Review of the 88 Flak Gun

Panther F · Post by **Panther F** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 4:12 pm

Wow!

That looks fresh out of the package. Very nice work!

panzertruppen · Post by **panzertruppen** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 4:17 pm

Panther F wrote:Wow!

That looks fresh out of the package. Very nice work!

Couldn't agree more. Great!

lightning2000 · Post by **lightning2000** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 4:43 pm

Hi,
Awesome job TKO. Nice weathering effects on the shield.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

King O' Fools · Post by **King O' Fools** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 5:35 pm

Fess up! You're a pro, TKO!

Seriously, ALL your customs are gorrrrgeous. Wish I had your talent.

AMERICAN_GRENADIER · Post by **AMERICAN_GRENADIER** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 5:52 pm

Fantastic job!!!!

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 6:15 pm

I love it...

scbvideoboy · Post by **scbvideoboy** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:07 pm

Got mine today, this is bigger than I thought. Gamble...wait for an S2 or S3 version or just buy another DAK while they can be had.

Don't want no regrets later on

DH

MG-42 · Post by **MG-42** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 9:03 pm

[+] > Now I know who'll fill Roy Sutherland's shoes. LoL ! ! ! *

* Looks like a professional job on it Zach . *

Mitch v MG

hotrodrock · Post by **hotrodrock** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:37 pm

So the ones used in Europe had the sand colored base coat? I thought it was just the opposite and the ones sent to North Africa had the sand color painted over the grey.

holensock · Post by **holensock** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:01 am

It looks great! But not only will the price keep me from getting it, but it being so 'brittle' will keep me away. It'd be my luck to get it, only to break pieces off the first day it's in my hands...sigh...

MG-42 · Post by **MG-42** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:27 am

hotrodrock wrote:So the ones used in Europe had the sand colored base coat?

>>> No = nine ! ... The Germans used a base coat of dunkelgelb = dark yellow late in the war starting in '43 .

hotrodrock wrote: I thought it was just the opposite and the ones sent to North Africa had the sand color painted over the grey.

>>> Well , yeah ,.. some were and some weren't .

->>>-----> Now I'm waiting for the history and rivet Nazis to jump all over this. ... Bring it on ! ! !

Mitch v MG

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:54 am

I thought it was just the opposite and the ones sent to North Africa had the sand color painted over the grey.

The subject of German paint colors and standards, (never mind camo schemes and patterns) is nearly as complex as the vehicle/equipment types and variants themselves, and could probably occupy an entire website just by itself, or at least a section of one...

There are a number of good resources available around the web that do a pretty good job of de-mystifying German paint codes and types, theatres of use and so on, most are, not surprisingly, kit building modeler's sites, and debates sometimes rage on at these places about this color or that, but many are a good place to at least get a basic understanding of the subject. The XD 88 appears to be painted in a standard "Afrika Sand" type of color, which officialy was known as RAL 8020 Gelbbraun and was standard from March 1942 onward. In theory it was a much lighter color than the Dunkelgelb that was standard in Europe, but in reality, and taking into account such factors as fading, weathering, and so on, the two were not all that much different IMO, and with some brown or black washes to darken it a bit, I think you could easily use the existing basecoat on the 21st 88mm gun for an eastern front style camo repaint. Part of the problem when dealing with the regulation (ie. RAL) colors is that many of the color charts available, as well as the paints themselves, and depending on manufacturer, show significant differences in shade and tone, even for the same color code, at least that has been my experience, and it can get very confusing to say the least.

German armor colors (very basic): http://msmodels.co.jp/Whatsnew/CS_01.JPG

A good primer on German AFV colors here: http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op= ... &artid=157

RAL color charts (one of about 50 available on the web..

): http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... n%26sa%3DN

paulpratt · Post by **paulpratt** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:57 am

holensock wrote:It looks great! But not only will the price keep me from getting it, but it being so 'brittle' will keep me away. It'd be my luck to get it, only to break pieces off the first day it's in my hands...sigh...

Same here.

I just bought the PAK 40 at TRU to begin getting into this stuff and i took it out of the box as carefully as i could. I got it out and was immediately amazed by the level of detail, but i noticed how brittle the plastic felt.

