Build Review of Trumpeter 1/35th Scale
German 17cm Kanone 18 Howitzer
Kit no. 02313
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2009
MSRP back then was $74.95.
Kit is available at 1001 Hobbies for $51.29 or at Mega Hobby for $59.46 or at Sprue Bros for $50.49 and at Kit Linx for $52.46 and at 7 locations overseas on the web.
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2009
MSRP back then was $74.95.
Kit is available at 1001 Hobbies for $51.29 or at Mega Hobby for $59.46 or at Sprue Bros for $50.49 and at Kit Linx for $52.46 and at 7 locations overseas on the web.
HISTORY:
The 17cm Kanone 18 in Morselife was a German heavy gun used in WWII. It was intended to be employed at the Corps level in order to provide very long-range counter-battery support.
It filled the same basic role as the 21cm Morser 18, as well as sharing its carriage, and replaced it entirely after 1942.
Although it was technically an excellent weapon, it was expensive, difficult to maneuver, very slow to set up and take down; many were lost when their crew had either to abandon them or to risk capture by advancing Allied troops.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Heavy gun
Place of origin: Germany
In service: 1941–1945
Used by: Germany
Wars: World War II
Designer: Krupp
Manufacturer: Krupp (until 1942), Hanomag
Produced: 1941–1945
No. built: 338
Mass: For transport 23.375 t (23.006 long tons), In action 17.520 t (17.243 long tons)
Barrel length: Bore 8.103 m (26 ft 7.0 in) L/47
Crew: 10
Shell: Separate-loading HE
Shell weight: 62.8 kg (138 lb)
Caliber: 172.5 mm (6.79 in)
Breech: Horizontal-block
Recoil: Dual-recoil hydro-pneumatic
Carriage: Box trail
Elevation: 0 to +50°
Traverse: 16° on wheels, 360° on platform
Muzzle velocity: 925 m/s (3,030 ft/s)
Maximum firing range: 29.6 km (18.4 mi)
The 17cm Kanone 18 in Morselife was a German heavy gun used in WWII. It was intended to be employed at the Corps level in order to provide very long-range counter-battery support.
It filled the same basic role as the 21cm Morser 18, as well as sharing its carriage, and replaced it entirely after 1942.
Although it was technically an excellent weapon, it was expensive, difficult to maneuver, very slow to set up and take down; many were lost when their crew had either to abandon them or to risk capture by advancing Allied troops.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Heavy gun
Place of origin: Germany
In service: 1941–1945
Used by: Germany
Wars: World War II
Designer: Krupp
Manufacturer: Krupp (until 1942), Hanomag
Produced: 1941–1945
No. built: 338
Mass: For transport 23.375 t (23.006 long tons), In action 17.520 t (17.243 long tons)
Barrel length: Bore 8.103 m (26 ft 7.0 in) L/47
Crew: 10
Shell: Separate-loading HE
Shell weight: 62.8 kg (138 lb)
Caliber: 172.5 mm (6.79 in)
Breech: Horizontal-block
Recoil: Dual-recoil hydro-pneumatic
Carriage: Box trail
Elevation: 0 to +50°
Traverse: 16° on wheels, 360° on platform
Muzzle velocity: 925 m/s (3,030 ft/s)
Maximum firing range: 29.6 km (18.4 mi)
THE KIT:
Trumpeter is a old prolific model company based in Macau, China.
They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a color illustration of two 17cm Kanone 18’s and their crews set up on a grassy field and firing.
Both guns are overall Panzer-grey with no markings.
The nearest gun has a crew of 8 operating it.
All wear field grey uniforms. Six men wear steel helmets. The seventh man is bare headed and the 8th one wears a cloth side cap.
Four men are pushing a round into the gun with a long wood pole. The man wearing the side cap is operating the gun. Two men are standing next to the gun holding rounds. The eighth man is perhaps an officer. He is standing to the side of the front of the gun holding his right arm up and talking on a phone.
He wears jodhpur trousers and black jack boots.
