Introduction:

The Carl Gustaf is an 84 mm man-portable reusable anti-tank recoilless rifle produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics (formerly Bofors Anti-Armour AB) in Sweden. When introduced in 1948, the Carl Gustaf was similar in most respects to weapons such as the American Bazooka, British PIAT or German Panzerschreck anti-tank weapons. However, the Carl Gustaf was a recoilless rifle design featuring a rifled barrel which differentiated itself from its contemporaries, offering greater range and firepower.

Since its inception, the Carl Gustaf went on to become a pivotal offensive arm of military forces around the globe. The M1 appeared in 1948 and was followed by the improved Carl Gustaf M2 in 1964. The M3 followed decades later in 1991 and featured a host of improvements, chief among these being a reduction in overall weight and size. The Carl Gustaf remains in operational service and is a particular favorite with special forces groups including the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) units designated as M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS).

(adapted from: https://www.militaryfactory.com/)

Review:

Live Resin recently offered the Carl Gustaf in 1/35 scale as: M3 Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle - M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS) (LRE 35326). The company produces M3 Carl Gustaf ammo and ammo boxes (LRE-35327) as well, also reviewed on Armorama: link.

The kit is packed is a zip-lock bag secured in a cardboard clamshell with the CAD box art showing the contents of the set.

The kit consists of 10 pieces molded in grey resin. The cast is really good and I found no evidence of resin imperfections whatsoever. There is some thin flash residue on the carrier blocks which is easily removed using the back of an X-acto knife. The resin pieces feature sharply defined details nicely delivered in scale. The pieces include two of each:

- main launcher tube
- venturi nozzle
- optical sight
- shoulder piece
- bipod

for assembling two complete Carl Gustaf M3 MAAWS.

The weapon consists of the main tube with the breech-mounted Venturi recoil damper, with two grips near the front and a shoulder mount. The weapon is fitted with iron sights, but is normally aimed with the attached 3× optical sight mounted on Picatinny Fire Control Device. All these details are nicely depicted in this 1/35 scale set, along with the integral carrying handle and detachable bipod. I particularly like Venturi lever and the lock knob and tiny details on the optical sight… a true work of art. The assembly guide is not included, but this set doesn’t really need one anyway as the position of each piece is easy to deduce from the box art image. The pieces feature protrusions and indentations which help in optimal alignment, so the assembly is very much straightforward. The completed model is 30.5mm (1.2 in) long which corresponds well to the 42 inches long Carl Gustaf. Altogether, my research shows this kit provides a very realistic and accurate 1/35 scale miniature copy of the M3 Carl Gustaf MAAWS.

Conclusion:

M3 Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle - M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS) (LRE-35326) from Live Resin is an absolutely great kit. Superbly produced in resin, with ton of sharp details, intelligently engineered and easy to assemble, the kit delivers two extremely accurate M3 Carl Gustaf MAAWS in 1/35 scale. Due to the weapon’s new life as bunker-buster in Afghanistan, this kit should prove a valuable addition to modern day vignettes and dioramas, especially those featuring US Special Forces.

Live Resin goodies are available at: https://models-hobby.com/.