Model Collect kits using any variation of their 12.8cm Flak 40 gun suffer from some parts simplification as well as outright errors.

Common to all 12.8cm Flak 40 kit variations

The most egregious problem with all of Model Collect's releases is the missing barrel nut that holds the two part barrel together on the real gun (reference picture from Waffen Revue #18). The instructions even illustrate it, leading one to believe that the designers at Model Collect obviously knew it existed, but for some reason decided not to add it to the kit's barrel halves. Thankfully Aber has addressed this omission with their metal barrel replacement, part no. 72L73. If you change anything in these kits, the barrel is the one that should take priority.

A minor detail missing from all the kits, that should be relatively easy to add, is the brace used to support the fore portion of the slide while it's being transported on the Sd.Anh.203 trailer, as shown below.

Although it's not an error, it would have been nice if Model Collect had included decals for the instrument faces on the control box (or boxes for the zwilling version). These are prominent features of the gun and the lack of instrument faces is rather noticeable.

12.8cm Flak 40, kit no. UA72094

The first 100 production 12.8cm guns sported a cross style mount, which unfortunately Model Collect has depicted incorrectly as shown below.

The most egregious error concerns the outriggers. The photo top right is that of the 10.5cm Flak 39 mount (Waffen Revue #26). The middle right picture is the 12.8cm Flak 40 (Waffen Revue #18). The bottom right picture shows a built model. Notice that the built model's mount appears to match that of the 10.5cm gun.
Along with the cross mount for the 10.5cm gun we also get that gun's leveling pads. For the 12.8cm gun the pads should be rectangular with cropped corners. Kit no. UA72101, which features the late version's Bettung 40 mount, has the proper rectangular pads.
The foot rests (parts N21 & N22) for the crew should be bars similar to those found on the 8.8cm Flak 18/36/37 gun series. Model Collect has them moulded as a one piece plate, which is incorrect.
Floors on the platform (part N16) & steps (parts N30, N31 & N17) are molded solid with raised bumps to represent the screen style flooring on the real gun. The floors could be cut out and replaced with some fine brass mesh to get that extra bit of detailing.

The foot rests for the gunners are somewhat closer to real. Model Collect has them molded as a single plate where there should be two foot rests separated by a small gap. Part numbers are L17 & L18.
The face of the steps (part L6 & L7) are moulded solid. On the real gun they are an open frame.
Like all the floors in kit UA72094, these too are moulded solid and could be replaced with brass mesh. New part numbers are L3, L4, L6, L7 & L15.

Addendum 1: Al Magnus 2023/Nov/07
An inspection of the sprues reveals that the incorrect foot rests (green arrows) have replacements not referenced in the instructions (green circle), shown in the sprue photo below.

Seats for the gun layers' positions (red arrows) could also be replaced with different parts not referenced in the instructions (red circle), shown in the sprue photo below.

For both replacements, some surgery and possible scratch building will be required.

Unreferenced part numbers N32 & N33 (yellow circle) could be used to replace part number X11 (yellow arrow), the fuse setter holder containing a round of ammunition. Again, some surgery will be needed to use these new parts.
 

Addendum 2: Al Magnus 2023/Nov/07
A number of parts (N12, N13, N14, N25, N26, N27, X7, X8, X12, Z5) are moulded with hollow backs, that will show all, or part of, their hollowness after they are glued in place. Filling in or covering over the hollow areas will not be trivial for some of them.

Conclusion

For all intents and purposes, UA72094 is a terrible kit and should be avoided. But, should you happen to have one already and wish to build the gun it tries to represent, then you have a lot of work ahead of you to correct it for the early version of the 12.8cm Flak 40. On the other hand, you could save some effort by trashing the mount and make the gun into a static piece, or alternatively, buy kit UA72101, which appears to have an almost correct Bettung 40 mount supplies a basic mount, though it still needs much modification to bring it up to an acceptable detail level.

References

[1] United States War Department Technical Manual TM-E 30-451, Handbook on German Military Forces, 15 March 1945
[2] Waffen Revue nr.18, Sept.-Nov. 1975, Verlag Karl R. Pawlas, Nürnberg
[3] Waffen Revue nr.19, Dec.-Feb. 1975/76, Verlag Karl R. Pawlas, Nürnberg
[4] Waffen Revue nr.26, Sept.-Nov. 1977, Verlag Karl R. Pawlas, Nürnberg
[5] Waffen-Arsenal Sonderband S-15: Deutsch schwere Flak 10,5cm, 12.8cm, 15cm, Werner Müller, Podzun-Polas-Verlag, Dorheim 1990 ISBN: 3-7909-0389-2
Note: All instruction snippets come from Henk of Holland site.

Article Last Updated:
16 October 2019
07 November 2023