Planet Models 1/72 60cm Flack Scheinwerfer mit Sd.Ah.51, previewed by Scott Van Aken

The German 60cm searchlight was developed in the late 1930s, with a 60 centimetres (24 in) diameter parabolic glass reflector and was powered by an 8 kilowatt generator. The lamp output was rated at 135 million candelas, and it had a detection range of about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) for targets travelling at an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). With the beam dispersed, this reduced to about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi). It required a crew of three and could be transported using a single axle Special trailer 51. One of the crew operated the searchlight, another operated the generator, and the third was the section commander. Naval versions of the searchlight included a shutter, to allow them to be used for Morse signaling.

THE KIT

This is a 3D printed kit and is printed in a dark tan resin. The kit contains two 'cages' with the parts mounted within. My copy arrived with the cage around the main searchlight part destroyed and some damage done to the fine detail bits on this piece. The other contains all the parts required for the mount and its trailer. The kit does not include the power generator. That is a separate kit that I did not order.

in addition to the six parts, there is a small bag with a clear lens. Instructions are pretty minimal but adequate to complete the kit. For colors the options are either panzer grey or panzer yellow, depending on the time of the war that one wishes to model the kit.

CONCLUSIONS

In all, it looks like it will quickly make into a nice model. I was disappointed in the damage done to fine parts of the searchlight itself as replicating things like the very fine handles is well beyond my abilities. While 3D printing does produce a superb, high detail part, it has the downside of making these parts very easy to damage when being shipped.

KIT #:	MV 130
PRICE:	$32.00 shipped
DECALS:	None
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	3D printed resin