15cm s.IG.33 Infantry Gun w/Crew
Manufacturer: Dragon models
Scale: 1/35
Material: Styrene, Photo-etch & Aluminium
Serial Number: 6261
Price: TBA

Contents

The 15cm s.IG.33 Infantry gun or 15cm schwere Infanterie-Geschutz Model 33, was first introduced as early as 1933 and was the heaviest of the German infantry guns. The development of a hollow-charge anti-tank round plus a stick grenade for use against fortifications meant that the gun would continue to be used tight up until the end of the war.

Although the gun has been modelled by Dragon on vehicular mounts, modellers have been eagerly awaiting a stand alone kit of the gun.

The Kit Contents

Contained within the standard smaller and longer Dragon box there are three large sprues of grey styrene and four smaller one concerned with the gun itself, plus one large sprue and three smaller ones concerned with the included figures. In addition there are two sprues of Dragons tan-coloured DS100 vinyl, plus a small transparent sprue. Finally, a machined aluminium barrel, small photo-etched fret and decal sheet finish off the package.

As you would expect, the moulding is up to Dragon's usual standard, i.e. no flash, and exhibiting sharp detail. The moulding of the various figures is slightly below this standard, with some fine flash being evident.

The instructions in this one only run to six sides, and two and a half of them are used up with parts map and figure assembly instructions, so this perhaps gives some indication of the lack of complexity of the model of the gun. Don't let this lead you to understand that it's lacking in detail in way however...it's not.

Construction begins with the assembly of the breech block onto the gun slide, for which a separate bottom plate is provided that is detailed with various rivets etc. This actually serves to illustrate how model design has changed over just the last few years, since if this model had been designed only five years ago, the slide would more than likely have been produced as merely two halves to be cemented together, leaving an unsightly join down the middle for modellers to disguise as best they could. Now we're given a nicely-detailed bottom plate to increase the detail level and hide the join. The same cannot be said of the breech block itself however, this still being provided in two halves, yet Dragon have the technology to slide-mould this in one piece, and indeed have done so in other models. The nicely produced aluminium barrel is installed at this point, and even has spiral rifling machined into it. Very nice indeed!

Construction of the trailer is next. The two large wheels supplied are of the cast type, and are moulded with the tyres in place, completely undamaged, leaving the modeller the option of whether or not to impart any in the form of wear and tear, nicks etc. Each side of the trailer is largely moulded as one piece, with smaller detail assembled on to them. There are a couple of ejector-pin marks, but these are totally hidden when assembly is complete. The firing sight is produced in transparent plastic for a more realistic look, so you'll need to carefully mask, or do as I do....paint the lot and then use a wooden cocktail stick to scrape the paint off where you didn't want it!
Both halves of the main shield are produced as one part with a thin connecting cross-member, al the various tools being mounted on its front surface. These are supplied with moulded on clamps, and not the sort with the 'U' shaped bracket supplied in Smart Series kits, so these would probably look better if the clamps were removed and replaced with ones from your aftermarket producer of choice. For the inside surface of the main shield there are photo-etched ranging tables supplied which should look good once painted up.

There's a separate sprue of ready rounds included, which also includes a couple of the stick grenades produced later in the war, which have separate fins. The DS100 vinyl sprues included have the wickerwork mats and round tubes on them.
Figure-wise, there are six included in the kit, which were originally released as the crew for the Karl-Geraet, although there are a selection of alternative arms provided, fifteen and a half pairs in fact...so it shouldn't be too difficult to make up some unique poses, and in fact the last page of the instructions offers some suggestions. All the figures are up to modern standards, and completely lack cooling lines on their torsos!

Conclusion

A very nice little kit indeed! Although usually horse drawn, I can se many of these being modelled towed behind various vehicles such as halftracks etc. The addition of the figures is a bonus, although no doubt many will end up in the spares box, and it may have been better to release the gun without them to try and keep costs down. Having said that, it's a great kit that will no doubt fly off the shelves, and deserves to. Recommended.

- Vinnie Branigan

*For more details please click here

Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/35 scale '39-'45 Kit No. 6261; 15 cm s.IG. 33 Infantry Gun Mechanized Towing w/Crew; 265 parts (242 parts in grey styrene, 10 DS plastic, 9 etched brass, 3 clear styrene, 1 turned aluminum); retail price estimated at US$29.95

Advantages: first kit of this gun on this carriage in styrene; crew figures offer many different poseable options due to large number of spare arms

Disadvantages: none noted

Rating: Highly Recommended

Recommendation: for all German early war and artillery fans

The 15 cm German s.IG. 33 dated back to World War I, but was evolved during the interwar period by the Germans to introduce this new model in 1927. They later converted them for both mechanized towing (e.g. rubber tired wheels vice steel or wood) and self-propelled mounts.

This is the same s.IG. 33 used on previous DML "Smart Kit" SP variants but it now comes with the full lower carriage and trails, two sprues with its wheels (one for the wheel accessories and one for the new "highway" wheels with rubber tires) and one more for its ammunition. This provides eight rounds of 15 cm ammunition and also two of the 97 kg "Stick Bomb" rounds for clearing obstacles. Four DS plastic "rattan" like shell cases for transport and two rattan mats are also provided.

The howitzer now offers two different sets of cradle parts but only one (B sprue) is used its entirety. The directions here are much better than some in the past and cover most options. The only thing not covered seems to be how to use the "Stick Bomb" projectile as once its launch (firing) tube is added it will not fit in the muzzle of the aluminum barrel.

The simulated rubber tires are molded using "Slide Molding" with the sprue attachment points on their outer edge so that the treads can be molded cleanly. These are also handy as they reduce the amount of cleanup time .

The figure set is the same one offered for the 54/60 cm "Karl Geraet" SP mortar and comes with a total of 17 arms for six figures. Each base figure comes in six parts (head, torso, legs and then arms) but no weapons are included (which is more accurate for indirect fire artillerymen). However, the original Ron Volstad artwork is now reduced to blue, black and grey on white, so you will have to use the box art for reference (which does NOT look like any of Ron's work).

The project was supervised by Hirohisa Takada and technical assistance Tom Cockle and Gary Edmundson. Artwork is by Ron Volstad.

Two finishing options are provided along with a sheet of targeted Cartograf decals: basically either grey or sand brown. The decals provide for section/battery letters (A-G).

Overall this is a very nice kit of a stocky but effective weapon (and also beats the competing AFV Club weapon to the market).

- Cookie Sewell