Thor Hobby

Ammo Set - WWII Germany 15cm Heavy Infantry Gun

An excellent set of accessories from a relatively newcomer Thor Hobby. The first five sets are all ammunition for a variety of German guns from World War Two and have been turned on a lathe from either brass or aluminum.

This set is made from turned aluminum. Inside the package are 5 copies of two different shell types for a total of 10 shells, plus a set of 10 separate charge casings. As far as I can tell the two shell types are for the Igr.38 Nebel smoke round (5 shells to the right in the picture below) and for the 15-cm Igr.38 & 15-cm Igr.33 HE round (5 shells to the left in the picture below).

Specifications below are for the 15-cm Igr.38 and 15-cm Igr.33 HE shell. The only point of difference between these two types is that the "Igr.33 has a screwed-in baseplate, whereas the baseplate of the Igr.38 is in one piece with the shell body" [1]. I was not able to find any specifications for the smoke shell's length.

Shell Length Fuzed (inches) Shell Diameter at Driving Band (inches) Cartridge Length (inches) Cartridge Diameter above Rim Cartridge Diameter at Rim 23.19 5.98 5.24 6.22 6.65 Shell Length (1/72) Shell Diameter (1/72) Cartridge Length (1/72) Cartridge Diameter above Rim (1/72) Cartridge Diameter at Rim (1/72) 0.33 0.08 0.07 0.086 0.09 Caliper Measurements of right shells Kit Shell Length (inches) Kit Shell Diameter (inches) Kit Cartridge Length (inches) Kit Cartridge Diameter above Rim Kit Cartridge Diameter at Rim (1/72) 0.33 0.08 0.06 0.08 0.08 Caliper Measurements of left shells Kit Shell Length (inches) Kit Shell Diameter (inches) Kit Cartridge Length (inches) Kit Cartridge Diameter above Rim Kit Cartridge Diameter at Rim (1/72) 0.39 0.09 0.06 0.08 0.08 As you can see the one set of shells are pretty much perfect for scale. As for the other 5 shells, until I find further information, I'll have to assume they are accurate, but it is a bit suspicious that their diameter is slightly greater than the other 5 shells. The cartridges are nice but I feel they really need to have a rim present and since they are hollow they represent a spent cartridge. The modeller will need to cap the cartridges if they wish to have a ready to fire round. Also, since the real cartridges were brass, I'd like to have seen the kit versions turned from brass stock to get that nice brass look that just can't be replicated properly with paint. There is no instruction sheet to help with colouring of the shells. Reference [1] states "... smoke shell may be identified by the white letters "Nb" on a field-gray projectile ...". I'd have to assume that the HE shell would also be field-gray. Web photos show the fuse to be a bright silver/aluminum colour.

Overall this looks like an excellent set for those wishing to put some ammo along with their SIG33 gun, whether inside one of the self propelled versons or with the towed version.

Review sample provided by Bryan Hsu of Thor Hobby.

Reference: [1] German Infantry Weapons, Special Series No.14, US War Department Military Intelligence Services, Washington 1943.

Article Last Updated: 04 December 2011