Bolt Action 8,8 cm FlaK 37
Final part of this week's anti-tank gun series makes the 8.8cm FlaK 37 by Warlord Games / Italeri.
The 8,8 is one of the most famous guns of World War 2. Similar to PaK for Panzerabwehrkanone, FlaK is a contraction of Flugzeugabwehrkanone. Actually developed as an anti-air gun, but due to the ability to shoot horizontally, it was often used as an anti-tank gun. The 8,8, depending on where you are either called eight-eight or eighty-eight, was produced as prototypes early as 1928, later wide spread production started in the early 1930s and the gun was used in the Spanish Civil War and Sino-Japanese War as well. The here shown FlaK 37 is the latest of the first generation of 8,8s.
Heer46 8,8 cm Pak 43
Heer46, the German resin forge for small series, released this 8,8 cm PaK 43 late 2017 / early 2018 and it fits well, with this week's anti-tank gun theme. I have covered their Panther F-Schmalturm and Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf. B on here as well.
Initially designed by Krupp as a competition to the 8,8cm FlaK 41 (the second generation of the 8,8 cm Flak 18/36/37), it was reworked and went into production in 1942. The first units were mounted to the Nashorn tank destroyers, later in mid 1943 available on cross outrigger or split rail carriages (as PaK 43/41).
Rubicon Models PaK 40 AT Gun with Crew
After a brief detour into the Wild West, we're back to anti-tank gun week with the PaK 40 by Rubicon Models.
The 7,5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40 or PaK 40 was the backbone of the late war German anti-tank guns. More than 23.000 units were produced and mostly used on carriages, but some were mounted to tank destroyers like the Marder series. Development of the PaK 40 started early, when the first Soviet tanks were brought to Berlin in 1939 and the 5 cm ammunition of the PaK 38 that was still tested at that point, proofed to be not powerful enough to deal with the newer designs of slopped and thicker armour.
Rubicon Models PaK 38 – PaK 97/38 AT Gun with Crew
Today we're looking at the successor of the PaK 36, the PaK 38 by Rubicon Models. This kit covers the variants 38 and 97/38 of the anti-tank gun including a crew.
Rheinmetall-Borsig, who produced the earlier PaK 36 as well, were ordered to develop a new, heavier anti-tank gun after the Spanish Civil War. After an initial sketch of a new pattern named 37, which was not approved by the German authorities, they had to come up with an improved version, the PaK 38. This more powerful anti-tank gun was one of the few guns being able to penetrate the sloped armour of the T-34 in 1941.
Rubicon Models PaK 36 AT Gun with Crew
This week is all about anti-tank guns. We'll cover a couple of different sets in 28mm, beginning with this PaK 36 AT Gun incl. crew by Rubicon Models.
The PaK (Panzerabwehrkanone) 36 was a German anti-tank gun, that was issued to the German army in 1936 and used by the tank hunter units until 1942. It even saw action before World War 2 in the Spanish Civil War, and performed well against the light tanks and later against the Polish tanks in 1939. In the Battle of France it showed its weakness against French and British heavy tanks. The PaK 36 was replaced from late 1940 onward by the 5 cm PaK 38 anti-tank gun and from November 1941 by the 7.5 cm PaK 40. Until the production ceased completely, there were over 20.000 units produced, of which roughly 6.000 were built for export. Other nations like the Soviet Union and Japan copied the design in the 1930s.
Warhammer 40.000 Killzone: Sector Mechanicus
As supplements for the Kill Team Starter kit Games Workshop released a series of specific Killzone Environments. These kits are bundles of already available terrain kits with added content for the Kill Team rule set at greatly reduced price.
In this unboxing and build review, I continue with the terrain kits after the Sector Imperialis Basilicanum and move forward to the Killzone: Sector Mechanicus.
For 65 EUR we receive a huge and heavy box, with a lot (and I mean it, a lot!) of sprues. I had to add the comparison with the Primaris Space Marine so you get a feeling for that huge stack of frames you get for that money. But that is not all, as mentioned above, this is not simply a discounted terrain bundle, this is a Kill Team Killzone supplement, covering a double sided thick card board gaming mat and additional gaming material, like an environment chart for the Sector Mechanicus, 4 new scenarios using the terrain from this kit and 12 new tactic cards.
Enjoying parental leave
I'm currently taking a parental leave of around 2 months (if you count in the two weeks "pre-arrival" vacation, it's even longer) and that gives me a lot of time to spend with my new-born daughter. It is quite overwhelming, satisfying and exhausting, everything at the same time. She sleeps a lot and I spend that time to support my wife (who is doing an amazing job on being a mother), cooking and trying out some new recipes, as well as of course enjoying a bit more time than usual in my "hobby den".
Our baby carrier arrived this weekend and but we waited to put into use until today, with the help of our midwife, to make sure we do nothing wrong. And what can I say, having to free arms / hands is a game changer. I tell you, eating gets a lot more difficult if you only have one free hand and it's even more difficult if it is your off-hand. The little one loves the proximity and some of the basic stuff I can do with here in front of me. But I'm covering all the parental things on Little Big Adventures (in German).
So what am I currently tinkering about? Well, last Sunday Daniel / Dino (freshly baked dad himself) dropped by, we talked about his upcoming Konflikt '47 Italy army and what possibilities for conversions are in the room. I can tell you, quite a lot. But he'll cover that in separate articles. I took a break or better said interruption from the dominantly historic ww2 reviews, from those Tigers, Hetzers and Marders. I do like those kits and they are fun to build, but a bit more variation is a healthy thing to do, I added a bit of fantasy and sci-fi in there, along with different historical epochs.
Bolt Action Universal Carrier Wasp Mk II
Along with the previous introduced Chindits, there is need for suiting vehicular support. In Burma they used the nimble bren carriers to transport soldiers and goods, some of the universal carriers were fitted with a flamethrower and called Wasp, which I want to introduce in this review.
Of the more than 110,000 units that were build of the universal carrier, roughly 1,000 units were manufactured as the wasp. The wasp carried the Ronson flamethrower system, with the Mark I having it fixed in the front and the Mk II the projector on the co-driver's position. Both had two fuel tanks with a capacity of 100 gallons. The canadians developed the Mk IIC with a single 75 gallon fuel tank. As you can see from the product image, this is the Mark II of the wasp.
Annual Review of 2017, Preview of 2018
Wow, another year passed and what a year it was. Almost 60 updates on here, available in both English and German. A busy year for me and my family, both personal and hobby-wise. A lot of things happened. I got engaged early this year, went to New Zealand for a month in late summer and got married two month ago.
So what went on on here, at, on and in the Chaosbunker. It was again very focused on reviews and Bolt Action, and I'm looking forward to open up on that in the upcoming year.
Winter is coming
With the last two month of this year right around the corner, the planning for Winter is necessary. One of the next events on my schedule is the Crisis, as I already shared with you here - Crisis 2017 prelude.
Usually I prepare an advent calendar for December, but this year I'll schedule something different. I'd like to switch to some themed weeks, but still delivery some special topics on the advent sundays. So what do I have on my mind? Well, the review schedule has still a few things to cover. You are most likely well aware of the world war 2 heavy content, so expect a some vehicle kits in resin and plastic, and a few infantry sets among them as well.
Like us on Facebook
Follow me on Instagram
Categories
- events (212)
- fantasy (611)
- General (162)
- historical (648)
- Little Big Adventures (4)
- offtopic (5)
- reviews (553)
- science fiction (714)
- showroom (108)
- terrain (119)
- Uncategorized (1)
- work-in-progress (423)
