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."

In the Box

• 1 sprue in 3 plastic sealed bags – 40 parts
• 1 foam cylinder plug for end of cleaning rod
• 1 decal sheet for 4 rounds (3 rounds in kit)
• 1 2-sided instruction / painting guide sheet
• Colors: Dark Yellow, Silver, Steel and Steel-Red

First Impressions

Very high quality with “thick” styrene befitting a 1/6 scale kit, excellent detail and no flash, The decals have very good detail

Construction and Discoveries

With just 40 parts and over 95% of the model Dark Yellow, I built the entire Mortar and rounds in one short session. The tube required the most seam filling with a few coats of Mr. Surfacer 1200 doing the job. There were also several other seams needing attention. Dragon has designed this kit to be adjustable for display, so, the bipod can be adjusted to different azimuths and elevations. Be careful of the “No Glue” areas of the instructions. The instructions did not reference Part A40 (2) or A39 and my picture searches on the web were of no help in determining what to do with these parts.

Painting

The entire model was first primed with Vallejo Model Air Grey Primer and followed with 2 coats of Metallic Black again as a primer (I wanted to try the metallic to see what effect it had under the Dark Yellow). Then 2 coats of Dark Yellow applied as mist coats. After that the non-Dark Yellow colors were applied. For IPMS reviews I usually do not weather because it is very subjective. I want the focus to be on the construction, details and original color schemes. In this case I deviated from that approach because the model looked too “flat”, so I added a wash around some of the features.

Summary

This was very quick and easy to build. and paint (less than 3 hours). Top quality materials with mostly tight fits were found throughout. I highly recommend this kit if you want a simple and quick build.

Pros: High quality kit with fine detail, no flash

Cons: Parts A39 and A40 not referenced in instructions

I would like to thank Dragon USA for supplying the kit and IPMS for the opportunity of doing this review.