1:18 plastic artillery piece by 21st Century Toys.

SPECIAL NOTE: This piece has numerous small parts that require careful adult handling to avoid breaking. Please keep away from small children.

Announcing the long awaited release of the Xtreme Detail German Flugzeugabwehr-Kanone 88 millimeter Gun. Commonly referred to as the “German 88”, earlier versions were originally developed as Anti-Aircraft guns but their fire power, armor penetration and mobility made them just as effective against tanks and other ground targets. Thus the FlaK 36 served a dual purpose as an Anti-Tank gun as well as an Anti-Aircraft gun and it was equally effective in either role. Furthermore, it could be fired from either the transport configuration on the two-piece carriage (Casons) or from the fixed/firing position on its cruciform platform (with carriages detached) which enhanced the guns utility.

21st Century Toys’ 1:18 scale model of the FlaK 36 88mm Gun is magnificent 14 inches in length and stands well over a foot tall. It is a must-have for any collector!!! The gun both elevates and traverses, the two side cruciform legs fold for transport configuration and the carriages detach from the gun base. This detailed replica is made of high-quality, injection-molded ABS plastic. No figures are included.

Additional Manufacturer Info on this Product (Area 21):

Hi everyone. It was a great friday today I came home to find a fresh sample of the 88 flak gun on my door step. This is the final product and I was eager to liberate it from it's box and wire ties.

First glance- this piece is OUTSTANDING in the attention to accuracy and detail. Paint looks good and the DAK scheme quickly grows on you! As you remove it from the package and begin to explore the moving features you want to be very careful. The reason is, there are SO MANY moving parts that you might miss one and break off one of those lovely detail bits.

I quickly removed the carriage wheels and noticed something new... The wheels can position right to left much like a common Rack and pinion steering setup. I thought WOW thats a nice added detail.

I then noticed other such details on the gun itself, for instance the folding arms have the proper working parts to assist in the full deployment as they lower down. Each of the 4 arm have the elevation / balance pads that can then be pressed down into your 1:18 scale terrain. locating pins then can be inserted behind the pads... just like the real thing.

Other nice bits like the seat folds down, there is a clamp that opens up around the barrel of the cannon to free it from a stored position. the gun has EXCELLENT movement in terms of elevation and rotation. As the gun elevates you see the scale hydraulic rods travel as the gun extends.

The gun recoils and again there is another rod that becomes exposed as the gun moves back. Other little goodies and moving bits are there for you to explore and I won't spoil it all here.

my bottom line... This piece is a quantum leap forward in terms of accuracy, detail, and cool factor. Very pleased with this one my friends!

There are little boxes that open on the wheel carriages and other things that I had to explore and figure out myself. The expense of the model makes sense once you see how MANY separate molded detail pieces were used to create this awesome 88. There is simply too much to look at. I feel like I have a real understanding of how this piece of equipment was deployed and operated now, just because of what this model does. I want a Grey one now!

the 88 also comes with 2 crates with 6 massive shells. These shells fit nicely into the breech of the gun. The towing arm can be fixed in a down or up position with a locking pin that is removable. Each of the foot pads on the 4 arms can be lowered. That and my previous review about covers it. Frankly one of the best things is all of the seperate molded parts that are then glued on to create layers of detail. It's a very complicated looking piece. Also read the instructions on this one. I almost couldn't figure out how to lock the carriages in place so that they would support themselves when placed on a solid surface.