From LeeH - 3D printed 8.8cm Pak 43/41 Guns (8 points)

A couple of weeks ago I panted up some trenches from Ironclad Miniatures but the gun emplacements were missing their ordinance. I'd ordered some 3D printed models but they hadn't arrived so I finished the trenches knowing I'd be revisiting them in due course. The printed guns arrived last week and here they are. Two 8.8cm Pak 43/41 guns from Butlers Printed Models. I've never bought any 3D prints before so I was interested to give these a go and I'm pretty impressed with them. The printing layers can still be seen in some areas and the models needed a lot of cleaning up when they arrived, but they were half the price of a plastic or metal equivalent. I bought these primarily as 'terrain', simply to put into the trenches so my British Para's could attempt to knock them out. So while the quality isn't as good as a metal model, I'm pretty pleased with them as terrain, especially at the price I paid.

When you read accounts of the battle in Northern France and tankers describe being attacked by 88's, these are probably the weapon they are talking about. Krupp designed this weapon in direct competition with the Rheinmetall Flak41, and they produced a very successful weapon indeed. The Krupp gun was the most powerful anti-tank gun in service with the Wehrmacht and a modified version (the KwK 43) became the main gun of the Tiger II tank. 

Its relatively low profile meant it was ideal as an ambush weapon and the wheeled version (the original had a cruciform mount) meant it could be moved quickly from location to location. I once talked to a British veteran who served in Normandy as the driver of a Cromwell tank, and he described a single hit from a Pak 43 which split the engine block of his tank clean in two. Fortunately, all the crew were able to escape, but the tank had to be abandoned. 

(Scoring - 2x15mm Artillery Piece = 8 Points)

Aah! So the unboxing video I watched earlier was recorded last week then. Sneaky, sneaky! These 3D prints certainly do the job as terrain.

Tamsin