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WWI German seige artillery Big Bertha?

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  • Member since
    January 2006
WWI German seige artillery Big Bertha?
Posted by pinkboy on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 12:35 PM

hi folks.  I'm George, a subscriber to FSM for 30+ years.

I'm looking for a 1/35 model of the WWI German seige howitzer called Big Bertha, or scale drawings of it in any scale.  Can anyone steer me in the right direction?  Thanks!

 

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: Washington, DC
Posted by TomZ2 on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 1:36 PM

pinkboy

I'm looking for a 1/35 model of the WWI German seige howitzer called Big Bertha, or scale drawings of it in any scale.

Which one? The original L/12 420-mm Type M-Gerät 14 (M-Equipment 1914) Kurze Marine-Kanone howitzer, or another of Krupp's many large guns, generically styled as "Big Bertha"?

Occasional factual, grammatical, or spelling variations are inherent to this thesis and should not be considered as defects, as they enhance the individuality and character of this document.

  • Member since
    January 2006
Posted by pinkboy on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 1:59 PM

hi TomZ2.  The original one, in your picture.  Know of any?  Thanks.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 3:55 PM

I know Fine Scale Factory out of Germany did one (or still may do one) in 1/72 or 1/76 scale. It was a white metal kit designed for wargaming.

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: Washington, DC
Posted by TomZ2 on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 4:40 PM

First off, check this out: http://www.landships.freeservers.com/fsf_42cm_bigbertha_review.htm

I also found this:

on http://northstarfigures.com That should keep you busy.

Occasional factual, grammatical, or spelling variations are inherent to this thesis and should not be considered as defects, as they enhance the individuality and character of this document.

  • Member since
    January 2006
Posted by pinkboy on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 7:22 PM

Hey thanks TomZ2, those are great web sites.  If nothing else, I could order the small white metal model to scale it up as the basis of a scratch build.

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: Washington, DC
Posted by TomZ2 on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 2:54 AM

You’re most welcome.

Occasional factual, grammatical, or spelling variations are inherent to this thesis and should not be considered as defects, as they enhance the individuality and character of this document.

  • Member since
    January 2006
Posted by pinkboy on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 10:52 AM

hi again TomZ2.

I bought this Big Bertha 1/72 scale model from a place in England.  It has been significantly upgraded since the review in http://www.landships.freeservers.com/fsf_42cm_bigbertha_review.htm that you pointed me to.  It's still not very detailed, but it is more accurate now, and the carriage and cannon are each very crisp one-piece resin castings, and the metal wheels are now accurate.  It cost around $40 delivered.  Instead of using it to scale it up to a 1/35 scratch-build, I'm just going to build it as is and detail it.

Thanks for your help!

 

 

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: Washington, DC
Posted by TomZ2 on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 11:30 PM

Have you heard of HäT Industrie (http://www.hat.com/) and their 8258 WWI Austrian Artillery Crew in 1:72? It looks like it could be doctored to match that first photo I posted.


Occasional factual, grammatical, or spelling variations are inherent to this thesis and should not be considered as defects, as they enhance the individuality and character of this document.

  • Member since
    December 2002
Posted by saransk on Friday, June 24, 2011 3:09 PM

If Allied modelers of WWII or the poor stepsisters of this hobby, those of us who long for the level and detail of the latest Tiger tank on some WWI subjects ore truly the orphans.

For several years I've tired to find any kits of WWI monster guns and the pickings are very slim.  As for the German 420mm "Dicke Berta" commonly known as Big Bertha I've never heard of any large kit being made.

Herbert Jager's book German Artillery of World War One has a great section devoted to this series of guns.  But it too has few plan views.

The best news is that the howitzer was of a relatively simple design, aside from the barrel, much of it should be easy to scratchbuild.

The article at http://www.landships.freeservers.com/42cm_bigbertha.htm has probably some of the best info in one spot I've seen.

Good Luck

Mike

 

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