88mm FlaK gun Position - Historical Context & Design Development Process

 

Historical Context

Initially designed and used as an anti-aircraft cannon, the 88mm FlaK gun series was found to be an extremely effective anti-tank weapon during the Second World War. With a large round, capable of penetrating thick armour at great distances, this became one of the most feared weapons of the German arsenal, often being referred to as the dreaded '88'. 

The infamous '88' first gained notoriety against the Western Allies in 1940 during the Fall of France campaign. During this campaign, at the Battle of Arras, a British counterattack with Matilda II Infantry tanks caused major disruption to the advancing German units. The Matilda II possessed 78mm frontal armour, which was virtually impenetrable to the German weapons at the time. It was during this attack, that Field Marshal Erwin Rommel instructed the battery of 88mm FlaK guns in the area to fire upon the advancing British tanks, with great success, forcing the heavily armoured tanks to retreat. 

This engagement demonstrated the versatility of the 88mm FlaK gun, with the weapon being used in various roles, including anti-air, anti-tank and indirect artillery, throughout the rest of the war. Eventually, in 1942, a tank gun version of the weapon was developed and placed in the infamous Tiger I heavy tank. Variants of the 88mm FlaK gun were in service from the invasion of Poland, in 1939, until the end of the war at the fall of Berlin, in 1945.

Design Development Process

To begin this project, I purchased a 1/35 scale Tamiya 88mm Gun FlaK 36/37 model kit with the intention of developing this model into a diorama, alongside a defensive trench system and heavy machine gun team. Development of this diorama would consist of 3x 1/35 scale Tamiya model kits, including the FlaK 36/37 gun & crew, and figures from German Assault Troops and MG Personnel kits, which would feature in the trench layout. Once these had all been purchased, and partially completed, designing the layout of the diorama base could begin. These elements would prove vital to figuring out the overall minimum size the diorama base needed to be.

01. Design Layout Sketches

02. Design Layout Sketches

With many components to this diorama, each at varying sizes, experimenting a variety of layouts was essential to this projects design. From the beginning of this project, the FlaK gun was always to feature as the main component, taking up the most amount of space on the base, with the MG team and infantry to feature as additional elements. Placing the FlaK gun at the rear of the diorama would allow for sufficient space to feature a defensive trench section for the remaining elements.

Once the initial design sketches were complete, and a suitable base material located, it was possible to experiment with the layout further, testing the completed FlaK gun and heavy MG positions on the base. Several different positions were tested, using the sketches as a guide, until eventually the final layout was selected. This final layout would feature the 88mm FlaK gun in a centralised dugout position at the rear of the diorama base, with a heavy MG positioned to the left within a forward trench system, which would also feature additional support infantry.

03. Design Layout Test

Having finalised the layout of the diorama, and sourcing a suitable base material, it was now time to begin developing the the model base. A large piece of wood at the correct dimensions was to become the base of the Diorama, with the extra terrain details being built up from this for the overall diorama shape. This was achieved using layers of polystyrene packaging foam, cut to shape to create the trench channel and gun position. Once these layers of foam were secure, the entire model base was coated in a layer of modroc and left to dry.

Once the modroc layer had dried, I applied a base coat of paint to create a base ground colour before application of the dirt and green turf blend by Woodland Scenics. After the dirt and turf was in place, I decided to paint the dirt sections of the base to create varying patches of colour that replicate differing natural tones of earth. As trenches and gun positions are unable to hold there shape with dirt alone, I decided these needed some trench wall boards and posts to create the final appearance. I collected some branch twigs for the posts and trimmed these to size, selecting the straightest sections possible, and purchased lollipop sticks, snipping the rounded ends off, to use as the boards. These were then painted and stick in place to create the trench and gun position walls.

04. FlaK 36 & Crew test

05. Diorama Setup test

With the terrain and layout of the base complete, I turned my attention to finishing the models that would feature on the diorama. With the heavy machine gun tripod and FlaK gun complete, the main focus of the model kits that required completion were the figures. To make the overall diorama ambiguous, I decided to finish the figures in an overall field grey and grey colour uniform with Wehrmacht emblems. 

Once the field grey and grey base coats were applied, I painted the faces of the figures, along with the details, such as equipment and personal items. The personal items and equipment were painted before being glued to the figures as this would be easier than attaching them before painting. Brown mud colour paint was later applied to the boots and legs of the figures to create dirt effects on the models. For the fine details, such as straps and buckles, I always find it easier and most effective to use fine line and oil based art pens which mark the raised edges of these details perfectly.

With little experience painting figures at 1/35 scale, this was a great technique learning project, with some notes for improvement on future projects and developing techniques to improve the quality of work. Probably the greatest element that requires improvement for this project are the faces of the figures, which with practice, will improve over time.

06. FlaK gun crew figures

07. Machine gun team & German Infantry figures