The 8.8cm Raketenwerfer 43 Puppchen was a derivative of the Panzerschreck, taking the basic concept and developing it into a closed breech launcher that increased the range and velocity, giving it more killing power. The tradeoff being that it was less portable, changing to using a small base that was either attached to small wheels or skis, rather than being man portable like the Panzerschreck. It used the same 8.8cm rocket with a slightly modified base. Little information is available on it’s field experiences but what there is does suggest that this was quite an effective weapon against armour.
This kit comes in a tray and lid style box on two sprues moulded in light grey plastic. The quality of the moulding is very good, with clean-up being minimal, and the fit and finish being faultless. It’s not the most invloved kit consisting of just the three crew figures and the 8.8cm Raketenwerfer 43 Puppchen on a ski base.
All three figures wear winter reversible parkas and ushankas, so another set intended for use in a snowy setting. The boots have very good detailing including on the soles, and the faces are very well done though they do look very much alike. No personal equipment or weapons are included, which does seem a bit of an oversight as I would have expected them to all at least be wearing a holstered pistol. In fact I would have expected at least two, if not all three to have assault rifles or sub machine guns and at least a canteen and breadbag. Something for the parts bin to address if you have a well supplied one.
The 8.8cm Raketenwerfer 43 Puppchen is made up of twenty four parts with a lot of good detail, and clean sharp moulds. There are also two ammo crates with separate lids and internal frames for holding two shells each. These are supposed to be wooden crates but have no grain detail moulded on so you’ll need to do that with the painting. A to talof four rockets is provided to either fill these crates or to be in use by the loader. A small sheet of decals is also included to add to the gun shield and the ammo crates which is a very nice little addition.
This is a very nice little kit of an unusal weapon seen only in the final half year of the war. The mouldings are very well done with the little touches like the boot sole detail showing a great level of attention to detail. It’s the little things like this that make this a very good kit.
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