Hi everybody,

herewith I wan to present my brand new project:


Eisenbahngeschütz "DORA"

scale: 1/35

manufacturer: Soar Art Workshop / Metal Troops





It is the biggest kit in the world with approx. 3000 parts, about 2 meters long!

I am planning several changes at the kit, for example using real wood and meshs instead of the kits parts.

The final "Dora" will be placed on a huge diorama with trucks, forrest, command posts and several soldiers at work or at rest.

At the beginning I started with reading some books, mainly "Deutsche Eisenbahngeschütze" by Gerhard Taube:



This is the best book for building this kit - but it is only available in German as I know - but there are more pictures inside then text.

If you want to read and see more of the kit, about the story behind the "Dora" and if you want to see a huge survey of the parts please check also my (at the moment only in German language available) website: HERE .

I hope that I could present an interesting project here!

Looking forward hearing / reading from you,

Michael

Here some pictures of the first additional material I need:

the Wood: I will use balsa wood which is easy to work with knifes and sands. Size of 1mm will be approx. identically with the original material:




Every catwalk around the DORA will be replaced with aluminium mesh which will be the best alternative to the filled plastic parts:




The buffers of the kit are wrong. Wrong size, wrong form. Due to that I will use the metal parts, offered by Polish company RBmodel which are really great:






Further (better) pictures from website of RBmodel:





Best regards,
Michael

planned modifications:

- changing the 4 wagons to originally 8
- shorten of the gun barrel
- using mesh for all catwalks
- using metal buffers instead of the plastic parts
- adding chains to the handrails
- using balsa wood instead of all plastic "wood" parts
- adding pipes, wiring, ...
- modifiying of the cranes
- using metal parts for correct ammunition
- opening the doors of the generating station and adding interionr (if I will find good pictures)
- building a diorama

That's all - for the moment

... let's start...

Firstly I cut all 4 wagons in the middle - the upper parts, under parts and side parts. with this additional work I will have the possinbility to present the Dora in a curve on the diorama which would not be originally possible with two 10-axled wagons. Here are some pictures:











All parts were cut in the middle and about 3mm were cut away at the cutted side so that there would be enough space under the turning bridge:









Here are the new 8 wagons after the cut:











That's it - the first part....

Michael

The next step is to clean the cutted sides and to free all parts from the sprues. AT the cutted sides I wll place a new plate, filled and sanded after the under part is completed:















Installation of the brake system:



The cutted side:





and the parts for the wagons, the brakes... 29 times available:



20x:



and the 80 wheels:

As next steps I built the complete brake system and installed it at the downside of the wagon. The axles and the wheels were mounted and installed at one side part of the wagons which was mounted at the wagon. After the mounting of the second side panel the complete wagon was fitted with screws on each side. After that the brake system could be completed and the first and last brake pad could be installed.

The plate at the end was also installed as well as a scratch built plate at the side were I have cut the wagon in 2 pcs at the beginning.

Here some pictures of the actual statues:



Axles mounted in the side walls:



Some pictures of the wagon without any small parts which will come later:







the complete wagon:



Downside:















The next steps are mounting the 3 other rear wagons which I will not show in detail here as it is 1:1 identically with the first wagon. The front parts of the wagons will come after that and I will show these in detail again, as well as all further steps on top of the 8 wagons and all small parts but - before mounting all small parts I will fill the scratches, holes and sand everything!

Further pictures: HERE.

I hope you like it!

Michael

Thanks for sharing your build!
That´s a lot of work to the finish-line.

greetings...

It was on my to-do list.
But it's a bit to large I guess.
Nice start.

Erikssson.

Hello guys...

yes it is a real big thing! But after selling two of my ships (Bismarck and Musashi) I got the money and the place for it... and my girlfriend gave the OK for the Dora
In a few months (or years) when the dora is finished I will need much more space for the planned diorama with Dora, trucks, command posts, ....

Michael

Great start, Michael! You are a much braver man than I am - I would be afraid to cut the parts like that on such an expensive kit!

Great job,tackling making the 4 bogies into 8. Getting the bridge section over them is going to be quite a job. I built mine in 4 months, 2 hours a day. Your conversions will take you longer.

