Preview: Takom's two new boxings of the 1945 production Stratenwerth Strabokran with Hanomag SS100 or V-2

Takom have not finished with the Strabokran yet! They have two more boxings of the kit, this time to suit the  1945 production Stratenwerth that serviced the V-2's. The kit reflects the changes that were made to these particular cranes to handle these rockets. see more in our preview...

All you need to handle your V-2 in 2 new kits from Takom

At the outset of WWII, German armoured units were equipped with mostly light and Medium tanks, accompanied by repair echelons consisting of gantry cranes with lifting capacities of up to 6 tons. However, after facing heavier Soviet tanks on the eastern front, the Wehrmacht began suffering heavy losses and soon realized the need for more heavily armoured tanks to fight on the rapidly evolving battlefield. This led to the development of the heavy tanks such as the Tigers & Panthers, weighing as much as 30 tons. The existing gantry cranes in field maintenance units were too weak to service the new heavy tanks, so the Germans turned to the mobile gantry cranes manufactured by J.S Fries Frankfurt am Main which were developed in the 1930’s for lifting heavy loads in ports & railroad facilities. 

The Hannomag's that towed these Strabokrans are at the bottom of this picture

The Strabokran (Strassen bock kran, or road gantry crane) consisted of a horizontal gantry supported by a pair of collapsible support towers. The gantry housed a winch on a rail-mounted trolley. A motor was mounted at one end for powered lifting, and a hand-powered chain wheel was mounted at the opposite end for driving the horizontal movement of the trolley. Each of the twin support towers consisted of four hinged scissor-sections, which were erected by cables via a hand-cranked winch mounted in the base of each tower, and then locked together. Strabokrans with 15t, 16t and 20t lifting capacities were developed in different years, and were towed by Sd.Kfz 8 and Sd.Kfz. 9 half-tracks.

The 1945 production Stratenwerth Strabokran with V2

 Approximately 100 Strabokrans were built, some of which were license-built at the company Stratenwerth in Duisburg until the war's end, and were supplied to units equipped with Tiger’s & Panthers, as well as V2 units.

These new kits from Takom:

 Stratenwerth 16t Strabokran 1944/45 Production + Hanomag SS100

From Takom

1/35th scale

Kit No# 2124

Hannomag SS100 Kit included

The kit can be made in transportation or in "Working" mode

Truss was redesigned, and it includes the hoist for the rocket

The kran itself was redesigned for the V2's, and our kit reflects the correct changes

Photo-etch included

Clear parts included

Wheels can turn freely on the completed kit

Seven marking choices included in the box.

 Stratenwerth 16t Strabokran 1944/45 Production + V-2 Rocket
From Takom
1/35th scale
Kit No# 2123
The kit can be made in transportation or in "Working" mode

Truss was redesigned, and it includes the hoist for the rocket

V-2 Rocket kit included in the box

The kran itself was redesigned for the V2's, and our kit reflects the correct changes

Photo-etch included
Clear parts included
Wheels can turn freely on the completed kit
six marking choices included in the box.

Both of these kits are due in March 2019

More about all of Takom's kits on their website...