Special Hobby Small Arms for Volkssturm Set 3 (P35003) 1:35

[Mike]

Small Arms for Volkssturm Set 3 (P35003)

1:35 3D Print by Special Hobby

 

 

During the closing days of WWII, the people of Berlin and the surrounding areas were pressed into service as make-do militia soldiers by the desperate hard-core Nazis, and when we say people, it was mostly old men, teenagers and those that had been injured and invalided out of service previously.  Some women even took part, and there’s a famous piece of film of a German lady being taught how to use a Panzerfaust by a soldier with a nervous smile on her face.  They were given basic training, often no more than on how to operate the weapons they had been given, and sent off to almost certain death, in order to delay the Allies from reaching the higher-ups.  The weapons were often old and outdated, so overall they stood little chance of giving a good account of themselves against hardened Allied troops and heavily armoured and armed tanks.

 

 

This set from Special Hobby is part of a new range that is using direct 3D printing using light-cured resins, which is a technique that is rapidly becoming suitable for making realistic models, even at the budget level.  These sets are being produced on more high-end machines, and no layers were visible to my eyes, even with magnification!  It arrives in a standard blister pack with orange branding, and lots of foam within to keep the parts safe during transport.  The instructions are in the rear, sandwiched between the blister and the card header.

 

Inside is a single printed block of parts that are printed in a light orange resin with what appears to be a lot fewer support struts ensuring that the freshly printed parts don’t sag under their own weight before they are properly cured.  There is also a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) for the rifle slings, which should be annealed in a flame to soften before use for your own ease.  At first look it looks like a badly strung clothes tree, but on closer inspection you can see a number of weapons and parts within that should be removed with a pair of sharp-nosed clippers, being careful that you don’t accidentally also trim a barrel or stock tube as you go.  Care is the watchword here.  Once released, you will see that there are four weapons, as follows:

 

EMP44 submachine gun

MP3008 submachine gun

Volkssturmgewehr VG1 rifle

MG81 machine gun

 

 

The rifles are recipients of the slings, and the instructions show where they fit.  The 3008 was a last-ditch design for a cheap, easily produced sub-machine gun, so it is apt that it appears in this set.  The MG81 consists of three parts, with separate cocking handle and bipod to be glued in place, and no sling.  This was a development of the MG34 used primarily by the Luftwaffe when they moved away from the MG15, and again it was an attempt to reduce costs and material use toward the end of the war.  The EMP44 was a failure in terms of design, having only progressed as far as a working prototype by the end of the project, and resembles some really poor plumbing more than a rifle. It is also incorrectly noted on the site’s page as an RMP44.  Finally, the VG1 was a simple rifle that was designed as a last-ditch type for the defence of the Reich, with a simple 10-round magazine and was crudely machined and designed when compared to more well-rounded rifles such as the Gehwehr98 that saw action through the whole of WWII.

 

 

Conclusion

Special Hobby have taken full advantage of the advances in 3D printing here, and the results are exquisite, if a little delicate if you’re a fat-fingered goon like me.  Take care when handling, and you will end up with a superbly accurate set of arms to add to your next Battle for Berlin project.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[John_W]

I knew a German gentleman who had been in the Volkssturm aged 14. He was given a Panzerschreck and pointed towards a column of American tanks. 

Luckily for him his mother came looking for him, clipped his ear and dragged him home.

Funny all these years later, but scary as well...