DML Dragon 1/35 3.7cm Pak 35/36 With Crew

Introduction

The 37mm (1.49 in.) Pak 35/36 was the standard German anti-tank gun at the beginning of WWII in 1939. It was a design that was widely copied in many other countries. Development was by Rheinmetall. It was first tested in Spain in 1937 - 38 and it was also sold to Soviet Russia in large numbers prior to 1940. It's penetrative performance was perhaps not quite so good as some of it's contemporaries, but its ease of movement and effective concealment abilities more than compensated for that factor. Eventually defeated by the evolution of heavier tanks, it had its life extended later in the war by its ability to fire a heavy shaped charge bomb which could be slipped over the muzzle and fired by a blank cartridge, causing a completely devastating effect at short ranges.

Tech Data:

Weight: 952 lbs.
Barrel length: 65.55 in.
Elevation: -5 to +25 degrees
Traverse: 50 degrees
Projectile type: Armor piercing/High explosive 1.50 lb
Muzzle velocity: 2500 ft/sec.
Max effective range: 656 yds.

What's in the box?:

The kit comes in a tray and lid type box. The box art is by DML's resident artist Ron Valstad. It shows a German gun crew, of three men, firing the weapon surounded by rubble.

One of the kit's side panels shows two photos of the kit made up. The oposite side panel shows three possible ways to build the kit: as the straight Pak 35/36, with the Stielgranate 41 shaped charge bomb loaded, and as the longer barreled 4.5cm Pak 184 r.

The kit contains four cello bags that contain five trees of light gray parts. There are no decals (none are really needed for this kit). The instruction sheet completes the contents.

The instruction sheet is the new format that DML has gone to recently. It is photographs of the actual kit parts for the assembly steps and printed in color on slick coated stock. It accordian-folds out into six pages.

Page one of the instructions begins with a full color repeat of the box art, followed by the parts tree drawings. Some of the parts, on these drawings, are shaded out. This indicates that they are excess and not needed for this kit's assembly.

Page two begins with cautions in six languages, including English. This is followed by interpretations of the assembly symbols used throughout the instructions. Next are the paint number listings. The bottom of the page gives us the first two assembly steps.

Pages three through five give us the balance of 11 assembly steps, the last step being the figure assemblies.

Page six gives us three 4-view drawings of the three configurations that the gun can be made into. They are all shown as panzer gray.

Now, I must say, this is NOT really a new kit. It is a re-issue of several of DML's previous kits that have been combined together into a new box.

Tree letter "A" parts tree is from kit no. 6139 "Sd.Kfz. 250/10 with 3.7cm Pak". It holds the Pak's wheels, recoil arms, a shaped charge, and other small fittings. (27 parts)

Large letter "B" parts tree is also from kit no. 6139. It holds the two different caliber barrels, shield, ammo boxes, and numerous other small fittings for the Pak. (48 parts)

Another large parts tree does not have an alphabetic designation. However, it does have kit no. 6064 molded into it. This means that it came from DML's earlier kit "German MG.42 Heavy Machine-gun team". It holds parts for four figures. One of these figures is shaded out, on the parts tree drawings, as being excess (not used). There is also four each: rifle cartridge pouches, canteens, steel helmets, bread bags, three folded shovels, one Luger in holster, one map case, one pair of binoculars, three gas mask canisters, four mess kits. The figures are divided into separate legs, arms, torsos, and heads. (55 parts)

There is a small parts tree, that is also not alphabetized - or even shown on the parts tree drawings. It has kit no. 6005 molded into it. This is from DML's earlier kit "German Fallshirmjager (Monte Casino 1944)". It holds two carbines, a ammo clip for one of them, a MP 40, two ammo clips for it, and a Fallshirmjager assault rifle. (7 parts)

Finally, there is an even smaller tree of parts that looks like it was hacked away from a larger tree of parts at the factory. It holds two alternate figure arms and three other unidentifiable parts that are shaded out on the parts drawings.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it folks. A new kit???? Not really!! However, I guess you can say that you don't have to cannibalize all those earlier DML kits to cobble together this subject. DML has done that for us.

By the way, DML has been re-numbering previous kits and re-issuing them in tray and lid type boxes. Better check to see if you already have a figure kit if it has that "Tenth Anniversary" stamp printed on the lid. I have my DML kits computerized by kit number and this recent practice by DML has really thrown me some curves. I bought duplicates of kits, that I already had, and had to return them to the hobby shop for exchange or refund. It's getting harder to tell what is really new with their figure kits.

I bought this kit while out of town at a hobby contest from one of the vendor's there.