Sd. Kfz. 7 & 8,8cm Flak 37

[Paul A H]

Sd. Kfz. 7 & 8,8cm Flak 37

1:72 Revell

In the 1920s, the Heereswaffenamt (German Army Weapons Agency) decided to standardise the production of military half-track vehicles into three types; light, medium and heavy, weighing in at five, eight and twelve tons respectively. The first of these vehicles to enter service with the Wehrmacht was the eight ton model, the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 7. The Sd. Kfz. 7 was designed by Krauss-Maffei of Munich, who went on to manufacture an astonishing 6,129 of these highly successful vehicles. A further 5,880 examples were produced by other manufacturers by the end of the War in 1945, making a total of just over 12,000 vehicles. Powered by a Maybach HL 62 6-cylinder petrol engine, the Sd. Kfz. 7 was originally equipped with simple leaf spring suspension, but this was replaced with a torsion bar system later on. It was capable of speeds of up to 31mph, had a range of 155 miles and could carry twelve crew. Initially employed by the Wehrmacht for towing artillery pieces, the Sd. Kfz. 7 was so useful that it ended up being used for a myriad of different tasks. The Flak 37 was originally developed as an anti-aircraft gun, but was equally at home as an anti-tank gun. It earned a fearsome reputation in both roles.

Revells Sd. Kfz. 7 was one of a handful of new kits to be released by the German manufacturer in 2012, while the Flak 37 is slightly older. Both are very modern toolings however, and the plastic sprues are free from flash or other flaws that can appear over time. Moulded detail is also very fine and pin-sharp. Inside the new-style black, end-opening box are six sprues of caramel coloured plastic, split equally between the Sd. Kfz. 7 and the Flak 37. Altogether there are 270 parts, which is a good indication of the level of detail on offer. A small decal sheet and a length of plastic film for the windscreen are also included. Special mention must be made of Revell's new style of instruction sheet. Unlike the clear but rather cheap-looking instructions of old, they are now printed in full colour, with a colour photograph of the completed model on the front and colour painting diagrams at the back a huge step up in quality for which Revell should be congratulated.

Construction of the half track begins with the running gear and chassis. The suspension is of the leaf spring type found on early war Sd. Kfz. 7s and is moulded in place along with the axles for the road wheels. This helps ensure you wont have problems lining everything up so that all the wheels are in contact with the ground. The fine detail on these parts looks nice and sharp too. The wheels themselves are nicely moulded, and the inner run is all moulded together in a single part for each side. The front wheel assembly is made up of the wheels themselves, leaf spring suspension, solid axle and steering rack. The tracks are neither link and length nor vinyl. Instead, they are comprised of two long runs moulded in the same polystyrene as the rest of the kit. This is the same technique Revell used for their recent Leopard MBT kits. The idea is that you warm them up in hot water, and then form them around the road wheels, gluing the ends as they meet. I dont know how well this will work, or indeed whether it will be possible to paint the tracks before fitting them, but they are nice and thin and beautifully detailed nonetheless.

Turning back to the chassis, everything but an engine is provided, including the fuel tanks and exhaust system. The drivers cab is nicely detailed, with a steering wheel, grab handle, handbrake and gear lever. The windscreen must be cut from the aforementioned clear plastic sheet, and a template is included in the instructions. The rear compartment is comprised of two rows of bench sheets and an ammunition stowage compartment, complete with doors that can be posed in the open or closed position. A pair of finely moulded stowage baskets are also provided, one of which must be folded from a single length of plastic in a similar fashion to the tracks. The Pièce de résistance, however, is the set of six Karbiner 98K rifles that clip into the appropriate stowage area in the passenger compartment. The rest of the kit is fairly straightforward, with just a few details such as the headlamps to add in order to finish everything off. The canvas roof is supplied in stowed or deployed configurations a very nice touch.

The level of detail Revell have packed in to the Flak 37 is simply mind boggling. Construction begins with the chassis of the weapon. You'll need to have your best tweezers on standby as there are some minuscule parts to deal with such as control wheels and the feet of the gun. The barrel of the weapon is moulded in four parts, with the rear section split down the middle while the front section and muzzle are solid parts. The detail fest carries on with the rest of the gun carriage and shrapnel shield. You don't actually need to decide whether to finish the gun in driving or firing position as you can move the finished model from one position to another by leaving the relevant parts unglued. The road wheel units are separate models and can be fixed to the gun or left on their own as part of a diorama. As you would expect, they are just as nicely detailed as the Flak 37 itself.

Two options are provided for on the tiny decal sheet, both recycled from the original release of the Sd.Kfz.7:
15 Panzer Division, Deutsche Afrika Corps, Libya 1941, finished in a Sand Brown scheme; and
Heeres-Flak-Artillerie-Abteilung 277, 11 Panzer Division Gespensterdivision, Russia 1941, finished in Panzer Grey.
The decal sheet is nicely printed.

Conclusion

Revells small scale military vehicle kits are usually very nice, and this is no exception. The kit(s) offer an absolute feast of detail to such an extent that only the most mealy mouthed modeller could find cause for complaint! The engineering is pretty clever too, which should help to make this a straightforward yet rewarding project. So complete is the level of detail that this model is just crying out for a nice set of crew figures so how about it Revell? Highly recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

[JOCKNEY]

Great review of what looks like a classic for the future.

Also can I say how pleased I am to hear Revell have finally got to grips with the shambles they called a set of instructions and painting guide. I can't have been the only one to have struggled with the "50 shades of grey"', painting guide over the years !

Cheers Pat

[robw_uk]

nice - built this (most likely Airfix?) when I was a kid. May look to get it for the Russian Front GB if I decide to enter.....