White Ensign Models 1/350 Kriegsmarine Flak Lighter Kit First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | September 2005 | Manufacturer | White Ensign Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Kriegsmarine Flak Lighter | Scale | 1/350 |
| Kit Number | K3564 | Primary Media | Resin, Photo Etch |
| Pros | Lots of nice detail on one hull, not a complex build | Cons | |
| Skill Level | Intermediate | MSRP | £15.28 (+ VAT) |
First Look
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The Germans were nothing if not excellent engineers and weapons systems designers. One example is the adaptation of a simple barge into a mobile Flak platform. The Flak Lighter could be moved around harbors and other littoral targets to defend against allied fighters and bombers. The standard Flak Lighter was armed with two 88mm Flak guns mounted in individual enclosed turrets, plus a pair of 20mm Flakveirling mounts, a pair of individual 20mm gun mounts, and a single 37mm gun.
This heavily armed floating Flak battery was able to dissuade allied raiders from flying too close to areas defended by these platforms.
White Ensign Models’ 1/350 scale Flak Lighter is an interesting kit. Molded in tan resin, the kit is three parts - the nicely molded one-piece hull, deck, and superstructure, and a pair of 88mm Flak turrets. The remainder of the detail is on the nice photo-etched fret.
The fret includes the main deck safety railing, the 20mm and 37mm gun mounts, bridge shields, bridge railing, ladders, main mast, crane, and more.
The nicely laid out instructions walk the builder through the assembly process, and concludes with color profiles of three interesting color schemes used for coastal camouflage.
This is another nicely detailed kit from White Ensign Models. It never ceases to amaze me how far the state of the art in resin casting has come, and I wish more manufacturers could turn out the quality of WEM's kits!
My sincere thanks to White Ensign Models for this review sample!