60cm Flakscheinwerfer
(Flak-Sw 36) mit Sd.Ah.51
AFV Club 1:35 Scale Kit No. AF 35125
Review by Terry Ashley
The 60cm searchlight was the smallest of the various German searchlights of WWII and due to it's limited range was the standard searchlight used with 20cm and 37cm low level flak guns, with the light mounted on the lower base also used for the 20cm FlaK30 AA Gun.
The kit consists of approximately 134 parts in olive drab plastic with 16
clear parts, 17 etched parts and a small
instruction sheet.
One of the sprues (I) comes from the UHU kit with a new sprue A with the new
base and sprue B for the Sd.Ah.51 trailer from the Tristar 20mm FlaK38 (kit
#35010).
The standard of moulding is again excellent overall with virtually no pin marks to be seen but there are a number of small plastic ‘nodes’ on some parts to be carefully removed but these help to reduce pin marks and the extra cleanup has benefits.
The detail on the searchlight and mounting in particular are exceptionally finely moulded with very intricate assemblies that add greatly to the overall appearance of the kit with many very small wing nuts added around the searchlight.
The large 60cm searchlight which was a standout feature of the UHU kit has many very fine parts that will need care during assembly. The level of detail extends to the lens louvers and projector inside the searchlight itself which can easily be seen after assembly as this light does not have the front IR cover as with the UHU.
The main searchlight body is in two halves with the projector (part K12) and rear reflective mirror (part K3) in clear plastic with the instructions indicating to add the mirror to the inside of the rear cover (part I14) before fitting the cover but due to a small lip around the inside to the searchlight halves the mirror will not fit into the searchlight. You can either reduce the diameter of the clear mirror or slide it through the front of the searchlight after the rear cover in attached, also the instructions are not clear where the projector should actually go but if the opaque front lens is fitted you can’t see it anyway.
Added to the searchlight body is the large front ring which is moulded in one piece with details cleanly rendered around the outside as well as on the front and inside for a very impressive moulding. There are eight very small wing nuts to be added around the ring which will require care and on the inside is a clear front lens and six etched louvers for an impressive assembly.
Other smaller details are added around the searchlight body including more very small wing nuts and lifting handles as well as large equipment boxes and fittings.
The large searchlight yoke is in three parts with many additional supports and small details added and this allows the searchlight to elevate once fitted in place with the two side attachments (parts I39) but make sure you use glue sparingly when fitting these. But watch as there is a third yoke arm supplied as with the UHU and you should use parts I16 and L24 for the yoke arms in this kit.
Assembling the searchlight is what you might say straightforward but with a total of 66 parts that includes 17 of those tiny wing nuts it will require a bit of patience and care but there were no actual problems other than the strain in the eyesight and looks very impressive after assembly.
The lower base has the large triangular section with round turntable base and top plate with added details such as small grab handles and hand wheels as well as the four part operator's seat at the back.
On the lower base are additional smaller details and the distinctive front extensions for securing to the Sd.Ah.51 trailer for another quite detailed assembly.
As mentioned the Sd.Ah.51 trailer is from the Tristar 20mm FlaK38 kit and is also very well done but the main trailer frame has some prominent mould seam lines which can represent the weld seam that goes around the frame but take when removing the sprue attachment burr to preserve the seam which can be done very easily, the wheel mud guards are included with the frame moulding but still have well defined details as well as separate suspension spring units.
The two wheels are very nicely done with subtle tread pattern and again no pin marks on either side of the wheel rims which again adds to the nice detail as does the multi part trailer hitch which is made up of seven parts and can be shown raised or lowered as required..
Instructions:
These are the usual exploded view drawings and are easy to follow although
the usual care should be taken with some of the more intricate assemblies
to make sure you understand where things go before gluing.
Conclusion:
This is an excellent follow on release from the UHU as the searchlight
can be used in a myriad of situations from the ground mount supplied to being
mounted on various trucks with the detail on the searchlight being a standout
feature as it was with the UHU kit.
It will be interesting to see if AFV Club make use of the FlaK30 base to bring
us a current generation FlaK30 which would be most welcome.
Highly recommended 8/10.
The Sprues:
Thanks
to AFV
Club for
the review
kit.
is
distributed in Australia by J.B.Wholesalers
Page Created February 19, 2007