I have the Italeri 1735 Opel Maultier… It comes with three marking options: 4th Panzer Division, Eastern Front 1943, in Panzer Gray with Dunkelgelb stripes. 116th Panzer Division, Western Front 1944 in tri-color camo scheme, and finally 26th Panzer Division, Italian Front 1943-45 in overall Dunkelgelb. I’ve seen in my LHS the Italeri 3.7 cm Flak 43, and I’m wondering if I can attach it to my Maultier, the problem is: Can the maultier tow this gun?.. did the Panzer Divisions I mentionated before actually had one of these guns?.. so many questions… I hope you can help me as I like a lot the Maultier and it looks so “lonely” without a gun… I know that there used to be an Italeri Maultier with a Flak 38 in the rear bin (did i said it right?), but I want to know about the Flak 43 as is the only available in my country. If The Maultier can tow the Flak 43… Which of the three camo schemes must I choose?.. Thanks in advance.
Well, I don’t know for sure, but I don’t see why it couldn’t tow it. I’d leave it on the Eastern front and give it a three-color camo and say it’s 1944. I’m sure they were used in the West as well and would do the three-color there also. I guess you might need something to hook it up with if it doesn’t have a tow hook. Probably does though. If not go with the Flak 43 anyway, have fun. Sorry to be of no help, I’m sure someone can be more exact than I. Good luck.
The Opel Maultier was rated as a 2 ton load capacity, the 37mm Flak 43 weighed 2750 lbs, well under the Maultiers’ load limit. Despite it’s model designation, production of the 37mm Flak 43 did not begin until January of 1944, 776 being produced in 1944 and 152 in 1945. The factory use of Panzer Grey ended on Feb. 18th, 1943, so this color would not be used for this variant.