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Built Review
172
Pak.41
7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 41 (Pak.41)
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by: Pedro Andrada [ PEDROA ]

History

Designed and built by Krupp AG to compete with the Rheinmetall 7.5 cm Pak 40, the Pak 41 was intended from the onset to take advantage of the Gerlich principle to increase shot velocity. With this principle, the gun delivered a higher muzzle velocity and therefore greater penetration in relation to its size. Compared to the PaK 38 and the PaK 40, the appearance was long, low, and sturdy.

This model features several novelties for the time such as: special ammunition with tungsten core, barrel split into three distinct sections, the attachment of the split trail legs and solid rubber tires directly connected to the gun shield to save weight and the gun cradle set inside a special ball mount attached to the gun shield.

Due to the shortage of tungsten, only 150 Pak 41's would ever be produced and a small number of Pak 41's were converted to accept 7.5 cm Pak 40 barrels and components. A small number were mounted on halftracks and used as lightly armored tank destroyers also.

Review

The first impression of this ACE kit from the outside of the box is that it’s an easy kit. The kit is packaged in a sturdy box with a nice art box. It has two sprues with 38 pieces in hard plastic, without ejector pin marks and correct details for this scale.

In the first sprue we can find some small pieces, ammunition and packages, while the second holds the main parts of the gun. It would be interesting to see some figures included because the kit hasn't any.

The main problem of the kit is the burrs present in all the pieces although they are easy to remove without any damage to the pieces.

The instruction booklet is presented only by a single page and all instructional images are clear. The part number layout is simple and easy to follow on the instruction sheet as well as the sprues. A color guide with the three possible schemes is printed on the back of the instruction booklet.

Conclusion

This is my first ACE kit and, although it needs extensive clean-up and reworking of parts, the model can be completed very fast. It’s a very nice and interesting model for artillery fans in 1/72 scale.

References

Wikipedia article
SUMMARY
Highs: Quality of plastic Good detailing Clear and easy instructions.
Lows: Moldings burrs (although easy to remove)
Verdict: For WW2 artillery fans a welcome model in our collection.
Percentage Rating
70%
  Scale: 1:72
  Mfg. ID: 72280
  Suggested Retail: € 8.17
  Related Link: Manufacturers product link
  PUBLISHED: Jan 17, 2013
  NATIONALITY: Germany
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 70.00%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 77.80%

About Pedro Andrada (PedroA)
FROM: VALENCIA, SPAIN / ESPAñA

Copyright ©2021 text by Pedro Andrada [ PEDROA ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

It's too bad Ace didn't include a bit of PE, especially for the gun shield. It looks to be way overscale in thickness (unless the shield had 6" of armor ).
JAN 17, 2013 - 03:07 AM
Pedro, It's very interesting to see a review of a kit by a manufacturer that one rarely sees reviews of their products. From the images and your review it looks like a far simpler kit than the Dragon PaK 40 but also possesses some quite nice details. It's just too bad that the tools on the trails are moulded on and as you state, there is no crew provided. Although, the provision of what appears to be shells and shell containers is a nice touch. Was the bore of the gun hollow or did you have to drill it out? Actually, while I agree that the gun shield appears a bit thick, in fact, it and the trails were not solid but of a box frame construction and thereby having a hollow centre or core. There are several pictures on the Internet that show the shield being noticeably thicker that that on the majority of guns. Cheers, Jan
JAN 17, 2013 - 04:28 AM
You are right Biggles. When I saw the model I thought that it mounted a double gun shield but not. I was wrong. If you see the real model (although the gun shield is oversized), the gun shield is more thickness, necessary to the attachment of the split trail legs and solid rubber tires. I think it isn't a hindrance to have a nice model in your collection. Jan, you need to drill the bore of the gun. I have post some pictures of the model finished in Braille Scale. Best regards. Pedro.
JAN 17, 2013 - 05:54 AM
Pedro, lovely finish on your painted model, and congratulations on posting this site's very first review of an Ace kit. Matthew
JAN 17, 2013 - 12:10 PM
@PedroA – Pedro, Great review of one of the lesser known WWII German anti-tank guns. I have quit a few Ace kits in the stash and find that they are very accurate in detail, however they are a bit rough in some areas with the, as you noted, traditional molding flash on the parts. These kits are not as easy to build as they look but with a little effort you can turn out an excellent model. As is usual for you, exceptional photographs and build. ~ Eddy
JAN 17, 2013 - 08:16 PM
Matthew, Eddy, thanks for the comments. Effectively these kits are not perfect but with some work you can turn out a very nice model. Best regards
JAN 19, 2013 - 11:30 AM
   
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