75mm Pak 40 & KwK 40 ammo

Schatton Kit # 7212
RB Kit # 72P01 & 72P09
Black Army Modells # 72-13

Schatton 7212: KwK 40 & Pak40 ammo

This is a beautifully crafted set with a serious identity crisis.

First the good news. The brass rounds and shells (7 of each) are machined as close as one gets to perfection in Braille Scale. The shells are hollow, giving lots of diorama potential.

The bad news is that nobody told Schatton that the Pak40 and KwK40 used completely different ammo. The 714mm long Pak 40 cartridge case is straight and narrow, while the 495mm long cartridge case used in KwK 40 has a much wider bottle-neck [1].

The drawing at the bottom shows this to advantage. The difference is very noticeable.

The empty shells in the set have a length of 9.39mm (676.08 scale mm), which means that

• they are 6% underscale in length for a Pak40 round;
• they are 37% overscale in length for a KwK40 round.
  

The shape is a bit too bulged to really capture the slender looks of a PaK40 round, but a bit too slender for a KwK40 round.
The projectile itself is a bit too long, and comes closest to a Pzgr. Patr.39, if one limits the options to those used on the KwK40 and PaK40.

While meant for the PaK40 and KwK40, I feel that the rounds would actually best capture the look of a SprGr. Patr 42 for the KwK42 (see picture below). These had shells that were 640mm long, so the set would be 6% overscale for that. The overall length was 929mm, and in this respect the set is only 4% overscale. Most of all, the overall shape would correspond far better.

RB Model 72P01: KwK 40 & StuK 40 ammo

In this set you get 12 (hollow) cartridges and 9 rounds, all in metal. When it comes to the quality of the parts, this set is on par with the one above. But is it more accurate ?

The empty shells in the set have a length of 7.01mm (504.72 scale mm), which would make it 2% overscale for a KwK40 round. The shape is very close to the one in the drawing below.
If you really pay attention, you will notice that you get three types of rounds, which I guess are meant to represent the Pzgr. Patr.39, Sprgr.Patr.38 and a round that is close to the latter, but not exactly. It might have to represent the Gr. Patr.38 HI/B, but it's too pointed for that. Perhaps not all the possible rounds are shown in the drawings below. Not having exact dimensions of the different shells I have to judge them from the drawings and find them within "Mk.I eyeball tolerance".

RB Model 72P09: PaK 40 ammo

In this set you get 12 (hollow) cartridges and 9 rounds, all in metal. When it comes to the quality of the parts, this set is on par with the ones above.

The empty shells in the set have a length of 9,68mm (696.96 scale mm), which means that they are 2.5% underscale for a Pak40 round. The shape is spot on though.
Again, you get three types of round. In my opinion representing the Pzgr. Patr.39, Sprgr.Patr.38 and a round that is close to the latter, but not exactly. It might have to represent the Gr. Patr.38 HI/B, but it's too pointed for that. Perhaps not all the possible rounds are shown in the drawings below. Not having exact dimensions of the different shells I have to judge them from the drawings and find them within "Mk.I eyeball tolerance".

Black Army Modells 72-13: PaK 40 ammo

In this set you get 12 complete rounds and 9 (not 3 as the box says) cartridges with a hollowed end, all in resin, together with 3 open crates, 3 closed crates and 3 individual storage tubes.

The empty shells in the set have a length of 10.2mm (734 scale mm), which means that they are 2.8% overscale for a Pak40 round.
Given the difficulty of measuring them while they are still on the sprue, that is within tolerance, while the shape corresponds to the slender profile that they should have.
Removing them from the sprue will require a steady hand, by the way, as there is very little to tell the round apart from its support.

You get four types of round. (The leaflet shows five, but the first two will be indistinguishable in this scale.) Not having exact dimensions of the different shells I have to judge them from the drawings and find them within "Mk.I eyeball tolerance". Casting is flawless.

The individual, metal containers are 14.4 mm (1037 scale mm) long and 1.54 mm (111 scale mm) in diameter, while the real ones were 1030 mm x 115 mm. This is well within tolerance. Remarkably, they come with a minuscule, separate lid.
The wooden cases for three rounds are 16.45 mm x 5.2 mm x 2.4 mm (1184 x 374 x 173 scale mm), while the real ones were 1120 mm x 350 mm x 140 mm, This is well within tolerance, except perhaps for the height. Small strips are given for the bottom of the crates.

Some of the parts were used on the Zvezda Pak 40.

Conclusion

Given that the RB sets are about a third of the price of the Schatton set and are far more accurate, I think the choice is a done deal. Unless you actually want brass shells for the KwK 42 in which case the Schatton set might make sense (until RB Model does them as well).
Comparing the different offerings side by side (see picture at the top), it also clear that Schatton's cartridges are wider (even though the projectiles have the same calibre), again looking more like a KwK42 round.

References

[1] Axis History Forum
[2] Sixth Army Group Website
[3] Wehrmachts-Kisten

The left series of rounds are for the KwK40, the middle for the KwK42 (used in the Panther and Panzer IV/L70), the right for the Pak40 (from The Panzer Trap).

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Article Last Updated:
21 July 2013
25 June 2015
20 December 2019