Leopold German Railway Gun

[Paul A H]

Leopold German Railway Gun

Having gained significant experience of building and operating railway guns in the First World War, it was no surprise that a new generation of railway guns were already in service with German armed forces by the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. The Krupp K5 was a 283mm (11.1 inch) calibre weapon that was capable of firing a 255kg (560lb) shell up to 50km (31 miles). By the end of the war twenty-five examples were completed and had seen action all over Europe. Two examples of the K5 are preserved today, one in the USA and the other in France.

As with the Mörser Karl I reviewed a few days ago, Hasegawa’s Leopold has been around for quite a few years. It was recently joined by the Hobbyboss kit in the same 1:72 scale and has two bigger brothers in the shape of the Dragon and Trumpeter kits in 1:35 scale. In common with the Karl, the sprues, moulded in grey plastic, are in excellent condition and show little sign of the age of the kit.

Construction begins with the railway bogies. These shouldn’t cause any problems, particularly as the wheels are not cemented in place and so can be adjusted if need be. To simplify matters the suspension components are moulded in place but are nice and crisp and should look the part under a wash of thinner oil paint or similar product. The smart little ammunition hopper is next, which comes complete with three rounds of ammunition, one of which is designed to be displayed in the ammunition crane.

The final sub assembly is the barrel and it’s housing. Needless to say care will need to be taken when gluing the two halves of the barrel together to eliminate any seams. The tip of the barrel is provided as a single piece, however, which makes the job considerably easier.

Three marking options are provided, all for the K5 gun bearing the name Leopold. The options are for one gun painted overall German Grey, one painted overall Dark Yellow and one painted in Dark Yellow and Red Brown camouflage to match the example preserved at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in the USA.

Conclusion

Although it is far from the new kid on the block, this is still an excellent little kit of an important subject. It should be good fun to put together and will look quite striking on the model shelf.

Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

[Moofles]

that really looks the part, how big would it be fully built up?

[jimbuna]

Any guestimate on the price?