Kit No. AF35148
AFV Club suffer from a low profile here in New Zealand, which is a real shame as they turn out some very nice kits indeed, and this is definitely one of them. The 15cm sIG 33 Heavy Infantry Gun was the standard German Artillery piece during World War Two and saw action throughout the war on every front.
This kit comes in a sturdy tray and lid style box that contains the six large sprues moulded in dark yellow. Also included is a small photo etched fret, a metal barrel, a small sheet of decals and the instructions. Five of the sprues are for the gun, the sixth one containing ammunition and shell crates. You can build this in either the deployed or transport mode, as well as having the option of early or late style wheels so how it will be built should be decided before assembly.
The mouldings are all excellent throughout with no flashing present anywhere. The level of detail is very high with quite a large number of parts for what is essentially a relatively small kit once completed. Some of the parts are very fine and delicate, and all are sharp and clear. The instructions are clear and easy to follow with the points where the various options require the use of different parts clearly called out.
The gun breech assembly is made up from seven extemely well detailed parts and comes with the option of being built as an early or late version. It includes a sparate breech block, itself made up of four pieces more pieces, that can be modelled either open or closed and includes the firing pin detail.
The metal barrel is very nicely done and is completely hollow allowing the it to be seen through if the breech block is left in the open position. Thankfully it also includes very fine rifling which actually has a full twist and goes the full length of the barrel. This is something other manufacturers should take note of, particularly on large bore guns.
The gun chassis is beautifully represented. There’s just something about all those bolts and little bits and pieces that makes a kit like this so much more visually appealing than something like a streamlined Panther tank. One unusual inclusion in assembling this kit is a spacer used in place of the gun assembly to make sure everything aligns properly that is then cut away to allow the gun to be inserted into the chassis.
Photo-etched parts are used in some places on the chassis, but if you’re averse to PE don’t worry as they are kept to a minimum with no difficult folding or soldering needed. Though don’t take the dearth of PE as a sign of lack of detail because the plastic parts are plenty delicate enough not to need PE replacements.
The wheels are again one of the optional parts, with the choice of early war wooden wheels with a rubber tyre, mid war pressed stell wheels with a rubber tyre, or late war pressed steel wheels with a steel rim. This is one of the few areas where the instructions can be confusing as all three versions are shown being used with the brake drums added to allow the sIG 33 to be vehicle towed, the earliest horse drawn ones having wooden wheels with no brakes.
The shields are also beautifully done with the surface detail again being sharp and clear with all the myriad of small bolt heads. The tools mounted to the outer surface have moulded on clamps though these are very well done. There are also decals included for the sheild’s inner surface.
The ammunition sprue contains six assorted shells ( three x Gr 33 High Explosive and three x Gr 38 Smoke ), a Stielgranate 42 demolition charge, four wooden shell transportation frames, twelve charge casings, and two charge casing boxes which can be assembled either closed, or open with charge casings inside. There are also decals included for the shells and boxes.
This is a beautiful kit, I just love it. There’s just something about the look of this gun that makes it a beautiful looking piece and this kit does it total justice in its representation. The Dragon kit is good, but in my opinion this one is better. This can be built straight from the box with no need for any aftermarket parts and there aren’t many kits that can’t be improved on with one or other AM part, but this one is one of them. This is a top-notch kit.
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