After the S-Boat, I decided to stick to a German theme, take a break from ships, pass up the Hueys (sorry Kuman, racun kena postpone since I just built the A-10 - enough aircraft for now :P ) and do something totally different which has been sitting in the stash:



Hobby Boss 1/72 scale BR52 loco and Leopold railway gun. Looks like thousands of parts in there and this is just 1/72!? I went for 1/72 as it was too huge and scarily expensive in 1/35. In 1/72 already retails at RM 160 ish each!

Bit of history, BR52 locomotive is based on the BR50 class, one of the best and most famous German steam locomotive. Both were used throughout WW2 to pull trains carrying everything from Werhmacht to Tiger Tanks to FW190's, and also the monster 280mm (11.1 inch) "Leopold" K5 gun. This thing can lob a 255kg shell out to 60+ km! By comparison, the USS Missouri main guns is 16 inch (406mm) and fires a shell of 1225 kg out to 38km. Of course, the K5 is small compared to the Dora.

Dont know how to classify this, so since its a big gun used on land, I guess armour category would do. Will be built and mounted such that the loco is pulling the gun.

Wish me luck fellas (and 2 ladies)

yesss.... will be watching this thread with great interest :rolleyes: i got the 1/72 br52 too, but with the karl morser+transporter instead.... heaven knows when i'll actually build them :P

I'm going to follow this build closely.... I have both as well but in 1/35th scale. :D

landyshah you better post progress photo of that locomotive !! fist !!!

Druid, mau jual ka itu 1/35?...just the loco only :D :D :D I'm serious, PM me kalo mau jual...or anyone else has one they want to clear

Wah looks like some interest in this build haha...will take it slow on this one, not like S-boat :P

It looks very intricate especially the loco with all the pipes, valves, hoses, lever etc etc

Sorry, not for sale at the moment... try tanya Zaidi "Silantra" kot2 dia ada lagi dia punya tu... Not sure if he still has it or he already sell it because he is the one that "racun" me to get the 1/35 punya BR52... hahaha... :lol:

zaidi dah lama jual .... i know cos' i asked him that long time ago :P

What a coincident, I just got my BR52, but in 1/35! I heard from others that this Leopold are actually a scale down from 1/35. I will follow this build closely, :D keep us posted! :D

Goodness a lot of secret trainspotters :D

Thanks for info Imran...Kirin where did you buy the 1/35 from? Online ka? Its a Trumpeter, not Hobby Boss.

Thinking about the camo scheme now for each, apparently there were several schemes...while doing some lunch time research, found some ideas on camo scheme for the loco. Anyone have any info/pics on this?

Normal splinter scheme:


Light/dark grey. With 1/35 scale with Dora. Gila!....I like that Flakvierling on the tender roof. I think I have one left over from the S-Boot...aha!


Wiggly lines pattern, nice pose tho!


A lot of info here and a fabulous build here

I got my BR-52 as a CNY gift form my biz-partner. :D The leopold I mentioned is from Trumpy, but talking bout this HobbyBoss and Trumpeter, I been went to their factory last year during my biz-trip, I'm suprised cause the mold for both brand are came from the same manufacturer. :D

1/35 trumpeter loco di jakarta banyak bos....around 700ribu ( rm210) . dora also have but mahal bos...7juta

Shah, buat the loco in the third pose lah... sure will turn heads punya.. :lol:

Haha, Druid, in meletup and bengkok punya case is Pak Ari speciality...saya surrender. Im sure dia sudah terpikir.....

Ari, in KL there is no stock of the 35th BR52 in the shop....waiting for offer from forummers....

Shah,
I remember reading somewhere that the BR52 does not tow the Leopold. I could be wrong....

Incidentally, I have a HO scale trainset of the Leopold....

Loo,

Based this info, it seems like it did for transport stages...

"Normal transport used steam locomotives, probably Baureihe 50 or 52, the latter was a war version, designed to be built economically, both in material and production time......The gun trains differed slightly from one another. They consist of 24 and 23 cars with a length of 294 and 278 m respectively. They had both steam and diesel locomotives, a K5, A Munitionszubringerwagen, which was used to transport the generator unit, a set of three box car for the ammunition, a flatbed car with field kitchen, anti aircraft guns, a special car for the firing bed (Schiessbettung) and a car with a crane and turntable parts."

Any rate, cant find any pictures of the two together...so how the exact towing layout is not known....and i dont have the remaining 23 carriages in the stash...and even if i did my apartment is not big enough :P ....only got these two, so what the hell....so it will have to be "artistic licence" as you once said :D

HO scale is 1/87th, wee bit smaller...otherwise can play choo choo train with this kit oso hehe

OK, started with the loco.

