introduction

The idea was to have a recoilless gun which was still lightweight and easy to transport. At the start of the project the calibre of the gun was 81mm which later was changed to 105mm. To keep it easy to handle the project was not allowed to exceed the 45 Kg limit which allowed the gun plus carriage being carried by three man, towed behind a Motorcycle or even towed behind a bicycle. It had a lightweight carriage which was able to put the gun at a height between 30 cm and 80 cm. and it was also able to turn the gun 360 degrees from a pivot on top of the carriage.

When the gun was presented to Hitler and his staff they were not really convinced and they ordered the gun to be put away and let the people who worked on the project work on other projects which the Obercommand thought were more useful. Then at the end of the war when the armour of the opponents became thicker and they came with more tanks the need for a good Anti Tank gun became bigger. And the immediate answer was….. Der Hammer. At the end of 1944 they pulled the project out of the closet again and started to make it ready for mass production but then again the obercommand put the attention to other stuff and Der Hammer was put aside again. At the beginning of 1945 the SS weapon command ordered to start the mass production of this gun and to put it in immediate action. And with many of these projects this decision was too late. At the time the few guns that actually came off the production line came to the front (which was already into germany) the war was almost over.

The Kit

The kit comes in a medium-sized transparent Ziplog bag with a piece of paper stapled to it. On the front side of that paper you’ll see the Coelian Logo and the name of the kit on the backside you’ll see 2 black and white pictures one original picture of the gun while the other is a representation of the built kit.
In the bag you’ll find 12 parts casted in cream-white resin. The parts are: 1 Barrel with the shooting mechanism and the aiming device molded on it. Two wheels with thin spokes. The holder of the gun, the pivot and the places where the legs attach to it. The legs front And back are divided into three parts the “backlegs” are casted in one part while the front legs are two separate parts. 2 crates for the 105 mm rockets and 3 separate grenades.

1st Impression

I opened up the bag and examined all the parts carefully. Well a lot of really thin parts but no warping. So no parts that needed to be bend with the help of heat etc. One thing that is represented on all parts…… Flash. Well just a thin layer nothing that is able to beat the Exacto. With the help of a hobby knife and a little file you’ll have nice clean parts in no time.
On the end of the barrel is a block which needs to be cut or sanded away Not a big problem here it is not the first resin kit that has those blocks. The detail of this barrel is very good. The real 1:1 barrel is 2 parts that are clicked together with a sort of Bayonet fitting. The kit barrel is delivered in 1 part but the Bayonet fitting is very good visible. The Aiming device is a normal PAK aiming device. Also a nice touch is that the barrel has the two straps, that are attached to the gun to carry it around, are molded onto the gun.
Top part of the carriage. This part contains the pivot and provides the axles for the front and back legs. The pivot part cannot be turned as it is molded to the part underneath it. If you want the gun to be turned you could cut or saw it between the two parts. Turn it and glue it. Because of the angle of the holders for the back legs the gun can only be put up in his lowest position (the 30 Cm level) or the highest position (the 80 Cm position)
The grenades and the Ammo-crates. Well the grenades are quite fragile pieces but no warping. The grenade looks a bit like a mortar grenade only with a longer stick. The stabilisation fins are really thin but still sharp and correct looking. The crates are in closed position and have nice details like the rope-handles but also the wooden handles on the sides. Also details like hinges are represented.

Conclusion

This is a kit of a quite unusual subject and therefore very interesting to build. Besides the flash there are no real big problems to it. The fact that there is no instruction sheet with the kit should not be a problem. The gun only has 7 parts (when you built it with the wheels on. In the fixed position without the wheels the parts only count 5) and the built is pretty straightforward. Also the addition of the ammo-crates and the grenades give a nice detail for some groundwork you could make with it.
The figure I added with it is only for scale-reference and is not included in the kit. Also the price for a resin kit is good,certainly for the subject.

I would recommend this kit to everyone.