DML 1/72
Sd.Kfz.251/7 Ausf.D mit 2.8cm sPzB 41 AT Gun

DML continues to march on with its halftracks in "Small Scale" with this nicely done variant on the engineer variant. This particular one comes with the unique 2.8 cm schwere Panzerbusche 41 antitank gun, better known as the "Gehrlich gun" after its inventor.

Brute force antitank guns work in one of two ways: either they fire such a heavy projectile that it crushes the armor of its target, or a small hard one traveling at very high velocity to penetrate the armor using the laws of physics. Dr. Gehrlich focused on the latter, and combined several factors in his three guns. He used the hardest known material at the time - tungsten steel alloy – with a very powerful propellant charge and a specially designed tapered gun barrel. Fitting the projectile casing with soft brass bands or skirts, the projectile was "squashed" down as it came down the bore and the velocity was increased beyond normal levels. For the smallest of the guns, a 28mm gun whose projectile left the muzzle with a caliber of 20mm, the velocity went up to nearly 4600 fps and the penetration was far above all other similar guns of the day.

Gerhlich designed three guns – a 28/20 mm light variant, a 42/30 mmm based on the PaK 36 design, and the 75/55 mm PaK 41. While all three guns were superior to all of their competitors, only the small 2.8 cm one entered service in reasonable numbers in 1941, but as Germany lost access to tungsten they were soon retired and few were left in service by 1945. However, as it weighed less than 120 kg without its carriage, it was a popular replacement for the weak 3.7 cm Pak 36 on halftrack vehicles.

Like the previous halftrack kits, this is not an actual pantograph of the larger kits, which would make it a nightmare to try and assemble, but still appears based on the same research and drawings used for the 1/35 scale kits. The lower hull is a single piece pan, less the rear area, and the axles are molded on the lower hull. The running gear for each side consists of a rear (inside) wheel section, a center wheel section, three outer road wheels, and drivers. Once installed the connectors between the individual wheels on the inside and the center are not visible, so it helps speed up assembly while making it easier to get things aligned. Tracks are the gluable DS plastic, so you can also get them to settle down on top of the road wheels with some care.

The model comes with simplified interior fittings but they are quite tiny as noted and will require a good deal of care. Interior bits include the various control levers, rifles, MP submachine guns, and other items. The hinge mechanisms for the doors are single pieces, but are non-operating types. They cement to the lower rear section, as the upper hull has the rear angular parts of the hull attached to it. The four front viewers are separate parts and can be cemented either open or closed as well, as is the hood assembly with two flaps. No engine or interior is provided for the engine bay.

The fenders are one-piece units, but the stowage bins are only offered as closed parts. The front MG 34 shield is offered as either a single piece of styrene or a three-piece etched brass option. Other RP parts include the "Notek" headlight and mount and the drum magazines for the two MG 34 machine guns. The weapons appear to be very close to scale, something I don't recall from other manufacturers in the past!

The Gehrlich gun comes in a very complete nature and provides a choice of styrene or etched brass gun shields as well; these apparently attach to the styrene ones to give the standoff between the inner and outer armored panels notable on the prototype. The bore is hollow molded via "Slide Molding" techniques but the sides of the large muzzle brake will need some cleanout to get the full advantages of that. The gun also comes with the conversion panels for the roof of the hull to mount it for both C and D variants, so if the modeler wants to swap it to another kit the parts are here to accomplish that move.

The assault footbridges are nicely done, but some sources indicate they may be too narrow as these are scale-downs of the 1/35 scale designs. The interior of the hull is basically the Stroke 1 interior; I have some references which indicate factory built engineer models had more stowage for engineer equipment and explosive charges but I am not sure of them.

The kit comes with two generic sheets of Cartograf decals and two finishing options, one for a Panzer Lehr Division vehicle in Normandy 1944 in overall Panzerbraun, and one from our favorite, "Unidentified Unit." in Italy 1944 in a tricolor scheme.

Overall another nice effort. This is another nice effort for the "Small Scale" fan and a unique vehicle.

Thanks to Freddie Leung of DML for the review sample.

Sprue Layout:

• A 27 251 D upper hull
• B 38 251 C/D interior and road wheels
• C 27 x 2 251 D front wheels and interior details
• D 2 DS plastic tracks
• E 9x2 251/7 footbridge assemblies
• G 11 2.8 cm Gehlich gun and mounts
• I 1 251 D lower hull
• MA 8 etched brass
• MB 2 etched brass gun shields