Darren Baker takes a first-look at the latest model of the feared German 88mm gun, this time from Bronco who have released a German 88mm L71 Flak 41 Anti-Aircraft Gun with crew.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Grey plastic is a good trend. On the tan it was sometimes hard to see weld detail and I could easily remove smth. Impressive kit.

I agree with Roman. Lighter plastic colors can mean you miss imperfections.

Great review, Darren. That Bronco includes a crew at all is nice, though it limits you to a Winter scenario. I wonder if Frenchy is lurking and can provide us with crew photos? Twelve is a lot - how is the work divided? Comnander, spotter, plus two for moving the gun horizontally and vertically, and one to fire it. Would that mean seven powder monkeys?

Bill other than an assistant gun layer it does not clarify who did what, but as it was said to be able to fire 15 rounds a minute I suspect a large number were throwing in shells to fire.

Darren, that makes sense.

The challenge for us modelers is coming up with a crew of 10+. I know some of your figure mavens like Rudi Richardson can work wonders with a hobby knife and putty, but I'm no sculptor!

Bill the set has 9.5 pairs of arms, 7 pairs of legs, 8 heads, and 6 torso's, with another set of these figures or similar dressed set there should be plenty of scope for six more figures. the L41 also appears to be the correct gun and shield to be placed on a Panther chassis for an original build of that Panther.

Hi,




here you'll find a drawing showing the positions of the 11(!) crewmembers:

http://zweiter-weltkrieg-lexikon.de/index.php/Geschutze/Flugabwehrkanonen-FlaK/88-cm-Flak-41.html

HTH

Ralf

That's good news, Darren. I have the FlaK 36 that figure set was originally released with and I don't recall it having that many heads and arms.

Ralf, that's very helpful. I thought I might translate it into English, but was bedeviled by some technical terms like Seitenrichtmaschine.

Until someone can translate it better, i'll try:

K1 and K10 : elevation setters
K2 : azimuth setter
K3 : loader
K4 and K5 : ammunition
K6 : fuse setter
K7 : takes shells from ammonition numbers and puts them into the fuse setting mechanism
K8 and K9 : ammunition
GF : Commander

the "K" means Kannonier

against ground targets the K2 fires the gun

HTH

Ralf

Bravo to the Platt-Deutscher!

And Darren, can you construct it without the splinter shield? That's hardcore Defense of the Reich.

Hi Bill: The only time I've never seen a photo of an 8.8cm Flak 41 w/o the shield -- even the Krupp Versuchsflakwage (VFW) had it in place. I think it's just a coincidence of crews wanting them, and the gun maker providing it as integral to the design (unlike the earlier Flaks 18/36/37)

Thanks, Roy. Most stationary FlaK battery photos and newsreels I've seen show the earlier models without the splinter shield.

This is one artillery kit I simply MUST have. It looks impressive. I have to say that I really like all of these Bronco artillery kits. They are always a bit challenging to build (I'm working on their Pak 36r at the moment and is a PITA to put together) but, in my opinion, after completion, I feel like a much better modeler for having gone through the experience. And the details they pack in each kit are second only to resin and/or PE accessories (not that far from those actually).

Rob

Well, it looks like future Bronco kit 35114 WILL have the trailers so if you want a mobile version, wait for that, though I imagine it will be pricey.