Intended for 3d print.Update 20251018 : rifle models included in model pack. Scoped and iron sight versions.

Swedish 20mm Pvg M/42 Anti-tank rifle, from the the mid-to-late WW2 era. The soldiers are using the following equipment:

• The M/39 uniform.

• The M/37 steel helmet.

• The Pansarvärnsgevär M/42.

The M/42 was a shoulder-fire recoilless rifle developed by Harald Jentzen of Carl Gustaf's Rifle Factory between 1940-1942. It was the first shoulder-fired rifle of its kind, and a precursor to the much more well-known Carl Gustaf 84mm grenade launcher (which is technically a recoilless rifle). The M/42 was introduced to the Swedish army in 1942, but only about a thousand rifles were ever delivered as improvements in tank armor meant the 20mm caliber rounds of the M/42 were no longer sufficient. For what it was, the M/42 was considered light and highly portable, and was also one of few anti-tank rifles to allow for both armor piercing and high explosive ammunition. The M/42 was breech-loaded and vented gas out the back of the rifle when firing, reducing recoil much like a bazooka or panzerfaust rocket launcher from the same era. The rifle was normally operated by a team of two soldiers, one gunner and one loader.To my knowledge, the M/42 was largely replaced in its role by cloned Panzerfausts (designated as Pansarskott M/45) in the Swedish army by the last year of the war. A 47mm version of the the M/42 was in development, but never got past the prototype stage. Prior to its introduction in 1942 (?), there was a general dearth of anti-tank rifles in the Swedish army. There were a handful of WW1-era 13mm German Mauser M1918 AT-rifles still in use (phased out in 1939), and 450 Swiss/German 20mm Solothurn S-18/1000 procured in 1939. There was also a batch of 5000 German Mauser Kar98K purchased and modified to use supercharged 8mm rounds, though they were ultimately not deemed feasible for anti-tank purposes. Not only did they fail to penetrate contemporary armor, they also frequently shattered the collarbones and ear drums of their users. These were different times...

Anyway, to make a long story short: For tabletop gameplaying purposes, the M/42 was not a very prominent weapon of the Swedish armed forces. It was in use for a relatively brief period of time ca 1942-1944 (With the first 1942 batch only used for training purposes due to technical faults), though I'm sure it was still used to some extent right up until the end of the war (according to some sources, the M/42 was transferred to the coast guard for use against landing crafts and may have remained in that role for some time after the war as well). The M/42 was portable for its type, and capable of incapacitating armored personnel carriers or older, lighter tanks. It would have fared poorly against state-of-the-art or upgraded tanks of the main belligerents, though capable of punching above its weight due to a relatively potent round and HE-capability. It was issued to standard infantry battalions. I suppose its portability made it easier for troops to get it into position, but at the same time its backblast would give away their position more than a conventional anti-tank rifle. So fire and move, or get blown up by return fire I guess?

Printing instructions

Recommended printing scale is 28mm. The default scale of the models is also approximately 28mm when you first load them into your slicer. Note that you can easily alter the size of the models prior to printing. No models are currently pre-supported. Personally I think this gives the customer greater flexibility (as well as saving me quite a bit of effort...) , but you are welcome to send me a request to pre-support all models, and I'll upload them to the product free of charge. If you have any additional questions, for example re: various historical aspects, you can also contact me. I'm no expert, but I do have access to some fairly credible historical sources I've used when designing the models.