Dragon 1/35 Military - 1/35 Sd.Kfz.3A Maultier Half Track Mit 3.7Cm Flak 37 - D6788

The "Maultier" (mule) was Germany's practical answer to the chronic shortage of cross-country transport on the Eastern Front: standard Opel Blitz 3-ton trucks had their rear wheels replaced with a half-track bogie, giving them far better mobility through mud and snow than a conventional lorry. Adopted from 1942, the Sd.Kfz.3 family of Maultier conversions served as cargo carriers, ambulances and weapons platforms right through to the end of the war.

This kit depicts one of the self-propelled anti-aircraft variants of the Sd.Kfz.3a, mounting a 3.7cm Flak 37 gun on an open flatbed behind the cab. With Allied and Soviet air power an ever-growing threat to German supply columns, these mobile flak platforms rode alongside truck convoys and rear-area depots, ready to engage low-flying aircraft on the move.

Dragon's kit reproduces the distinctive half-track rear bogie with individual workable track links, the Opel Blitz cab and cargo bed detail, and the 3.7cm Flak 37 with its distinctive cruciform gun shield and elevating mount, plus decals for period German markings.

An unusual soft-skin/AA subject that makes a refreshing change from mainline tanks, this kit suits modellers building a German logistics column, flak defence position, or a varied Eastern Front convoy diorama.