Karl-Gerät 040/041
60cm Schwere Betongranate
(Concrete piercing shell)
1/35th Scale
Review by Terry Ashley
Included in the first release kits was an aluminium 60cm shell which again looked impressive due to it's size but bore little resemblance to the real thing other than having a blunt and pointy end.
The Mörser Karl used two types of 60cm rounds, a 2.5 meter long, 2.2 metric ton "Schwere" shell and a 1.9 meter long, 1.7 metric ton "leichte" shell and due to the efforts of Daniel Munoz of NutsnBits we now have a detailed resin "Schwere" shell to add some detail to the kit.
The shell set comes in either a three part casting or as a single casting, but as the single casting has the pouring points along the side of the shell requiring cleanup while the three part shell does not have any casting points to be cleaned up this would seem the better option, this review is based on the three part shell.
The resin parts are cast to a high standard with a very smooth finish to the resin and the only cleanup needed is some minor excess resin on the mating surfaces, you don't need to remove the large casting blocks as these simply fit into the hollowed out ends of the center shell section. A few of the large holes around the end of the shell were filled with excess resin but this was easity drilled out for a clean finish.
The rear section has excllent details with very nice engraved design on the end as well as the holes and raised ribs around the diameter, the nose section has the correct contours with rounded nose profile unlike the kit shell which is too pointed. The center section has both ends hollowed out to accept the locating plug on the rear and nose sections and the three parts fit together perfectly without the need for trimming or glue for that matter.
Conclusion:
This is a very well produced and cast 60cm shell for your Karl with the
embossing on the blunt end a highlight and is far superior to the metal sheel
included in the Dragon kit. Comparing the resin shell to the excellent photos
of the "Schwere" shell in the Allied & Axis
Issue 9, Daniel
has captured the details perfectly.
For a detailed look at the shell during the production and casting stages check out the Nuts'n'Bits website or contact Daniel at daniel@nutsnbits.com for details. Payment can be made via Paypal and thanks to Daniel for a quick turnaround time for my order.
Highly recommended
The Resin Bits:The Nuts'n'Bits resin shell at the top with the Dragon metal
shell at the bottom
References:
Page created 25 June 2003