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Sunday 16 September 2012

Thomas Gunn: New for September

Back again with news of some forthcoming releases from TGM. I for one am absolutely loving what's coming out of this company at the moment, especially the WW1 and WW2 German figure sets, and that's what this post concentrates on. Take a gander at this little lot and tell me you don't want them!

SS043 Flakvierling

The Flakvierling was developed by the Wermacht in response to the increasing speeds of low flying attack aircraft being developed by other airforces. They correctly assumed that the current single barrel 20mm AA weapons in production would not have sufficient stopping power, should war break out




By mounting 4 x 20mm guns on a quad mount with a triangular base the Flakvierling was then born. Each of the four mounted guns had a separate magazine that held 20 rounds. This meant that a maximum combined rate of fire of 1,400 rounds per minute was reduced to 800 rounds per minute for combat use, which would still require 10 magazine swaps per minute on each of the four guns. The guns could be fired in pairs (diagonally opposite) or simultaneously, in either semi-automatic or fully automatic mode. The effective vertical range was 2200 meters and it was as  effective against ground targets as it was against low-flying aircraft




The gun was normally transported on a Sd. Ah. 52 trailer, and could be towed behind a variety of half tracks or trucks, such as the Opel Blitz which has also been released this month by TGM
Our versions come in a rough field applied tri-colour scheme for the Normandy, a newly applied whitewash scheme for the winter version and an authentic sand colour scheme for you North African collectors. All guns rotate and elevate and our set comes with 2 figures, the second loader figure can also be removed if required




Priced at $95 RRP with 150 of the Normandy/Winter versions being made and 120 of the Desert version available. All sets should be available mid September and with dealers shortly afterwards


 
SS038 Flak Officer

Designed to accompany the Flakvierling, or any other AA gun in your arsenal, our figure looks nervously upwards at the sky as the Allied air power advances remorselessly over the Reich's empire

Given the simpler uniform paint scheme utilised we can offer this figure at $30 each, with 150 of the Normandy/Winter and 120 of the Desert scheme available by about mid September




The three Flakvierling pieces with additional, and separately sold, officer figure


ACCPACK 003

It’s been a while since we offered an accessory pack and now seemed as good as time as any! For those of you who want some additional protection for your airfield, gun emplacement or bunker then these little beauties are just what you could be looking for!  

ACCPACK 003 consists of the afore-mentioned Flakvierling artillery piece but with no crew figures. This will make it a very flexible piece which will hopefully feature in many dio's with collectors around the world. As before all guns rotate and elevate and will enhance any diorama setting

Priced at $39 with 100 of each version being available and with a special early war grey version [shown below] also available



 
SS044 Opel Blitz Truck

One of the most widely produced trucks in the German arsenal the Opel Blitz was seen on all fronts during WW2 and produced for many years afterwards in various guises. This month we offer an early war grey version and a winterised version suitable for Russia or a Battle of the Bulge diorama 

It comes with a driver figure, a removable load and will be available in mid September. Please note the production vehicles will not have such large door hinges fitted and the doors do not open. The finished vehicle will have much smaller hinges fitted and also a seamless fit between the door and its vehicle frame. Unfortunately our factory supplied pre-production samples for the photo shoot!

Priced at $135 each with 150 of the winter version and 125 of the grey version available





All of the above are available in the UK from Maison Militaire, so get in quick if you want some. Until next time, happy hunting!

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