COBI Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind - Executive Edition Set 2593

COBI's Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind Executive Edition is a 1:28 model built from 1,195 blocks, 21 cm long, with a quadruple 2 cm anti-aircraft mount in an open shielded turret that rotates through 360 degrees and elevates, foliage camouflage over late-war paint, a detachable turret revealing the interior, a removable brick engine and working tracks. A Luftwaffe anti-aircraft gunner figure and a black nameplate are included.

Why the turret has no roof

By 1944 the Luftwaffe had lost control of the sky over Germany's own armies, and columns on the move were being attacked from the air more reliably than from the ground. Towed anti-aircraft guns could not keep up with tanks, and a gun that is being towed is a gun that cannot shoot.

The Wirbelwind put four 2 cm guns on a Panzer IV chassis so they travelled at tank speed and fired without stopping. The turret is open at the top for a reason that has nothing to do with cost: a gun crew tracking an aircraft has to see it, and a roof removes most of the sky. The eight-sided shield protects against ground fire and splinters; above, there is nothing.

The trade was accepted because the alternative was worse. Around a hundred were converted from repaired Panzer IV hulls before production shifted to a 3.7 cm version, and the vehicle was effective against the low-level fighter-bombers it was built for.

Specifications

Pieces: 1,195 · Figures: 1 · Scale: 1:28 · Removable engine
Model dimensions: 21 × 13 × 11 cm (8.3 × 5.1 × 4.3 in)