Bill Cross reviews Bronco's Sd.Kfz. 6/2 3.7cm FlaK 36.



Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Nice review Bill. It does seem odd to gig Bronco for not including the trailer, when they do offer the correct trailer, just as a separate kit. Neither Dragon or Trumpeter even offer the correct trailer, so those comments are applicable to them.

Jesse, you have a valid point, and I wrestled with how to handle this. But I don't think it's unreasonable to have them include the trailer. Great Wall pulled the same thing when they released their sWS without a motor. Now they are releasing a motor + tranny kit for extra $$$$. If you're not going to show the bonnet open, you might just say "**** the engine, who needs it?" So maybe it's a gamble worth taking by companies looking to pad their margins in a very competitive marketplace.

I do realize it's a marketing decision: does a company price a kit higher & include the trailer, or are enough modelers going to purchase the kit sans trailer and not really care? Those of us who want accuracy know you need to have a source of ammunition, whether it's an Opel Blitz truck or a trailer. I will be ordering the Bronco trailer, so I suppose they beat me. I could also just as easily use the Wiener Modellbau trailer that has been waiting on the shelf for me to finish my Sd.Kfz. 7/2 kit.

DML has steadfastly refused to include trailers in its gun-toting 1/2 tracks. Trumpeter's trailers are either totally wrong (e.g., their Sd.Kfz. 7/1) or questionable hybrids (their Sd.Kfz. 7/1 Late War). Bronco's trailer appears to be correct, but will add an additional $26 to the build cost (plus any AM upgrades one chooses such as a turned aluminum barrel and brass muzzle brake).

In the interest of being consistent, I did subtract some points from my rating for not including a trailer. It's still a very nice kit, and many of y'all will likely decide you don't really need (or even want) a trailer. A huge number of surviving photos show these 1/2 tracks w/o trailers, so you're not exposing yourselves to ridicule if you build this trailer-less.