If you build dioramas one of the things that is absolutely essential for a good gun position is ammunition and the more ammunition the better, be it for FlaK, Howitzer, AT or Rockets. With the deluge of Flakvierling kits in 1/35 coming onto the market a good collection of ammunition and related parts is going to be mandatory for a decent diorama portrayal. Unfortunately unless you go down the photo-etch path ( a very expensive path ) none of the suppliers of the Flakvierlings has yet put forth a decent collection of ammo in plastic. Which makes getting your hands on one of these Tristar kits worth its weight in gold, partly as they’re the only game in town in this category and partly because they are damn hard to find in stock anywhere.
The kit comes in a medium sized lightweight open ended box on two matching sprues moulded in dark yellow, together with a small photo-etch fret containing thirteen assorted carry handles. The moulding quality is sharp, clean and very well detailed.
The contents of these two sprues will provide you with the following :
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Two Spare Barrel Cases
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Four Spare Barrels
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Two 100rd ( 10 x 10rd Mags ) Wooden Crates
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Two Flavisier 38 Gunsight Cases
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Two Accessory boxes Type I
- Two Accessory boxes Type II
- Two Maintenance Accessories Boxes
- Eight Small Oil Cans
- Eight 10rd Magazines
- Ten 20rd Magazines
- Two Double 20rd Magazine Boxes
- Two Double 10rd Magazine Boxes
- Ten 2cm Loose Rounds
The detailing on these is superb with the things like the barrel flashhiders being hollowed out and the magazines including the detail of a round in the feed lips. The accessory box type I will hold four of the small oil tins also includes separate parts for the latches to enable the box to be properly displayed with the lid open if desired. The small accessory boxes and sight boxes include internal detail and the PE handles for all the boxes just tops off the level of fine detail.
This is a beautiful set that will enhance any 2cm FlaK gun and I just hope that with the proliferation of Flakvierlings hitting our shelves that Tristar sees fit to put more of these out there. if I had to find fault with it my only niggle is the lack of decals for box markings. Add those and this kit would be hard to beat for what it gives you, the level of the detail and the quality of the parts.
click images to enlarge
