“Kubelblitz” 3cm MK.103
Flak Turret conversion
Schatton Modellbau 1:48 Set #4812
Review by Terry Ashley
The resin set is designed for the Bandai/Fuman Panzer IV kit but we can assume Tamiya will add a Panzer IV to their 1:48 range in the near future and the set consists of five pieces in light grey resin and two machined brass 3cm cannon barrels.
The barrels feature the unusual flattened muzzle brake with a series of seven horizontal holes fully drilled out with of course the muzzle bore also drilled out for very convincing looking barrel/muzzle brake combination.
The upper armoured shield ring has resin film filling the centre section
and this has to be carefully removed and also at the bottom of the shield
are large sections of excess resin pour plugs which are quite difficult to
remove due to the relatively thin shield and care and patience are needed
when removing these to ensure the lower lip of the shield is not damaged,
but by working slowly using a razor saw to remove the majority of the excess
and then lightly sanding on a flat surface you should be able to remove this
without problems.
The shield is cast quite thin and also includes the three weld joins at the
sides and front as well as the raised section at the rear of the shield with
of course the two cut-outs for the cannon at the front.
The lower turret ring also has the central section filled with resin film but this is easy to remove as the ring is quite sturdy and includes the two side mounting brackets for the ball turret and you will need to fit short sections of 1mm wire through the brackets into the central holes in the sides of the ball turret which should allow the turret to elevate after assembly. This ring fits into the turret ring cut-out in the top hull of the Panzer IV with the cone shield fitted in place once the ball turret is mounted but as I unfortunately don’t have a donor kit to test the fit I can’t comment on this aspect.
There is also the two lifting hooks provided in resin but you will be better using these as a guide to make the hooks from wire as the ends have to bent almost a right angles to the welded mounting pins and the resin hooks are cast flat.
The instructions are entirely in German text with line drawings showing the assembly of the parts and as this is quite straightforward there shouldn’t be any problems, one thing to watch is the drawings of the armoured shield still show the lower resin plugs attached which can cause a bit of confusion.
Resin parts
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This set should appeal to anyone interested in the unusual designs to come out of Germany in the later war years and will certainly make an interesting model.
Highly recommended.
References:
Schatton Modellbau sets are available from 48 Special Models or direct from the Schatton Modellbau website for the details of the full range available.
Page created 11 April 2005