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The kit
Kit parts come on 2 sprues in the familiar flimsy top opening box used by Ace. One sprue contains the Sd.Ah.51 trailer with 10 pieces. The other sprue has
21 pieces for the gun. The plastic is soft but easily glued with standard plastic cements.
Instructions come as a simple 8¼ inch by 11½ inch sheet printed on both sides. A small decal sheet is included with markings
for one specific gun. Since this gun was
so prevalent from about 1934 and on, camouflage options can run the full gambit from pre-war multi-coloured 'feuersicherem Buntfarbenanstrich' camouflage
to anything seen until the end of World War Two.
The kit's Sd.Ah.51 trailer is poor. The molding is not good, especially the wheels. Those wanting an acceptable model for this trailer should look
at the slightly better MAC Distribution version, or the superbly detailed Dragon release (which unfortunately can not be obtained
separately and at present is only available in the Dragon Kfz.18 Horch 4x4 Type 1a kit 7422).
The gun parts are a mixed bag. The larger pieces such as the seat, base, platform, frame and shields are quite acceptable. On the other hand the small
parts like the aiming wheels, barrel, sights and the various braces are very poor. On my copy the barrel was particularly bad, with a cross section more oval
than round and with just enough of a seam which would have flattened the barrel even more trying to remove it.
(the above two photographs are from reference [8])
(left photograph from reference [3], right photograph from an unknown web site)
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Since the barrel was so poor, this kit languished on the shelf for quite some time as I didn't have the desire to try making a suitable replacement.
Then the build was resurrected following an unexpected find on the web while researching another project. My search turned up a few photographs showing a couple
of Flak30 guns with a
flash suppressor very similar to those seen on the FlaK 38 (see photographs to the left). According to one post found at reference [8]
the different flash suppressor is the result
of combining a FlaK 30 mount with a FlaK 38 barrel. My thought is that a Gebirgs Flak 30 is the source of the barrel difference. In any case, I decided that instead of sourcing a FlaK 38 gun to replace the kit's gun, and since the majority
of the gun would be
completely hidden from view anyway, I decided that a FlaK 38 barrel
from the RB Models 2cm Flakvierling 38 set (kit no. 72B14) would be all I'd change to make the conversion as seen in the reference pictures at left.
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With various pieces of plastic sheet, channel and rod I added the following detail to the gun:
- Foot rests
- Charging/cocking handle to the right side of the barrel
- Gun sights. What came in the kit was not much more than a shapeless plastic blob
- Elevating arm link
- The small panel that spans the gap between the two sides of the frame at the front of the gun
- Handles on the aiming wheels
- Braces between the two sides of the frame
- Conduit that runs down the left side of the gun
Other changes included replacing the elevating wheel locate on the right side of the gun with the steering wheel from a Hasegawa Mercedes-Benz G4/W31
car as it was an almost exact match to the kit wheel in size and spoke shape. I also added notches to elevating gear even though it really can't be seen
with the barrel in place between the frame sides.
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One error I didn't fix was the mis-located shaft for the elevation wheel on the right side of the mount. (red arrow in the pictures above)
Conclusion
This kit is definitely not state-of-the-art. As mentioned above, there are some good points and some bad point with the kits. Overall it's a not bad effort that is
really let down by the poor barrel. It's unfortunate that there are no 3rd party replacement barrels for this kit for that's about all it needs to be
made into an acceptable replica of this important anti-aircraft gun.
References
[1] German Medium Flak in Combat, Werner Müller, Schiffer Military History, Westchester 1991 ISBN: 0-88740-351-4
[2] German 20mm Flak in World War II 1935-1945, Werner Müller, Schiffer Military History, Atglen 1995, ISBN: 0-88740-758-7
[3] Wehrmacht Support Vehicles, Robert Michulec, Concord Publications, Hong Kong 1999 ISBN: 962-361-647-3
[4] German Artillery at War 1939-45 Vol.1, Frank V. De Sisto, Concord Publications, Hong Kong 2007, ISBN: 962-361-143-9
[5] German Artillery at War 1939-45 Vol.2, Frank V. De Sisto, Concord Publications, Hong Kong 2008, ISBN: 962-361-144-7
[6] primeportal.net (2cm Flak30 walkaround)
[7] wikipedia
[8] axishistory.com
[9] toadmanstankpictures.com
Review sample purchased by the author.
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