Oh boy :wacko:

Right away, in my opinion I can say this kit is not for those who:

1. Have no patience with tiny fiddly and totally delicate parts
2. Dont like aligning those tiny parts to be perfectly all in one row
3. Are not willing to crawl on their knees to find those microscopic parts fallen on the floor
4. Dont like challenging/complex kits
5. Have limited attention span
6. Hate following the instructions / procedures - anti establishment kaki
7. Dont like building ships

Here's some idea of size, thats the main chassis and the firebox (where they throw in coal to heat the boiler):





Just to this stage and Ive cut 30+ parts. Thats hell of a lot of tiny bits which could have been simplified...I think they just scaled down the 1/35 part for part. Thankfully there is hardly any flash and the mouldings are crisp.

For this one no shortcuts, instructions followed to the letter. Cant bypass like building planes. Also, good thin liquid cement is a must.

I would think the 1/35 version is the same, just that the parts are twice bigger. But still, same rules apply.

This is gonna take some time I tell ya, but strangely enjoyable. I have a pain fetish. You guys who have one in the stash, even 1/35: you gonna need to have one too :P

Alpha Moonbase, err Koenig wasn't it? :D

Looks like you are gonna need some pretty fine tweezers.
I just couldn't get started on my 35 scale until I get me more cupboard display area....

sounds like me bos.. :D

Haha, ari tapi lu artist...ini macam punya problem semua you dont care lol...anti establishment bukan? Cos of that I know you will build this one like the pic of the train blown up :D

Yes Loo, now need fine tweezers and microscope. Slow and careful going for the assembly as many things to line up properly. Otherwise, axles and body all sure lari alignment....

Some update this afternoon:

More bits added to chassis. Instructions must be closely followed as some parts are "handed" (ie left/right) and its easy to get it wrong cos they can be tiny. So far alone, I think around 100+ parts. Plastic is soft, so easy to bend/break parts but the fit is great. Care and patience!



Its very important to line up the undercarriage parts and body support frames to avoid nightmares later. Also, need to be certain of the right direction they are all supposed to face (front/back). Instructions can be a bit vague at times, easy to lose track of where you are.





I've had to use all these tools so far to help my fat fingers:



Needle files, probes, fine tweezers, thin cement, superglue, sharp blade among others are needed. Also, good side cutter is a must so you dont break parts on the sprue. Thankfully, no painting needed so far, as the chassis all seems to be one colour.

Shah,

where is the most essential of tools...the lighter???? :D

Ah yes, forgot that...got 2 of them on the desk, and big ashtray :P

Looks like they proportioned the instruction drawings to be tiny as well. :lol:

Details look nice though.

cheers

bos..i ve seen one indo guy did a 1/35 Loco with red undercarraige..really jambu, and nice shading, in my eyes this was the BIS..but i couldnt understand how it didnt win anything..instead the 1st prize went to Flakpz 38(t) which was a basic build and the painting looks one done by a greenhorn....and to me this sounds like the judge is someone who doesnt know much about model armour...a stupid man.

and that contest also made me a famous boy in jakarta....i withdrew my jadgpanzer when that stupid judge held my build in his hands...Rule number 1 -a judge DO NOT touch anything. i simply told the organizer .." why have a dog breeder judging the Royal Ascot"..of course they didnt understood what i told them...they are not race horse fan :D
hows that for ...anti establishment B)

wahhhh bro.....aku musti tengok lu punye progress ni la walaupun tgh holiday ni :D .......btw mungkin aku ada pegi jakarta kot this month tapi tak tau lagi bila.....and maybe i can look for your livin' la vida loco :lol:

Ari, kan gua sudah tau lu memang anti establishment.....confirm. BTW, funny you mention cos the more I look at it, the more sexy looks the black scheme with red undercarriage, very classic steam loco colour, and I feel like do something that is NOT camoflaged for once....Hmm, tempting....

Lan: if you are going let me know, interesting. There seems to be lots of stuff there compared to here. And I'm sure if you meet pak ari he can take you to all the "hideout" hehe

Started on the drivers cab tonight. Again, very tiny parts. Be careful with the windows, small and need to be cut out with sharp new blade.






Los of small valves, wheels and levers inside:




Looks like the interior of the cab is all black, with some details. Ill go with the black/red scheme as it looks more "classic" for a steam loco. Cab interior can be painted at this stage, as once it is closed up, no more access. Bear in mind, not much will be visible in 1/72 once its all closed up. The windows will be attached after, then masked with maskol on the outside.

Found this pic on the net. The kit instructions tell you nothing about detail painting.

Hideout???....maksud lu rumah mijit kan?



yup bos..red udercarriage is really nice...but carefull ah..not all red shade are suitable. i think its signal red or something like that, pokoknya bukan red yg biasa bos

Late night working is always the best for me. Peaceful!