Next to him is a rabbit-ears type periscope on a tripod.
Three whicker ammo cases are lying on the ground next to the gun.
Across the top of the cover art it gives the length of the model made up as being 423.8mm (16 ¾”), width as 82.1mm (3 ¼) and height as 83.2mm (also 3 ¼”). There are 401 parts in the kit. (I count 417).
Another corner of the box art says: Detailed model kit for collector to assemble. Actual model may vary from image on box. WARNING! Not suitable for children under 3 years, due to small parts, in Chinese and English.
Trumpeter is a old prolific model company based in Macau, China.
They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a color illustration of two 17cm Kanone 18’s and their crews set up on a grassy field and firing.
Both guns are overall Panzer-grey with no markings.
The nearest gun has a crew of 8 operating it.
All wear field grey uniforms. Six men wear steel helmets. The seventh man is bare headed and the 8th one wears a cloth side cap.
Four men are pushing a round into the gun with a long wood pole. The man wearing the side cap is operating the gun. Two men are standing next to the gun holding rounds. The eighth man is perhaps an officer. He is standing to the side of the front of the gun holding his right arm up and talking on a phone.
He wears jodhpur trousers and black jack boots.
Next to him is a rabbit-ears type periscope on a tripod.
Three whicker ammo cases are lying on the ground next to the gun.
Across the top of the cover art it gives the length of the model made up as being 423.8mm (16 ¾”), width as 82.1mm (3 ¼) and height as 83.2mm (also 3 ¼”). There are 401 parts in the kit. (I count 417).
Another corner of the box art says: Detailed model kit for collector to assemble. Actual model may vary from image on box. WARNING! Not suitable for children under 3 years, due to small parts, in Chinese and English.
One side of the box has 8 photos of the assembled and painted model. There are warnings in Chinese as well as a recommended age of 14 to build the kit.
The other side of the box has the history of the 17cm Kanone 18, a profile of the model and features of the kit such as photo etch, springs and copper tube.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
This kit holds 13 medium-grey parts trees, 4 black vinyl tires, 2 brass PE frets. 2 loose medium-grey chassis beams, 2 steel springs and 2 steel tubes in sealed cello bags. There are two instructions.
The main instructions consists of a staple-bound booklet of 24 pages in 10 ¼” x 7 ½” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white side view drawing of the 17cm Kanone 18 in overall Panzer-grey. Over READ BEFORE ASSEMBLY instructions, decal application instructions and international assembly symbol explanations in Chinese and English.
Page 2 is the parts trees illustrations.
Page 3 through to page 24 gives a grand total of 25 assembly steps.
The second instructions is a single sheet printed in color on one side on slick-coated paper. It is the painting guide. It shows a 3-view of the gun in overall Panzer-grey and a suggested paint color listing of Mr. Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol brands of hobby paints.
This kit holds 13 medium-grey parts trees, 4 black vinyl tires, 2 brass PE frets. 2 loose medium-grey chassis beams, 2 steel springs and 2 steel tubes in sealed cello bags. There are two instructions.
The main instructions consists of a staple-bound booklet of 24 pages in 10 ¼” x 7 ½” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white side view drawing of the 17cm Kanone 18 in overall Panzer-grey. Over READ BEFORE ASSEMBLY instructions, decal application instructions and international assembly symbol explanations in Chinese and English.
Page 2 is the parts trees illustrations.
Page 3 through to page 24 gives a grand total of 25 assembly steps.
The second instructions is a single sheet printed in color on one side on slick-coated paper. It is the painting guide. It shows a 3-view of the gun in overall Panzer-grey and a suggested paint color listing of Mr. Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol brands of hobby paints.
I am going to beg off naming parts on all these trees, because there are hundreds of small parts. I will just say how many parts and trees there are.
Trees are alphabetized.
Medium-grey letter A tree holds 36 parts.
There is no letter B tree
Medium-grey letter C tree holds 67 parts.
Medium-grey letter D tree holds 18 parts.
