Hobby Boss German 20mm Flak 38 Crew (84418) 1:35

[Mike]

German 20mm Flak 38 Crew (84418)

1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

The Nazis made extensive use of Flak guns of numerous types during WWII, mostly in their original anti-aircraft role, but later in the war when the Allies were advancing toward their homeland, those same guns were deployed against the oncoming troops with their barrels depressed almost as far as they’d go to make mincemeat of the approaching troops and armoured vehicles.  The 20mm+ rounds that Flak cannons fired were incredibly effective against humans and lightly armoured vehicles, but could still incapacitate a Sherman if they impacted the tracks, vision blocks or any of the weapons systems, rendering them useless during that attack at least, with the opportunity of taking out any crew that tried to escape.

 

This figure set is a reboxing of an older Trimaster offering under the Hobby Boss banner, and although they’re not brand-new, they’re still pretty good, holding up well against the more modern sets, with the possible exception of the Kar98 rifles that are a little soft compared to the best available today.  If you’ve got any spares from other sets, they could be used instead.  The set arrives in an end-opening figure box with a single sprue in sand-coloured styrene filling the available space.  There are four figures on the sprue, and their instructions and painting guide can be found on the rear of the box along with a colour chart giving codes in Mr Hobby (acrylic & lacquer), Acrysion, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol brands.

 

 

The figures are all engaged in rolling their Flak unit manually, probably adjusting its position after unhitching from an unseen towing vehicle, or moving to meet the challenge of an newly discovered threat.  There is a yellow arrowed bubble on the back of the box stating “Flak38 not included!” just in case you wondered, but they forgot to mention the grass in the box art painting.  Where’s my grass???  Anyway, getting back to sensible-land, three of the figures are stood leaning at a sharp angle while they push with both hands against the gun, while the fourth is crouched down with his hands out trying to coax one wheel to move, which you can see on the box art above.

 

Breakdown of the figure parts are pretty standard, comprising separate torso, arms, legs, heads and separate helmets, all of which are covered with a camo fabric.  The crew are all wearing later war pea-camo smocks with elasticated cuffs that are well-depicted with realistic drape and form.  They all have accessories such as mag-pouches, bedrolls, gasmask canisters and entrenching tools, plus water bottles and mess-kit in its canister.  Your only choice of weapon is the slightly-soft appearing Kar98s, which in the box art are slung over their shoulders out of the way, so you might consider using tape, lead sheet or some other slim, flexible medium to create the slings for a bit of additional realism.

 

 

Conclusion

These figures are well-sculpted, and would look equally good pushing any form of wheeled artillery, or even a small vehicle if you felt the urge to diversify.  There’s a tiny amount of flash creeping in around the edges of some parts, but it’s mostly on the sprues, although that’s only the work of moments to remove.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of