Description and History

Quoting from Dragon's web sitde product description:

“The kurzer 8cm Granatwerfer 42 (abbreviated to kz 8cm GrW 42) was developed as a lighter version of the standard 8cm GrW 34 mortar. It was commonly referred to as Stummelwerfer (“stump-thrower”) by troops. The smaller size made it particularly useful for German paratroopers who needed a weapon that was easier to move around, but still offered more punch than the diminutive 5cm leGrW 36.

It had a shorter tube than the standard 8cm mortar (tube length is 747mm), but it could still fire a round weighing 3.5x the earlier 5cm mortar weight, two times as far. Furthermore, at 26.5kg, it was half the weight of the leGrW 36. Maximum range was in the order of 1100m. Produced from 1941-45, the kz 8cm GrW 42 could be broken down into three loads for transport. Its effectiveness meant it served with Wehrmacht and other units as well as the airborne users it was originally intended for."

For fans of the “Psycho” movies that starred Anthony Hopkins as “Norman Bates”, this kit will bring back some fond or not so fond memories. This kit arrived just as my favorite time of year started, as I decorate for Halloween like no other holiday. I was also fortunate enough to have one of the movie channels recently run “Psycho”, “Psycho II”, and “Psycho III”, which provided good references for how to paint the house. When first released, this was a new kit made by Polar Lights, and it does a nice job of capturing the look and feel of the Bates mansion of the original “Psycho” movies (the remake with Vince Vaughn has a completely different house).

In September, 1964, a strange TV show appeared on our sets, The "Munsters". Using classic horror film characters as a base, the macabre humor of these frightening creatures with wise cracking dialogue, outrageous visual gags and fast motion cinematography made this show a hit. The show lasted 2 years (70 episodes) and was cancelled in May, 1966 due to an All New Color Batman taking all the ratings. It still can be seen in syndication and enjoyed by all.

We have Herman (played by Fred Gwynne), Lily (played by Yvonne DeCarlo) as his loving wife, Grandpa (played by Al Lewis) and Eddie (played by Butch Patrick) as their son. Unfortunately Marilyn (the less fortunate member of the family) and Spot the family fire breathing dragon pet is not depicted in this kit.

The MiniArt River Embankment Diorama Section consists of two sets of parts, some pieces being injection molded and some being vacuformed. The parts for the street surface, river embankment retaining wall, and access steps are vacuformed. The sidewalk railings, various street posts and stanchions, “park” benches and manhole covers are all injection molded. Each of the six part trees included in this kit are identical and each carries a manhole pipe casing and manhole cover, a storm grate frame and cover, parts for two sidewalk railing stanchions, and half of the parts required to build up a “park bench”. These parts provide the builder with all of the pieces to build up the street scene as shown on the box lid as well as extra parts so the builder can do a little free-lancing.

The Stooges

The 3 Stooges started out in Vaudeville in the 1930s as Ted Healy and his Stooges, but moved into movies, first at MGM, then to Columbia. Their short films were wildly popular, and although shorts fell out of favor in general, the Stooges kept the Columbia short film department open long after other studios had given up on them.