JK Resin

German WW II KwK38 + MG34

This set contains

• A metal KwK38 barrel
• A resin KwK38 barrel
• A metal MG34 barrel
• A resin MG34 barrel

As far as I can tell, the resin items are identical to the metal items (except for the medium) in both quality and appearance. The KWK38 barrel is hollowed out and I can only guess that, after painting, nobody will be able to tell which one was which. What is remarkable, and this is the first time that I see this on any replacement barrel for the KwK, are the very tiny indentations on the muzzle. Similarly, the MG34 barrel sports its own series of (very typical) indentations.

As the label already indicates, quite a few German AFV used these weapons, but there is more to it.
While doing some research for this review and going through Panzer Tracts 15/1, I noticed that the barrel on the Sd.Kfz.250/9 Ausf. A mit Panzeraufbau Sd.Kfz.250/Z was notably shorter than that on the Sd.Kfz.250/9 Ausf. A mit Panzeraufbau Sd.Kfz.250E. Thanks to a post by H.L. Doyle on Missing Lynx, I discovered that during 1943 it was decided that the KwK38 should be fitted with the longer barrel of the Flak38, and be called “2cm KwK 38 mit Flakrohr”. The difference in length (L/55 vs L/65) is situated between the muzzle and the rear collar and thus almost impossible to modify. For some vehicles, it doesn't matter, as the barrels will have to be inserted some way into a metal sleeve (e.g. the Panzer II G/H/J/L), but others will show the whole of the gun assembly (e.g. Sd.Kfz.222 and 250/9). Using Panzer Tracts 15/1 (for the Sd.Kfz.250/9) as a reference, I found that the section of the KwK barrel represented in this set should be around 1180mm, if we assume it is the later type of barrel. As the kit part scales out at 1240mm, I believe the gun is a correct representation, if one slides the thicker end in the rear a little into the body of the gun. The center of the barrel (between muzzle and rear collar) is a perfect match for the L/65 barrel compared to the drawings.
A case in point here is the Sd.Kfz.222, which was built until mid-1943. It is possible that some late vehicles were (retro-)fitted with the L/65 barrel, but I haven't yet seen a wartime picture to confirm this.

The MG 34 barrel was measured as being 700mm in Panzer Tracts 15/1, while the JK Resin barrel scales out at 740mm. If this matters to the modeller, the rear of the barrel should be inserted into the gun body by an extra 0.5mm.

Review sample kindly provided by JK Resin.

JK Resin kits can be purchased from

Article Last Updated: 05 March 2017