Build Log of Hobby Boss “Dora” railway gun in 1/72 scale
PART 5
By: Richard Geraci
With the major construction completed, it's time to go back and attach those misc parts, ladders, platforms, and touch up paint (fig 74) [1690]. Now we can build those shell lifting cranes.
Assembly starts with the four vertical rails [1706], shown here (fig 75) with ladder rungs attached and painted. They hang from the loading deck and hang down past the end of the rear railcars. The shell lifting platforms fit between the vertical rails on each side and can move up and down if you want to position then differently. We have already made many of the parts needed here but there are still some platforms, supports, and railings to be added [1818]. Hang a shell platform from the eye hook and adjust the thread length to set the platform at the desired height. Glue a length of suitable silver thread into the winch heads at the towers and loop through a lifting block eye. I chose to set mine level with the loading deck (fig 76).
Make one last inspection of the model to touch up any glue spots, paint scrapes, etc. All that is left now is to insert and glue the barrel (fig 77). The gun can be left horizontal or raised to a 58° angle. Insert the breech block to balance the barrel. Here are photos of the finished model without the figures (fig 78,79,80,81).
Finally, the two color photos that I used as a reference. The first (fig 500) is a picture of an actual artillery shell from the Dora. The other (fig 501) shows Hitler inspecting the weapon. The gun itself is a sort of bluish-gray. I painted my Hitler figure and the figures with him based on this photo. The other soldiers have light green uniforms with matching soft covers or steel colored helmets. I took other colors from my reference book descriptions. You have probably noticed that I have never mentioned the gray paint I used or called for applying Dullcote anywhere. Here's why. I used Rustoleum Flat Gray Primer #334017 overall from a rattle can because it has a very slight sheen to it, the color is a bit on the blue side, and it is inconsistent. That's right, inconsistent. The minor variation in color as it sprays along with the sheen as seen from different angles gives some depth to the details without having to do a lot of weathering. However I did Dullcote the railcars because of the decals. An artistic decision on my part, your mileage may vary.
Finally, I restored and refinished an old wrought iron Singer sewing machine stand to act as a support base. The Singer factory in Germany was converted to making machine guns during WWII so there is a kind of connection there. Here is the final display with figures, locomotives, and the stand (82, 83, 84, 85).
I hope you enjoyed this build log, my first major one by the way. I could have included about five times the content by describing and taking photos of each step but most of that was boring work, frustrating fiddly bits, or minor fit issues. The Dora kit has a total of 2044 pieces (1818 parts plus 226 decals) and costs about $200. The BR57 engines were about $30 each, the 11 Preiser figures about $20, and $20 for the wood base material for a total of $300 and nearly 2500 pieces.
Assembly starts with the four vertical rails [1706], shown here (fig 75) with ladder rungs attached and painted. They hang from the loading deck and hang down past the end of the rear railcars. The shell lifting platforms fit between the vertical rails on each side and can move up and down if you want to position then differently. We have already made many of the parts needed here but there are still some platforms, supports, and railings to be added [1818]. Hang a shell platform from the eye hook and adjust the thread length to set the platform at the desired height. Glue a length of suitable silver thread into the winch heads at the towers and loop through a lifting block eye. I chose to set mine level with the loading deck (fig 76).
Make one last inspection of the model to touch up any glue spots, paint scrapes, etc. All that is left now is to insert and glue the barrel (fig 77). The gun can be left horizontal or raised to a 58° angle. Insert the breech block to balance the barrel. Here are photos of the finished model without the figures (fig 78,79,80,81).
Finally, the two color photos that I used as a reference. The first (fig 500) is a picture of an actual artillery shell from the Dora. The other (fig 501) shows Hitler inspecting the weapon. The gun itself is a sort of bluish-gray. I painted my Hitler figure and the figures with him based on this photo. The other soldiers have light green uniforms with matching soft covers or steel colored helmets. I took other colors from my reference book descriptions. You have probably noticed that I have never mentioned the gray paint I used or called for applying Dullcote anywhere. Here's why. I used Rustoleum Flat Gray Primer #334017 overall from a rattle can because it has a very slight sheen to it, the color is a bit on the blue side, and it is inconsistent. That's right, inconsistent. The minor variation in color as it sprays along with the sheen as seen from different angles gives some depth to the details without having to do a lot of weathering. However I did Dullcote the railcars because of the decals. An artistic decision on my part, your mileage may vary.
Finally, I restored and refinished an old wrought iron Singer sewing machine stand to act as a support base. The Singer factory in Germany was converted to making machine guns during WWII so there is a kind of connection there. Here is the final display with figures, locomotives, and the stand (82, 83, 84, 85).
I hope you enjoyed this build log, my first major one by the way. I could have included about five times the content by describing and taking photos of each step but most of that was boring work, frustrating fiddly bits, or minor fit issues. The Dora kit has a total of 2044 pieces (1818 parts plus 226 decals) and costs about $200. The BR57 engines were about $30 each, the 11 Preiser figures about $20, and $20 for the wood base material for a total of $300 and nearly 2500 pieces.