I attempted to hook the two support struts together for towing, trying to be careful not to force it, and the latch broke off.

All of my 21st century stuff does that. I break legs and hands off trying to get them to simply turn. I return and replace them and boil them to loosen up the paint, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

It's very frustrating. BBI has this problem too. I've come to appreciate the forces of valor figures much more, but i love the way the 21st century stuff looks. I want to be able to pose them and monkey around with them.

Am i missing something? I feel silly sometimes, like I'm not in the know, so i screw it all up.

normandy · Post by **normandy** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 10:08 am

I gotta wait till Christmas to get my 88...

man its gonna be a long 32 days.

smittyrob64 · Post by **smittyrob64** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:58 pm

Just got mine, a very nice piece.

AMERICAN_GRENADIER · Post by **AMERICAN_GRENADIER** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:19 pm

who did you get it from?

smittyrob64 · Post by **smittyrob64** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:33 pm

I got mine from Small Joes. They had the best price available.

First time ordering from them, no problems, shipped on time =pleased.

ARMY GROUP 1 · Post by **ARMY GROUP 1** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:40 pm

just recieved my second 88 from Foxholetoys, who I can highly recommend.

smittyrob64 · Post by **smittyrob64** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:21 am

Are you keeping one in the box?

ARMY GROUP 1 · Post by **ARMY GROUP 1** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:08 pm

I find connecting the two wheel bases difficult and I can see the locking clips will only take so many activations before either becoming loose and not holding or simply snapping, so I will keep one 88 unattached always, as an example of that mode and the other on its wheels ready to travel.

holensock · Post by **holensock** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:15 am

I just bought the PAK 40 at TRU to begin getting into this stuff and i took it out of the box as carefully as i could. I got it out and was immediately amazed by the level of detail, but i noticed how brittle the plastic felt.

I attempted to hook the two support struts together for towing, trying to be careful not to force it, and the latch broke off.

All of my 21st century stuff does that. I break legs and hands off trying to get them to simply turn. I return and replace them and boil them to loosen up the paint, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

It's very frustrating. BBI has this problem too. I've come to appreciate the forces of valor figures much more, but i love the way the 21st century stuff looks. I want to be able to pose them and monkey around with them.

Am i missing something? I feel silly sometimes, like I'm not in the know, so i screw it all up.[/quote]

No, you're not missing anything. And it feels good that I'm not alone.
I LOVE the way 21C, bbi and FOV looks, but I too get so frustrated that this stuff breaks easily! You gotta run it under hot water and even then sometimes you still don't have any luck. These are supposed to be able to pose them! ALOT! If not, I'd get into 32 scale...which is still tempting!
The most FUN figures for me are PTE's. These guys have great articulation and I haven't broken any yet!
Even with the frustrations of XD, bbi and FOV...I just can't give up on them!...all this stuff is like 'plastic crack'...sigh....

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:55 pm

We've had so few pictures posted of other board member's 21c 88mm guns that I thought a few shots of my piece "in action" were in order. So, here is how I have my gun displayed:

I went with displaying the gun mounted on its cassions as was commonly done in the North African theater. It also fit better on my narrow display shelf that way, and has fewer pieces floating about. The crew, naturally, consists of various 21c DAK figures. I based my display off this period photo of an 88 in action somewhere in North Africa:

Post by **aferguson** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:52 pm

looks great Tman. Does the gunner's site cover on the right side of the shield swing open? It looks like it might be molded in place. If so, that's a pretty big oversight on an otherwise very detailed piece.

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 11:03 pm

aferguson wrote:looks great Tman. Does the gunner's site cover on the right side of the shield swing open? It looks like it might be molded in place. If so, that's a pretty big oversight on an otherwise very detailed piece.

Thanks! Regarding the sight cover, you are correct in that it is moulded on

I thought it was an oversight as well, especially considering all the other tiny moving details. Heck, the cover opens on my 1/32 scale FOV 88mm gun - but then the cranks actually work to move the barrel on that particular model as well, which was also something 21c could have included on their large 88

Still, it is a neat piece and probably one of the few 21c items that really lives up to the name, "Xtreme Detail"

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