Dragon 1/35 Military - 3.7Cm Flak 43 Flakpanzer Iv "Ostwind" - D6550

The Flakpanzer IV "Ostwind" (East Wind) married a Panzer IV chassis with an open-topped, nine-sided armoured turret carrying a single 3.7cm Flak 43 anti-aircraft gun, giving German panzer divisions a mobile, armoured air-defence vehicle able to keep pace with the tanks it protected. Built in only small numbers by Ostbau Sagan from mid-1944, the Ostwind was rushed into service to counter the growing threat of Allied ground-attack aircraft during the final year of the war.

Dragon's 1/35 kit reproduces the Ostwind's distinctive faceted turret with crisp, slide-moulded armour panel lines, a fully detailed 3.7cm Flak 43 gun with hollow barrel tip and elevating mechanism, and the standard Panzer IV hull and running gear shared with the type's tank-destroyer and gun-tank relatives.

The kit includes individual track links, ammunition and gun-crew detail within the open turret, and decals for the small number of documented Ostwind vehicles, allowing an accurate build of this rare and distinctive self-propelled flak vehicle.

A striking and unusual subject for German armour collectors, the Ostwind stands out on the display shelf thanks to its open turret and skyward-pointing gun, and pairs well with other late-war Panzer IV family kits.