1/72 HaT - German 7.62cm PaK 36(r) (Img&Review)

As I promised, here it is the review to another HaT set from the gun series. Quite difficult to write these reviews and still there are two ahead....Hope you will not be bored....

Cristian Florescu  

HaT 1/72

"German 7.62cm PaK 36(r)"

Review 

One of the most interesting sets of HaT's series of 1/72 guns and crews dedicated to WWII Germans might be the "German 7.62cm PaK 36(r)" set, not only the gun model, but also the garment of its crew contributing to this assessment. Despite that PaK36(r) was not initially a German gun but Russian, the presence inside a series related to Wehrmacht weapons is fully justified taking into account the large use, both against its initial developers on the Eastern Front, as well as in North Afrika. A good example of the intensive utilization can be the impressive number of projectiles fired by German soldiers with that gun in 1943, namely 151,390. In the early period of Barbarossa, Wehrmacht troopers captured more than 1.300 Soviet 76 mm divisional guns M1936 (F-22). The WWII German Army is acknowledged for having no hesitation in using captured war materials, and the same situation registered in the case of Russian F-22. The need of anti-tank guns capable to penetrate the thick amour of Soviet tanks was stringent and in April 1942 the first versions of improved F-22, renamed 7.62cm PaK 36(r), reached the front line and remained in service till the end of war.  Likewise, no confusion should be made between PaK36 which was a well-known German antitank gun and the captured 7.62cm PaK 36(r), two distinctions existing in the title of the latter, 7.62 cm meaning the caliber and (r) representing its origins, Russia. The two guns were totally different in shape, the German PaK36 being much smaller, firing 3.7 cm. HaT produces as well this model, nicknamed "door knocker" due to its "performances", but with DAK crew.

The 7.62cm PaK 36(r) continues the line of 1/72 HaT German Guns, featuring merely details, but with a shape that will make it recognisable on the wargame table. Composed by only seven pieces, the kit is one of the fastest to be assembled. Both these parts and the four member crew are integrated on the same sprue, four of each being delivered in the box. Common items for gun kits are ammunition boxes and spare projectiles, but here we do not get these. Manufactured in a soft green plastic that is quite close to rubber, the material takes well super glue, but the paint needs a little more time than normal to get dry. Moreover, flash is low, but very annoying to remove while the plastic has the undesired propensity of producing fluffs.

Initially a Russian gun, captured by Germans on the Eastern front, obviously the producer wanted to underline the idea, and what could better evoke that than soldiers dressed for fighting against the dreadful General Winter. All crewmen wear the standard Late War WWII German winter attire composed by greatcoat, regular trousers, toque, helmet, gaiters and boots. Details of the palms are also poor, so these might be painted either as wearing gloves or without. The nicest touch is the toques, we do not have too often the pleasure to find in 1/72 mass production sets figures with such items. Gear is shabby, but appropriate for gunners, here retaining only the belts, "Y" straps and the ammunition pouches for Kar98K. The one and only personal weapon of the set comes with the gun commander, symbolized by a pistol in a holster. Like in the rest of the sets of the series, the crew is formed by four soldiers sculptured crouched. Poses are flat, intended just to induce the appearance of some human activity around the gun, one soldier holding a projectile having the universal size encountered at HaT, other two taking position close to the weapon and the commander indicating with the right hand the direction of fire while holding in the left the binoculars.

Uniforms are roughly depicted, still having some buttons and the anatomy is better than in the rest of sets, neither due to an improved sculpture, nor by dimensions,  but because a large part of faces are covered by toques while the greatcoats and gloves do the same thing, hiding better the bodies.  Really small, at the border between 1/76 and 1/72 scales, they match the best with their comrades from the other HaT sets with guns as well as with figures from Armourfast's Mortar and MG teams, Pegasus Hobbies Waffen SS Set 2 or MAC Distribution's PaK 36 and PaK38 sets. Excess of plastic misses, but not the same can be said about flash. However, the latter comes in low amounts and it would have been fast to remove if the plastic had not had the tendency to produce annoying fluffs. Nevertheless, the main target groups are wargamers and collectors, and some of them are not extremely preoccupied and disturbed by such things. Not only superglue, but also paint and artistic oils are welcome by this rubberised soft plastic, though these need more time to dry. All crewmen are based and even without these devices most of them can stay. Considering that superglue works good here, some improvements might be added to the figures with Preiser or Dragon weapons and gear.

In spite the fact the gun was captured on the Eastern front, it saw action in Afrika too, and in this respect the weapon can be exploited with all HaT's crewmen, even with the DAK one. Most of diorama builders will leave the product on the store shelf, but those wanting to set up a large army in short time and do not care too much about details will find in HaT's "German 7.62cm PaK 36(r)" an appropriate solution.