Hi! I Have bought the ALAN 1/35 88mm pak 43, this kit has not got the four-leg carriage that was on the (standard) 88mm pak 43, but instead it's got four small flimpsy "legs" that can lift the gun free of the ground, I have not found any info on such a carriage anywhere, does anybody know if this has ever existed or is this kit's carriage purely fictional

Hi John

Doing a Google search under "88mm pak 43" brings up some information and images so I'd give that a try.

I seem to remember comments about this not being a very accurate kit, but I can't speak with authority on what is correct or incorrect, so I'll leave it open to others to state.

F.Y.I it would seem most Alan kits are criticised regarding accuracy, but that hasn't stopped people like Dragon re-boxing and selling them under their own brand.

As I say Google should help you with some more information on the actual gun.

Alan

When that kit was originally issued, people pored over resources to find the reference. I believe someone found that some 5cm Flak prototype had a carriage similar to what Alan placed onto their 8.8cm Pak. That was about it. Nice thing is Trumpeter has announced an 8.8cm Pak 43.

I have allready tried googling the gun, and nothing about this strange ALAN-carriage came up. The ALAN carriage is very different from the version that appears on photographs, and also what is written about the gun. Meaning it cant just be unprecise modeling it has to be a totally different carriage or something fictional

Hi! thanks, yes i noticed the 5 cm flak has a carriage almost like the ALAN-kit, only this 5 cm carriage got only three of these small legs, so thats not even precise, seems like a very bad research from ALAN.

Hi

I'd go for fictional if asked to make a choice. As Roy has said Trumpeter have a version coming out which should be based on research and be accurate, but then again any model can be poured over till inaccuracies are found.

I'd just build it simply as a model of a gun made in kit form by ALAN and enjoy the building and painting of it without worry or stress of getting it accurate. Certainly if you are placing it in some sort of scene then late war period rather than early would be the best bet.

Alan

A long time coming, but I think that the picture on page 78 of 'D-Day to Berlin' (Terence Wise / A&AP) is of this carriage. The 4 carriage wheels are different though, having more in common with the early-style ones from the Flak 18/36/37 carriages. When Terry Ashley first reviewed this one for PMMS he described it as a late-model Pak 43 carriage. As I already own one of these it would be interesting to build up this with the 'spare' PE etched shield parts from the new Trumpeter 2308 kit as a comparison model.

I think that you could build a pretty accurate model by by-passing the entire issue of the accuracy of the mobile carrage mount.

What I'd do with this kit is to build it in a "West Wall" type setting emplaced on a concrete pad in an entrenched position. There are plenty of references showing various ground-mounted Pak's and KwK's (Jagd Panther and Jagd Tiger guns for example) in such positions.

Just another idea.

Mike