MON, SEP 11 2006 10:28 PM:
German WWII Railway Transports
Most tanks and armored vehicles were moved from the rear areas to the front by the railroad when ever possible. There have been a few good kits put out by companies such as DML, Ironside, The Tank Workshop, etc… representing a good selection of the plattformwagens used. However most of these kits are either really expensive, hard to find, or out of production.
Two kits that seem to still be readily available are DML kits #6085 German Railway Flatbed Typ. Ommr w/MG crew, and #6086 German Railway Gondola Typ. Ommr. Both of these kits are based on the Typ. Ommr chassis. This is a very versatile chassis and has many conversion possibilities. We will be looking at just making plattformwagens. The Typ. Ommr plattformwagen has a load rating of 24.5 metric tons. This will allow for most Pzkpfw. III/IV variants to be loaded onto the wagens. A few vehicles in this range will actually exceed our weight limit. It is ok to go a little over our limit. There are documented photos of Tiger I’s (56 tons) being loaded on plattformwagens rated for only 50 tons. It is more important that we don’t place vehicles on the wagen that over hang the front and back.
In your kit 6085 or 6086, there are most of the parts we will need. We will start with step 1 on the instruction sheet. Follow the instructions for both H4 pieces. There are six holes present on piece H3 that need to be filled with putty. This is NOT a critical step, as the holes will be mostly hidden on the completed model. After the putty dries drill out the two holes on each end of piece H3 (Kit 6085 shows to do this 6086 does not, so you will have to locate the holes). Now down the sides of H3 are six sets of holes, one on each side of the holes we filled. Drill these out.
For kit 6085 follow the kits instructions through step 14. Kit 6086 also follows the instructions through step 14 but adds H8 to the right end, and H7 to the left end of H3. The hooks should be pointing down. Also on kit 6086 you will need to refer to step 19. Replace piece J6 with H5. Do not do any other step past step 14.
On either kit, you will need to add four of Part F19 and two of part F20 to the sides of H3 in the holes that we drilled earlier. While F20 is wider than F19 the pins on the back of both parts are 3mm apart. Parts F20 go into the two sets of holes in the middle of the car. And F19 goes into the four remaining sets of holes. The reason for the larger pieces in the middle is that the gap between the two middle holes we filled is 45mm and only 35mm between the other holes we filled. Also that is where the doorposts would go on the Gondola. The doorposts are bigger than the regular side posts.
Now all you need to add are a vehicle to the top and wood strips to chalk the tires/treads. You can use balsa or basswood. How you chalk the vehicle will largely depend on what type of vehicle it is. Tanks will usually have a large beam across the front and back of the treads with pieces nailed to the deck of the plattformwagens to hold them in position. Note the picture below. The Typ. Ommr Plattformwagen in the front (Not yet finished) has a Hummel on it, while the Plattformwagen behind it to the right is loaded with a Pz. Kpfw III Ausf. N. You can see the beams used to chalk the treads of the Pz. III
The beams can also be omitted if you use pieces similar to the ones around the cars wheels pictured below. I cut ends of these pieces on a 45-degree angle. Lighter vehicles like cars and half tracks will have pieces around the tires and treads. Front, back and outsides. It is also feasible to use chains and cables with the tire chalks, as tie downs. Tie downs can be attatched to the hooks (H8 or H7), or the rings on the sides of our Plattformwagen.
Note that the pieces on the sides of the car tires are the same as the ones in front and back of the tires. They have just been turned on their sides, so a flat surface makes contact with the wheel and the plattformwagens deck. Also the plattformwagens pictured are: In the Front loaded with a Horch is the Ironside Light Flatcar. To the rear of the picture are 2 DML Typ. SSy Plattformwagens loaded with Panther Ausf. G's.
Copywrite Mark Dunckhorst
