Mörser Karl-Gerät 040/041
(Initial Version)
on railway transport carrier
Trumpeter 1:35 Scale Kit No. 00208
First Look Review by Terry Ashley

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Following on from their superb kit of the ‘Mörser Karl-Gerät 040/041 on railway transport carrier’ (kit #00209) from earlier this year Trumpeter have now released the second “Initial Version” which features the first suspension type with eight rubber tyred road wheels sprung on torsion bar suspension as fitted to the first two Nr.I and Nr.II Karl Mörsers produced.

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.

Etched parts

Other bits

As mentioned the lower hull is redesigned to incorporate the location points for the early suspension which is quite detailed and complex as per the original.

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.

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)

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.

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.

Click on thumbnails for larger view
New Initial Version Karl Parts

Transport Carrier Parts


Karl Mörser Parts


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Detail Images

"Bertha's Big Brother Karl-Geraet (60 & 54cm)" by Thomas L. Jentz ISBN 0-9708407-2-1	AFV Modeller Magazine Issue No.12 Detailed buildup of the Dragon Karl with usefull details
German Heavy Mortars Schiffer Military History Vol.39 ISBN 0-88740-322-0	Allied & Axis No.9 Ampersand Publishing

Thanks to my credit card and for the review kit.