Planet Models 15cm TbtsK C/36 WWII German Atlantic Wall Gun (MV126) 1:72

[Mike]

15cm TbtsK C/36 WWII German Atlantic Wall Gun (MV126)

1:72 CMK by Special Hobby

 

 

This 15cm gun was originally designed for a range of new destroyers commissioned by the German Navy, but their weight caused some issues that often led to a turret being removed and another replaced by the C/38 twin gun in order to keep the barrel count the same.  This left a number of “spare” turrets that eventually found their way to form part of the supposedly impenetrable Atlantic Wall that was the purview of Erwin Rommel in the run up to the inevitable invasion by the Allied forces.  Because they didn’t yet know the location of the impending attack, the wall was stretched thin along most of the northern French coat, and up as far as Norway.

 

These guns were mounted upon a concrete casemate that kept them stable and able to rotate as necessary to engage targets.  The gun has a splinter shield on the front, sides and roof, but with an open rear that could mean a cold post if you were unlucky enough to be assigned to one during the winter.  There were two sighting hatches at the front, and four inspect covers around the bottom of the shield to inspect the powerful electric motors used for traversing the assembly.  Needless to say, many of these guns were pummelled into extinction by the Allied invasion force from offshore, overhead, and from behind once the troops reached the shores.

 

 

The Kit

This is a rebox from Special Hobby via their Planet Models brand, and it arrives in a small white cardboard box with the front adorned with a large sticker that shows you what’s inside in the shape of a number of 3D renderings.  Inside are seventy-one resin parts on a number of casting blocks, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) parts, and the A5 folded instruction booklet.  Detail is excellent, although a few parts had come off their blocks in transit on my example, and a tiny bicycle-style seat had gone missing somewhere along the line.  Check your kit when it arrives, just in case.

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the breech, which is exceptionally well detailed, fitting a toothed wheel at the base, and then adding the working floor, aiming and elevation gear to the sides, and a set of two triangular supports for the foot-plates.  The turret shroud has the majority of its apertures flashed over, and the trailing edge needs the moulding attachment points sanding away, after which the various doors and hatches are installed along with their supports.  The shroud is then slid over the internals and glued in place.  The cylindrical base attaches to the underside, and the big barrel tube can then be super glued into the breech through the front to complete the job.  A number of scrap diagrams show how the model inside the shroud should look once built, so you have one last chance to check your work before you get too far.  The back two pages of the instructions are covered with adverts for recent releases.

 

 

Conclusion

A very unusual model that might not otherwise have been made in this scale, although the contents of the box could have been protected a little better to prevent damage to parts.  My sample had a few styrene peanuts in the box, but maybe a few more were needed.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of