1:48 Karabiner 98k

Karabiner 98k rifles in 1:48 scale

Here Firma49 offers six pieces of the German bolt-action rifle for models and figures in 1:48 scale. It is neither a kit of a vehicle nor figures but separate armament that the modeler places into an interior, into a weapons rack or into the hands of soldiers. The manufacturer also makes the same weapon in three other sizes.

The real subject: the standard rifle of the Wehrmacht

The Karabiner 98k was a shortened derivative of the older Mauser bolt-action system and from the mid-1930s served as the basic infantry weapon of the German army. Its marks of recognition are the turned-down bolt handle, a wooden stock with a handguard over the barrel and simple adjustable sights. Wartime production was simplified step by step, so late examples have coarser wood and fittings and a differently made buttplate.

Painting recommendations

What helps most is telling the wood and the metal apart. Lay brown under the stock and add an oil glaze toward a warmer tone; the metal parts will get by with dark steel and a gentle rub of graphite on the edges. At this scale it pays to paint before the parts are separated from the gate, because a small object is then easier to hold. A sling can be suggested by a strip of tin foil or thin paper.

Who will appreciate the set

• Builders of dioramas with infantry in small scales
• Modelers who arm the interiors of armored vehicles
• Collectors of figures who are missing a faithful hand weapon
• Those who want to have the same weapon in several sizes

Figures, paints and glue do not belong to this item.