Hi,

yes it was no easy step to cut the wagons in 8... but nevertheless - it worked And if it would not have worked - nobody would have seen it as it is directly under the bridge

BR
Michael

Hi,

my knowledge of Dora is absolutely 0, but I would like to know why you made 8 wagons out of 4. Is it because the kit is wrong or simplified? (just curious, I'm an engineer )

Matthijs

Hi,

it is easy to say - the kit is wrong. In original the "Dora" railway gun (also this "name" "Railway gun" is wrong!) - had 8 wagons instead of 4. with 4 (each one would have 10 axles) it would not be possible to drive around any curve... that's why the Dora hat 8 wagons... and the possibility to make small turns within each wagon under the bridges....

(and the "name" railway gun is wrong as the Dora was transported to the place of firing on different train wagons and mounted at the final destination. Dora drove only few meters alone to correct the fire position.

BR
Michael

Hi friends,

rear part of wagon 2 is finished (the under part). Nothing new to say - exactly the same as the first one and the second and third! Only the small parts on the top are different on each wagon - these will follow after the under parts are all 8 finished....









.. so that's it for the moment..... wagon part 3 and 4 will follow now....

BR
Micha

Here is the next wagon....

First one:


... then 2:


... then 3:


... then 4:
... oops - the fourth one is not yet existing......


Here you alredy could imagine how big this moster will be! I added two rear parts under the bridge for a first test... looks great!







see here - now the "Dora" also could drive through curves... in a realistic scale!




So that's it - wagon 4 follows...

Here the first wagon with the great metal parts of RB Model. Great work - and great look!























That's it for now... the next steps include ladders, switches, rails, wooden parts, .... and lots more.

BR
Michael

Hallo Michael. Sehr Schoen! You are definitely doing a great job with the build. I am waiting patiently to see the finished product.

Isn't it a shame that as big and expensive as this model is you must buy aftermarket parts and scratchbuild the wagons? Just an observation. In my opinion the manufacturer should have done a better job of researching the kit.

Keep up the great work...I'll be following this one closely.

'Wiedersehen.

Jeff

Jeff,
I think Soar Art may have realized the usual modeler would leave this in a straight line display. By not separating the trucks, it may have saved them some engineering time.
I can lift my main section off of the bridges,and could go back to cut my trucks apart.

Thanks Carl...You're right. I was thinking it was an oversight on the manufacturer's part. There is still the issue with the bumpers....but I suppose the ordinary modeller would overlook something like that. Michael is doing a great job this.
I don't have the space or finances to tackle this kit...so I'll live vicariously through him.

Jeff

Hi everybody,

just a few new pictures of the actual situation with "Dora". The four inner waggons are finished - sanded and ready for the upper details and all small parts. The outer waggons are half completed - 2 are done, 2 left - also only the downside without any details which are following later... Here are some pictures of the six waggon parts:
















Now a small note: I have to make a break with the DORA after finishing the eight waggons due to the fact that I have to built a ship (IJN Mikasa 1/350 Hasegawa with the detail set of Lion Roar). This has to be finished within 4 months so that I have to work a little more with the Mikasa in the next weeks - the "Dora" will continue whenever I need something bigger to do or whenever I have a little time left for it.... so it will go on a little slower here in the next time.....

BR
Michael

Well, as long as you return to the Dora eventually Have fun with your Mikasa!

Hi,

there are some news of my DORA...! All eight wagonparts are completed.... (OK, not completed, but the base is finished)...

Here something more of the rear parts of the wagon...

The original plastic part:



SAme parts after removing the plastic parts:



The glued rear parts, sanded:



After mounting the buffers:



…. looks better then before!?


Now - all eight wagons are finished... the brakes, the axles, the front and rear including the buffers. Missing are all small parts on the sides and on the top!

- the four inner wagons:









- the four outer wagons:








All eight wagons together:



Do you see the little VW?



That's it for today... and let's see what comes next!

Question to you:
The wooden parts on each wagons - was this painted in grey as the rest of the "Dora"? Or was it left in wooden colour?

BR
Michael

Hi,

the next steps are done - cutting lots of wooden parts for the decks of each waggon. I will not use the plastic parts as these were (good done but) not as realistic as "real wood". Please find the plastic parts in the first pictures:





The new parts are cut of 1mm wood, each 3mm width... after mounting all holes have to be drilled and the wood will be washed with oilcolours.

Here the first parts:





and the wooden parts and the plastic parts:









What do you think - are these wooden floor parts also painted in the grey of the Dora? Or left in wooden colour?

BR
Michael

The plastic wood:







Including the original wood:

















Before the painting of the grey colour on everything I will paint the wood with oil colours and lot of thinner and cover it partly with salt before the airbrush painting. After that the salt will be removed and the wood will come back

BR
Micha