Mörser Karl-Gerät 040/041
(Initial Version)
on railway transport carrier
1:35 Kit No. 00208
First Look Review
by Terry Ashley
The kit is basically the same as kit #00209 with a new lower hull and suspension parts to represent the initial version and my comments in the first review also apply here for the Mörser and rail transports so I will just concentrate on the new suspension parts.
Each external torsion bar support box is made up of six parts each and as there are sixteen units gives you an idea of the number of parts in this suspension along with two suspension arms for each double rubber tyred road wheel assembly which are supported by the characteristic full length suspension bar and eight double return rollers.
The new drive sprockets have the correct 17 teeth compared to the 12 teeth
in the later sprocket while still including the superb inner sprocket detail
if you want to leave the outer cover off to show this off.
The idler wheels are also the correct design for the early suspension and
the full length support bar has separate upper and lower sections that incorporate
good bolt head details and the whole assembly conveys the same complex feel
as the original and it easy to see why the suspension was redesigned for
the remaining five Karls.
The suspension can be assembled in the raised or lowered position by repositioning the road wheels to give the same options as the first Karl kit.
To finish off the excellent attention to detail shown in the suspension parts is the new track while still full length vinyl has the correct 133 links per track compared to the 94 links in the later track and also don’t have the hole in the guide tooth which is again correct for this early track.
To illustrate the complexity of the early suspension there are seven pages in the instructions devoted to the suspension while in the first kit there were just three pages.
While the kit still includes both the 60cm and 54cm barrels it should be noted that only Geraet Nr.I was converted to mount the 54cm barrel while Nr.II retained the 60cm barrel throughout its life.
Rail Sections:
One thing that I overlooked in the review of kit #00209 was
that the track sections were actually reduced in gauge from 44.5mm (as included
in
the Trumpeter Leopold kit #00207) to 41mm in the Karl kits, which
is the same gauge as that included in the Dragon Leopold kit.
Obviously the width of the rail truck wheels has been altered accordingly
to fit the new track
gauge. (Thanks to John Derosier for the heads up on that one)
Decals:
The new decal sheet includes markings for both Nr.I and Nr.II with vehicle
names 'Adam' and 'Eva' and a selection of stencil data for the rail trucks
with both vehicles finished in overall Dark Grey.
Conclusion:
As the kit is basically the same of the first released Karl the same superlatives
apply and the attention to detail in the new suspension parts is in keeping
with the overall superb level of details and this kit is also the only one
available with the first style suspension which offers significant choice
between the available kits.
Highly Recommended.
See the Mörser Karl-Gerät Subjects listings for reviews of additional update sets available for the Mörser Karl-Gerät kits.
The Sprues:
Note: Some images are scanned in multiple segments due to the size of the
parts and this may result in some image distortion, thank you.
References:
| "Bertha's
Big Brother Karl-Geraet (60 & 54cm)" by Thomas L. Jentz ISBN 0-9708407-2-1  |
AFV Modeller Magazine |
| German Heavy Mortars Schiffer Military History Vol.39 ISBN 0-88740-322-0  |
Allied & Axis No.9 Ampersand Publishing  |
Page created 25 November 2004
