Tamiya 32554 German 20mm Flak 38 with Trailer & 4 Crew 1/48 Scale Model Kit

Tamiya ventured into the modeling business in 1948, with a scale wooden ship model kit. Since then, Tamiya has been striving to offer merchandise that can truly be called 'First in Quality Around the World.' Now Tamiya is offering more than 300 different products, both in the fields of precision static models and high performance radio control vehicles. These products are not only sold in Japan but also exported in vast quantities to the United States, Europe, South East Asia, and to many other parts of the world. The standard of excellence achieved by Tamiya is regarded as among the very finest in the world of model hobbies. This finely detailed plastic model kit requires assembly and painting. Item is brand new and in its original factory packaging. Listing images are stock pictures provided by the manufacturer or the distributor. Originally developed as a light anti-aircraft weapon for the Kriegsmarine, the German army also adopted the 20mm cannon for use on land and was widely-used throughout WWII. To compensate for the cannons low rate of fire, 4 of these cannons were mounted together to create the Flakvierling 38. The mount featured collapsible seats, ammo cartridge racks, a three-legged base, and could be rotated by hand wheels, with the guns themselves fired via two foot pedals,each of which controlled a pair of diametrically opposed cannons. In basic form, the Flakvierling 38 was loaded onto a 2-wheeled mount for towing to deployment points, but it was also fitted onto halftracks, tank chassis, ships, barges, and trains to provide close-range air defense against Allied fighter-bombers.