Cab painting done, flat black with burnt umber/sienna wash and drybrush/graphite/pastel on details. Some cast-iron texture added with thicker paint, brushed. Keep it subtle for 1/72. Based on some pictures of steam loco cabs, lots of dust and soot from the arang, but its not white like firewood, more brownish. This is new for me, first time weathering steam train.

Just doing this to satisfy myself, not much can be seen when built anyway. Front windows attached with PVA, make sure the front windows are put in before adding all the instruments, otherwise nearly impossible later.

[

Once the cab is put together, little can be seen except from rear (will be hidden by the tender anyway). I mounted the side windows halfway slid down so can see bit more inside:





Loco coming together. The top and bottom are not glued, will be painted separately. Top black and bottom red. I built a section of track to help line up all the wheels correctly:



The whole line up with the chassis of the Leopold to get a feel of the complete works:




I'm really enjoying this loco build, very fun!

Oops!

No name calling please. More so when the person is not here to defend him / herself.


Now back to your regular programme. :)

Haha! remember the last time we had a 'forum battle' because of a few uncareful words.... those were the days.....sigh. Best leave this be bygones. Forgive the judge ari.....live long and prosper.

BTW, shah. spanking good painting on the interior. Not much will be visible right?

Well, there will always be differing opinions, live and let live...and enjoy this hobby.

Loo, thanks...almost nothing will be visible haha, its already so tiny in 1/72, small transparencies, black interior and case mounted....lol, nothing to see

Could have just painted black and be done with it, but I have never agreed with the theory of "if cant see, no need to paint", for me, I need to know that its in there.....

Shah,
me too! I cannot leave an interior alone without detailing it regardless whether it can be seen or not. Too bad Trumpeter didn't produce the flatbed. Then, you could make it a four footer!

A rare breed indeed, those who are into meticulous detailing. Good job!

Yep 110% agree Loo, to me thats the only way to do a build :D

Anyways, some update tonight: base paint coat applied to loco and tender body and chassis. To ensure the red comes up bright and strong, a white undercoat was applied first. I am quite pleased with how it came out, pretty close to the ref pics.



Looks huge in the pics, but actually on about 6.5cm tall:



The rest of stuff ie wheels, hubs, drive shaft etc were all sprayed red or black accordingly on the sprue. I chose not to mount the wheels before painting because behind them are fine brake hoses that need to be fitted, if mount the wheels, cant fit and paint these properly.

Only a bit of the cab can be seen, even then up close and with light shone thru the window. Anything further/darker and it is just a black hole. Body sprayed flat black with windows covered with Maskol.



This kit has ton of very fine detail on bolts and rivets which would benefit from careful washes and highlighting. This drive cylinder unit is less than 20mm tall. Hope I can pull it off!



Starting to look like a proper choochoo train now, I am glad i chose this red/black scheme instead of the camo.

Wee bit of update. added the wheels and other details:



Important points to note at this point (some found out the hard way):

1. Painting the wheels: only the outer bit of the rim is silver, I got it wrong in the pic. The painting diagram in the kit is vague and only realised when checked to reference. Have to repaint.
2. Pay attention to the alignment of the wheels ie all the holes for the con rod must face the same way per side. Left side faces front and right side face down (see pic) This is important to line up the main con rod which connects all the big wheels together, and from there the main drive rod connected to the pistons and all the other rods to the valve and reverse gear. It is all designed to fit one way only, so if you get it wrong everything will not be ngam.
3. Sand hoses are moulded in vinyl and need to be stretched to fit, otherwise too short. Use superglue to mount these first before fitting wheels. Sand hoses? Well, in these steam locos the driver can release sand right in front of the wheels to help traction and braking. Old style ABS :P
4. Use a pre assembled section of track to line up all the vertica/horizontal alignment of the wheels properly
5. Future your paint job immediately, as there is a lot of handling required....and be careful when handling cos so many fragile bits everywhere.
6. If you are fitting the smoke deflectors (two flat "spoilers" to be fitted on the side of the nose), should do this before painting. Superglue recommended. This is an option part. I left these off thinking to fit later, but in hindsight better to do it early. Will have to re do the paint for that part.
7. Paint whatever you can on the running gear early, cos it gets harder and harder to reach inside as more stuff is added. This is very true for the silver bits on the wheels and sand hoses

As always for this build, follow the instructions....be in peril if you dont...i already kena :P Even tho the paint job is simple black/red, the fact there is so many overlapping and tiny parts means that errors are hard to fix.

Looking more choochoo-ey by the day!

Shah,
unbelievable detail for a 72 scale kit.

Theres some really nice detail on that kit for 1/72 and you've brought it out beautifully Shah :D

Wah Shah,

The details are crying out for weathering. Leaving it clean also can. It's already so detailed for a 1/72.

The photos even make it more impressive.

Richard.

Nice progress, at first i thought this is the 1/35 one.
I wish to own a 1/35 one, but too bad the price scared me, must buy one if i become rich, haha.