_GOTOBOTTOM
Armor/AFV
For discussions on tanks, artillery, jeeps, etc.
REVIEW
10.5cm leFH18/40 w/Gun Crew
CMOT
Staff MemberEditor-in-Chief
ARMORAMA
Visit this Community
England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: May 14, 2006
KitMaker: 10,954 posts
Armorama: 8,571 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 07, 2014 - 05:29 PM UTC
Dragon Models has a new artillery gun with crew out and here Kevin Brant takes a look in the box.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
Anonymous
Joined: December 15, 2001
KitMaker: 260 posts
Armorama: 35 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 07, 2014 - 08:48 PM UTC
Don't like the figures, they are from their PAK 40 offering. The ammo carrying guy is designed to carry the longer PAK 40 round, not the shorter 105 round. I do like the gun kit.
bill_c
Staff MemberCampaigns Administrator
MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS
Visit this Community
New Jersey, United States
Joined: January 09, 2008
KitMaker: 10,553 posts
Armorama: 8,109 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 07, 2014 - 09:09 PM UTC
Brecourt Manor from "Band of Brothers" brought to life!
JPTRR
Staff MemberManaging Editor
RAILROAD MODELING
#051
Visit this Community
Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
Armorama: 2,447 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 07, 2014 - 10:53 PM UTC
I'll buy one.
ml-fin
Visit this Community
Finland
Joined: November 24, 2013
KitMaker: 37 posts
Armorama: 37 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 03:11 AM UTC
I think that artillery crews are not carrying too much personal equipments when firing their big gun. And leader dont really need those binoculars unless they are aiming direct fire.

panamadan
Visit this Community
Minnesota, United States
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 1,513 posts
Armorama: 1,449 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 07:08 AM UTC
Parts are missing from the trail legs..
SgtRam
Staff MemberContributing Writer
AEROSCALE
#197
Visit this Community
Ontario, Canada
Joined: March 06, 2011
KitMaker: 3,971 posts
Armorama: 2,859 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 07:30 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Parts are missing from the trail legs..



Can you please elaborate? What pieces are missing? From a look at the instruction, they all seem to be there.

panamadan
Visit this Community
Minnesota, United States
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 1,513 posts
Armorama: 1,449 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 07:36 AM UTC
Check out step 10-it shows the trail legs and equipment from the Pak40, which is incorrect for the leFh18/40. The kit doesn't give you the box and aiming stakes that are on the left trail leg (check out the box art). I brought this to Dragon's attention and get told me that kits can sometimes not look like the box art.
panamadan
Visit this Community
Minnesota, United States
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 1,513 posts
Armorama: 1,449 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 07:38 AM UTC
And step 11 shows the proper parts on the trail legs. Also-the raming staff (K57) used by one of the figures isn't in the (my) kit.
young_sven
Visit this Community
Skåne, Sweden
Joined: May 14, 2010
KitMaker: 749 posts
Armorama: 743 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 08:02 AM UTC
Is it just my eyes, or are the trailing legs tubular, i.e. round profile? I thought these guns had square profile trailing legs (most I have seen seem to anyway).

Perhaps there two versions of trailing legs used?
panamadan
Visit this Community
Minnesota, United States
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 1,513 posts
Armorama: 1,449 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 09:15 AM UTC
Yes, this version used the same trailing legs as the pak40.
JFeder504
Visit this Community
Nord, France
Joined: April 13, 2012
KitMaker: 60 posts
Armorama: 60 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 03:07 PM UTC
The tubular legs for LeFH18/40 are not exactly like the Pak40 ones. On the howitzer, the legs have longer reinforcements around the base/cradle area. This is due because howitzer would fire at an higher angle than the anti-tank gun.
So taking the sprue from the Pak40 is not the best idea.

