Trumpeter has caught paper-panzer fever of late it seems. Following the release of the E50 and E75 this new model dwarfs those in firepower at least. Enter the Geschützwagen VI 21cm Msr 18 [sf], which I believe is also referred to as the Tiger II Grille 21 w/ 210mm Mortar 18/1 L/31. There is not a lot of information about this design. As far as I can find out from perusing the web it did not reach production. So essentially this is another "What-If" model of what might have been turned out of Germany if the war had not thankfully ended when it did.

The Kit

The model most like shares the same 21cm Morser 18 gun recently reviewed here. And the vehicle body itself uses the same sprues from the Geschutzwagen Tiger 17cm K72 previewed by myself in September of 2007. So essentially we have a hybrid kit created from two recent releases. The rear hull stabilizer may be the only unique item added to this variant. I can't tell if the Grille 17 had such a thing but it may have.

Like the Grille 17 this version can also be shown in either a mounted gun or dismounted gun position. Also found on the primary hull pieces were rather deep and noticeable ejector marks in the hull plates. They would need filling and sanding for certain.

There is one photo-etch sheet included with the kit that is also identical to the one in the Grille 17 (item 0378). There are no decals for this kit and the only paint scheme provided is a factory primer one. Being that this required a full page color page, I am not sure it would have been wiser for Trumpeter to skip that on this one.

There is no information about the design/project included with the instructions. So if you want to learn more about the origins or history of the project you aren't going to find them here.

Conclusions

At around $100 retail ($140 list) this is not a small investment for the average modeler. However if you are a lover of all things German (or prototype), or perhaps you dream of building a diorama similar to the one on the box cover, this kit may be right up your alley. The kit does offer a lot of excellent details. Minus the injector marks, this kit would have been much higher regarded. However those alone will likely not stop the Grille enthusiast from making this monster.