That is quite a job. replacing the decks with wood.I sanded mine down a bit, to make the grain a bit less obvious.Will you be recreating the fasteners which attached the decking to the frame?

I think that I will add the screws by making some small "holes" in each part, which will be painted in dark, black I suppose...!

Kind regards,
Michael

[u]steps and other details[/u]










[u]The first etched parts[/u]

Make attention using the correct etched part and the correct plastic part in the correct direction! Otherwise the holes for the rails will not fit!!!!








[u]The first completed base... front left side[/u]

Added scratched box - not finished yet as locks, the grips and other details are still missing.



















BR
Michael

Nice job so far.

Okay a question on those buffers one to me looks round and stands out the other one looks flat.

Is that the way they really are?

What size is that expanded metal?

In scale as looks pretty large.

Nice work and brave soul to tackle such a large item.


Cheers

Watching this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxuW8gG8Hfg

The handbrake stands are close to the ends of the railings on the front bogies.

Jeff,

The bumpers are correct - the left one is rounded and the right one is flat. There is a photo in the book Deutsche Eisenbahn Geschutze by Gerhard Traube which clearly shows them. I was wondering the same thing before I bought the brass replacement bumpers for my Dora. Still not sure why they are different though. Maybe it has something to do with two railcars not having to be aligned when they contact each other which could be a problem if both plates were flat? This way a round one always hits a flat one.

Rick

Hi guys,

some pictures of the basicly finished first wagon of the DORA. The one. left side, front.

More pictures you will find on myWebsite!


























BR

Michael,
Just found this tread, you are doing a fantastic job here. The kit is enormous by itself and you plan on butting it on a dio with command post. Where will you fit it when its finished? Looking foward to seeing the completed dio.

Hi everybody,

some new pictures of the DORA for you.

The railing of the left wagon is modified, I had to cut it for the chest which was on the total left side of the wagon, the railing was cut out at this place.



... and the right wagon which is identically to the left one, only the chests on the top are different, different size, position ....










As a small summary you will find some pictures of the two completed wagons for the front in the following:















I hope that you will like it!

BR
Michael

Just a thought,where you have 2 chests next to each other, It will be problematic getting paint in there. Will you brush paint the exposed sides, and allow the airbrush to paint the decking between them? I like the wooden flooring you did, looks good now.

Hehe Already thought about that. The chests are not fixed finally.... only installed without glue at the moment

BR
Michael

Hi,

the show must go on - and both rear wagons are finished as well. These two are nearly identical with the first two wagons, only the chests are less and a little different. Also some additional small parts are left on the rear wagons which you could find at the front (reason: the lift for the ammuntion will be mounted on the rear side of the rear wagons!)

In the following pictures of the two rear wagons:





























All parts will be painted at once when everything is finished.

BR
Michael

As always, GREAT WORK!! Now as I begin my retirement and this massive piece of artillery questions abound that I hope you and TankCarl won't mind answering. First ones that come to mind from a thread with Tom Moon is - what exactly must be done with the barrel Is it to long, to short or good as is? And is there good decals out there and where can I find them

Thanks for the infomation

Dave

Hi Dave,

yes of course- let's try to answer everything

Firstly the barrel - yes it is too long. But it is difficult to find a correct answer - some say about 5,7cm, others about 29cm too long.... I am still looking for a correct way...

Decals you also could get, the German company "Peddinghaus Decals" (http://www.peddinghaus-decals.de/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1333&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1) is offering a very good set for the Dora!

BR
Michael

Dave, there was a Portuguese site which had the dimensions of each section of barrel which was too long. There was a reference, which stated the barrel was 32 meters long, and the kit scales 40.

Michael and Carl,

Thanks for the information. Michael, the decales at Peddinghaus look great and I dropped them an e-mail, I might need some help there as I don't read German. Carl thanks for the pictures and information on the barrel. Before I cut mine down did either of you modify the length your Dora barrel? As far as the reference book, I'd really like to see one but for the cost I'm not sure the household treasurer would agree with that, not after what I spent on the Dora. I got in contact with Rab who had a thread a while ago and also created a fantastic diorama with the Dora as the centerpiece. He, like everyone on this site are very helpful when it comes to information and suggestions. I see I've got the first few years of retirement taken up. I've rounded up a lot of the support equipment, several kits of various crews and lots of bits and pieces for the planned diorama. I hope to get started on Augaust 1st, my retirement day. Kind of a present to myself.

Thanks again Dave

Hi. Soar Art is not a mainstream manufacturer. How is the quality of their moulding? Are the parts, especially small parts, in good registration? And are there many knock-out pin marks to either remove or fill? In short, how does the quality compare with recent Dragon kits, or Tamiya?

Hi...

firstly no, I have not yet cut my barrel - but I will. as soon as I have finished the next steps reaching the barrel in the mounting instruction - then I will cut it to get the corret size (or even one size, which is nearly correct). After that (don't know when) I will show my results!

The Decals from Peddinghaus are good quality. If I could help just let me know.

The quatlity of the kit is really good. Also the small parts are in a good quality. The worst thing is that the material is different - it is harder then normal plastic like Tamiya or Trumpeter.... and normal glue is not really working here.

If you want some details pictures - on my website I showed a preview of the kit with detailed pictures of the kit... www.world-in-scale.de "Eisenbahngeschütz Dora" --> "Das Modell" --> "Vorstellung des Modells".... also there are different parts I used additionally as well as a list with all mistakes of the kit.... but this list is only German....

BR
Michael

I have not cut my barrel yet. I found Ambroid Proweld liquid glue in the glass bottle worked best. Assemble the parts, then use capillary action. There is some flash. And there were some "sink marks" which needed filling. A careful inspection during construction will find them.

Great build so far. I have one of these and one day I plan on starting it. As for the name Railway gun, I think the name is proper because it is on rails BUT that is just me rattling on

The name "Railway gun" is a wrong name for the "DOra" as it was built at the firing place and brought there on different trains.... after built up "Dora" only drove a few meters when shooting and back - that'S all

Michael

Received the decals from Peddinghaus yesterday and you were right, they will complete the Dora nicely. While I was at it I order their sheet for the BR 52 locomotive and they to are great. I'd recommend this company to anyone. As for proweld, after several attempts, everyone is out of stock, I finally found some, it will be here early next week. Then the fun begins!

Thanks again for all ya'lls help.
Dave

The first step was changing the plate of the hatch on the front side of the part. I made a new one, which was thicker and which now has original 8 screws on it:













I hope you like it so far!

Micha

In the following some new pictures of my DORA. The first details are mounted, some parts needed to be filled and still need to be sanded later.

















The next step is the new walkaround which will be produced of mesh and evergreen profiles.

BR
Micha

Parts of the kit:






Shortening:










New walkarounds:








Mounted:













And completed:













I hope you like it!

BR
Micha