Eric
Hohenstaufen
Visit this Community
England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: December 13, 2004
KitMaker: 2,192 posts
Armorama: 1,615 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 04:41 PM UTC
We happened to be in Lille, France on the way back from visiting the Ardennes battlefields the other week, and hey, it's got a proper model shop near the Musee de Beaux Arts! Of course I had to go in, and didn't get out unscathed, but managed to keep it down to this gun kit.
Now I've put it together, and I'm left feeling slightly let down. Firstly, this is definitely a "parts bin special" (bit like the real gun then), to the extent that none of the sprues are actually identified as belonging to this kit!
Like some other correspondents when this kit was reviewed on Armorama, I was a bit dubious about the wheels, as Dragon chose to put in those for the SIG 33, which I thought were plain wrong. To check up, I googled said weapon, and the first dozen photos that came up all had wheels of a different pattern to each other! The old Hogg book on German Artillery shows the early type pressed steel wheels on this gun, but since the example in the photo is a museum piece which also lacks the muzzle brake, I suspect it was built from parts. So I'm provisionally going to let DML off on the wheels.
However there's some oddities in the instruction sheet (DML instructions, surely not?!). Firstly the recuperator support bracket is clearly labelled not to be used, despite this it miraculously appears on the finished picture of the model! Rest assured, it does need to go on. Also there is supposed to be a box and what looks like a short ramrod fitted to the trails, both Ron Volstad's artwork, and the instruction sheet show them, but guess what, they aren't supplied in the kit! Finally the lower folding section of the shield is also "blued out" on the instructions. I wondered about this, but the Google pictures show guns with and without, so take your pick.
But my real issue is with the crew. They are just plain wrong. They are all wearing early war marching boots and M1936 tunics, so are inappropriate for a late war weapon. They also betray their ancestry as an anti-tank gun crew as they are fully geared up with webbing and kit and rifles. This I just can't see except perhaps in a demonstration (Lehr)unit.
jrutman
Visit this Community
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 10, 2011
KitMaker: 7,941 posts
Armorama: 7,934 posts
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2014 - 07:37 PM UTC

Quoted Text

We happened to be in Lille, France on the way back from visiting the Ardennes battlefields the other week, and hey, it's got a proper model shop near the Musee de Beaux Arts! Of course I had to go in, and didn't get out unscathed, but managed to keep it down to this gun kit.
Now I've put it together, and I'm left feeling slightly let down. Firstly, this is definitely a "parts bin special" (bit like the real gun then), to the extent that none of the sprues are actually identified as belonging to this kit!
Like some other correspondents when this kit was reviewed on Armorama, I was a bit dubious about the wheels, as Dragon chose to put in those for the SIG 33, which I thought were plain wrong. To check up, I googled said weapon, and the first dozen photos that came up all had wheels of a different pattern to each other! The old Hogg book on German Artillery shows the early type pressed steel wheels on this gun, but since the example in the photo is a museum piece which also lacks the muzzle brake, I suspect it was built from parts. So I'm provisionally going to let DML off on the wheels.
However there's some oddities in the instruction sheet (DML instructions, surely not?!). Firstly the recuperator support bracket is clearly labelled not to be used, despite this it miraculously appears on the finished picture of the model! Rest assured, it does need to go on. Also there is supposed to be a box and what looks like a short ramrod fitted to the trails, both Ron Volstad's artwork, and the instruction sheet show them, but guess what, they aren't supplied in the kit! Finally the lower folding section of the shield is also "blued out" on the instructions. I wondered about this, but the Google pictures show guns with and without, so take your pick.
But my real issue is with the crew. They are just plain wrong. They are all wearing early war marching boots and M1936 tunics, so are inappropriate for a late war weapon. They also betray their ancestry as an anti-tank gun crew as they are fully geared up with webbing and kit and rifles. This I just can't see except perhaps in a demonstration (Lehr)unit.




