Introduction:

In the mid 1950s German MoD was looking for a new automatic rifle, chambered for a standard NATO 7.62x51 mm round. A number of designs were considered and the Spanish CETME Model B was eventually selected. In 1957 German government acquired production license of this weapon and handed it over to their Heckler & Koch (HK) company. After some local modifications, the resulting design became the HK G3, and the weapon was adopted by the Bundeswehr in 1959 as a standard issue infantry rifle. It was used until the mid 1990s, when it was replaced by the G36 assault rifle.

The German G3 battle rifle design proved extremely popular with the rifle widely exported and used by more than 75 countries worldwide.

Adapted from: http://www.military-today.com

Review:

This review covers one of the latest 1/35 scale weapon sets produced under Live Resin label: Heckler & Koch G3A3 and G3A4 rifles set (LRE 35297). For reviews of various other Live Resin sets on Armorama, visit this page: link.

The set comes packed in a zip-lock bag safely secured in a hard cardboard clamshell. The box art on the front shows the contents of the set, while the one on the back displays the weapon in more detail. The set contains six G3s, each weapon on its individual carrier block. The carrier stubs are thin and delicate, greatly facilitating the cleanup process. The grey resin looks really good and, other than some thin flash residue easily removed using a back of an X-acto blade, I found no imperfections in the cast.

The kit includes G3 assault rifle in its two main configurations: G3A3 and G3A4. G3A3 is the final production form of the G3 family and the most common variant of the weapon, which features drum sights, fixed polymer buttstock and a polymer handguard in a slim ventilated variant. G3A4 version retains all of the G3A3 features and introduces a collapsing stock with rubber buttplate, similar to the HK MP5A3. The set contains two G3A3 (labeled LRE35297A) and four G3A4, two with retracted and two with extended stock (labeled LRE35297B and LRE35297C, respectively). Close inspection reveals all the G3A3/G3A4 features are clearly identifiable and well delivered in this 1/35 scale kit. As with all Live Resin weapon sets, the level of details is absolutely amazing… digitally sculpted and developed using high-resolution 3D printing technology, these resin pieces are in fact accurate and realistic miniature copies of the real weapons in scale. But hey, we learned to expect nothing but the best from Live Resin, right?

Conclusion:

Heckler & Koch G3A3 and G3A4 rifles set (LRE 35297) from Live Resin delivers G3 assault rifles in 1/35 scale, in its two main configurations: G3A3 and G3A4. The set includes six weapons cast perfectly in resin, with a ton of wonderfully defined details. Meticulously researched and accurately reproduced, these weapons are definitely a work of art. Well done Live Resin!

Please note that Live Resin also offers HK G3 based specialized sniper rifles in their 1/35 scale weapon catalogue, all available from Live Resin webstore: https://models-hobby.com

Thanks to Yaroslav from Live Resin for this review sample.

References:

Heckler & Koch
Modern Firearms
Military Factory
Military Today
Wikipedia