Medium-grey letter E tree holds 15 parts.
Medium-grey letter F tree holds 87 parts.
There are 2 identical medium-grey letter G trees. They each hold 39 parts.
There are 2 identical medium-grey letter H trees. They each hold 35 parts.
There is no letter I tree.
Medium-grey letter J tree holds 24 parts.
Medium-grey letter K tree holds 29 parts.
Medium-grey letter L part is one of the side beams.
Lettering jumps to the letter R part. Which is the other side beam.
Medium –grey letter R/Q tree holds 33 parts.
There are 2 large black vinyl tires.
Trees are alphabetized.
Medium-grey letter A tree holds 36 parts.
There is no letter B tree
Medium-grey letter C tree holds 67 parts.
Medium-grey letter D tree holds 18 parts.
Medium-grey letter E tree holds 15 parts.
Medium-grey letter F tree holds 87 parts.
There are 2 identical medium-grey letter G trees. They each hold 39 parts.
There are 2 identical medium-grey letter H trees. They each hold 35 parts.
There is no letter I tree.
Medium-grey letter J tree holds 24 parts.
Medium-grey letter K tree holds 29 parts.
Medium-grey letter L part is one of the side beams.
Lettering jumps to the letter R part. Which is the other side beam.
Medium –grey letter R/Q tree holds 33 parts.
There are 2 large black vinyl tires.
I have included some photos of the various part trees such as:
The ammunition rounds.
The trail ground spades.
The shields that remain to be added.
The crew walkways waiting to be attached to the trails.
The ground rotation plate.
The parts for the tow bar.
There are several excess parts left over from assembling the model.
Two small black vinyl tires.
Two steel springs.
Two steel tubes.
There are no clear parts or decals included in the kit. I don’t think this gun in real life was ever marked.
The biggest omission that really hurts is no gun crew as shown on the box. It really should have been included in this kit.
Two steel springs.
Two steel tubes.
There are no clear parts or decals included in the kit. I don’t think this gun in real life was ever marked.
The biggest omission that really hurts is no gun crew as shown on the box. It really should have been included in this kit.
I have assembled this model all but a few parts that I mentioned above. This is the chassis waiting only to add the tires.
I have assembled this model all but a few parts that I mentioned above. This is the chassis waiting only to add the tires.
One of the assembled main wheels.
The main gun assembly.
The rear wheels are the last items built.
I ran into a lot of assembly problems: Some parts don’t hold together well. It is easy to miss some of the smaller parts when assembling the kit and sometimes you can assemble them wrong.
Some of the parts with rivet detail are molded too close to the sprue to not wind up ruining the rivets.
I have lost several tiny parts and had to fabricate new ones.
Some PE hooks are not added yet as they are super-tiny.
The parts don’t center well and many were poor fitting.
The instructions are vague as to where some parts attach to each other.
Some parts have heavy attachment points. I wound up gluing some parts together while they were still attached to the trees, because of their small sizes.
Some of the parts broke during construction and many were poor fitting.
Some parts are illustrated as the wrong shape of the way they are molded and can cause confusion during construction.
I don’t recommend this kit to novice or beginning modelers. It is for the experienced modeler, who has already built kits with many parts. It is not a weekend project by any imagination.
Some of the parts with rivet detail are molded too close to the sprue to not wind up ruining the rivets.
I have lost several tiny parts and had to fabricate new ones.
Some PE hooks are not added yet as they are super-tiny.
The parts don’t center well and many were poor fitting.
The instructions are vague as to where some parts attach to each other.
Some parts have heavy attachment points. I wound up gluing some parts together while they were still attached to the trees, because of their small sizes.
Some of the parts broke during construction and many were poor fitting.
Some parts are illustrated as the wrong shape of the way they are molded and can cause confusion during construction.
I don’t recommend this kit to novice or beginning modelers. It is for the experienced modeler, who has already built kits with many parts. It is not a weekend project by any imagination.
Otherwise recommended.