You are correct about all the shortcomings with this kit. Other posts above bring more problems to light.
The AFV club gun is much better IMHO and has all the relevant parts as well.
Obviously this was an attempt by Dragon to cash in on already existing parts sprues which is fine. I like Dragon and would like to see them continue as a viable biz.
I do feel like they upped the price unnecessarily by adding the bogus crew though. I wish the kit just offered the gun.
As far as your concerns over the wheel style,yes,your "googling" gave you the correct answer. There were at least 4 different wheel styles used on this gun. This type of stamped wheel was usually not used on later war guns as the whole idea of the 18/40 series was to save weight. The last style of this gun had the squared off muzzle break and 6 spoke stamped wheel which was a larger version of the wheel used on the 75mm Pak.
The AFV gun is the basic interim style with the wooden spoke wheels and the round muzzlebreak. The early style had no muzzlebreak,square trails and the stamped wheels included in this Dragon kit. AFV also has this style in a kit.
Once again,these are generalities and there were exceptions(which guys always like to trot out pictures of whenever I post this).
Sorry,didn't mean to get long winded.
J
panamadan
Visit this Community
Minnesota, United States
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 1,513 posts
Armorama: 1,449 posts
Posted: Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - 06:19 AM UTC
Dragon's kit might be a candidate for tamiya's Wespe.
Hohenstaufen
Visit this Community
England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: December 13, 2004
KitMaker: 2,192 posts
Armorama: 1,615 posts
Posted: Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - 04:52 AM UTC

Quoted Text

The AFV gun is the basic interim style with the wooden spoke wheels and the round muzzlebreak. The early style had no muzzlebreak,square trails and the stamped wheels included in this Dragon kit. AFV also has this style in a kit.


Yes you're right Jerry, I also think the AFV Club gun is a better bet. In fact AFV Club have kitted a total of three different versions of the LeFH18; the first type with no muzzle brake, squared trail and pressed wheels; the interim type (LeFH18M) with muzzle brake and wooden wheels (to save on precious steel); and the 18/40. The interim type seems to be OOP ATM, which is unfortunate, as that's the only one I haven't got, and guns used by 9th SS in Russia and Normandy were of this type! BTW the initial steel wheels are completely different to both the SIG33 in the DML kit and PaK40 wheels.
I too like Dragon kits on the whole, and find it exasperating when they do things like this - they did the same sort of thing with their SIG33, which I also bought.
jrutman
Visit this Community
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 10, 2011
KitMaker: 7,941 posts
Armorama: 7,934 posts
Posted: Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - 07:42 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

The AFV gun is the basic interim style with the wooden spoke wheels and the round muzzlebreak. The early style had no muzzlebreak,square trails and the stamped wheels included in this Dragon kit. AFV also has this style in a kit.


Yes you're right Jerry, I also think the AFV Club gun is a better bet. In fact AFV Club have kitted a total of three different versions of the LeFH18; the first type with no muzzle brake, squared trail and pressed wheels; the interim type (LeFH18M) with muzzle brake and wooden wheels (to save on precious steel); and the 18/40. The interim type seems to be OOP ATM, which is unfortunate, as that's the only one I haven't got, and guns used by 9th SS in Russia and Normandy were of this type! BTW the initial steel wheels are completely different to both the SIG33 in the DML kit and PaK40 wheels.
I too like Dragon kits on the whole, and find it exasperating when they do things like this - they did the same sort of thing with their SIG33, which I also bought.





I hear ya!!
J
panamadan
Visit this Community
Minnesota, United States
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 1,513 posts
Armorama: 1,449 posts
Posted: Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 07:18 PM UTC
I just started this yesterday and it goes together quite well, but mine looks to have a slightly bent barrel.
jrutman
Visit this Community
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 10, 2011
KitMaker: 7,941 posts
Armorama: 7,934 posts
Posted: Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 08:58 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I just started this yesterday and it goes together quite well, but mine looks to have a slightly bent barrel.



Anther bonus of the AFV kit is the brass barrel and metal recoil cylinder.
J
 _GOTOTOP