Mac Distribution 1/72 Flak 38 Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

One of the most widely used air defense weapons by the Wehrmacht was the Mauser-built 20mm canon mounted on a tripod base that could easily be moved around the battlefield on a simple trailer. A crew of four was required to operate the gun, which had a firing rate of 420-480 rounds per minute. This weapon was eventually modified into a twin-gun mount and a four-gun mount.

While primarily inteded as an anti-aircraft weapon, the Flak 38, just like its 88mm big brother, was also used as a direct-fire weapon against ground targets as well. In addition to the trailer-towed version, the Flak 38 was also mounted on a variety of vehicles and railroad cars to provide protection under a greater range of operations.

The kit is molded in tan styrene on a single tree with a small fret of photo-etched parts included for handles and part of the gun shield.

The barrel was not designed to be positionable in the kit, rather it is designed to be displayed in the stowed or transort position. You do have the option of mounting the gun mount on the trailer or keeping them separate.

While there are no decals in this kit (nor are any needed), the instructions provide three different paint schemes for the kit to depict the weapon as it appeared in Holland, 1942, with the Afrika Korps in Tunisia, 1943, or in service with the SS in 1944.

If you're collecting 1/72 artillery and/or AAA weapons, this will make a nice addition to your display. If you're building a diorama in virtually any theater of Wehrmacht operations in 1/72 scale, you'll definitely want a few of these to "fill in" those essential battlefield details on your display. You can get this kit from your favorite hobby retailer or directly from Squadron Mail Order.

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!