12.8cm Flak 40 Zwilling

[BlackMax12]

Here is a big AA gun or at least one of the pair on the same mounting.

 

This kit is a little more involved as there's lots of dry fitting, filling and sanding and the instructions leave one guessing lots of times.  A different subject but one of these

kits is more than enough.

 

[Ozzy]

Nice build Lloyd, are you going to mount them on a Flak tower? 

[BlackMax12]

Thanks Ozzy

 

One of my display cabinets is tall and thin so mounting this on top of it is about as close to the Zoo flak tower as it will ever get.

 

That's if I ever finish it as it's getting pretty tedious with lots of duplication, there's two of everything and the poor fits, etc carry on to the second gun.

 

Take care,

 

Lloyd

[snapper_city]

Watching with interest. Mine is still sitting in primer awaiting paint. 

[BlackMax12]

Snapper

 

I just posted to your original posting asking if you had ever finished.  I guess not but I like the way it looks in black anyways.

 

Lloyd

Edited March 12, 2017 by BlackMax12

[BlackMax12]

Gun Anton is in place now beside Bruno but not quite finished.  Then there's the second fuse setter assembly, the rest of the platforms, railings and the two gunner's seats yet.

Fairly big model so I'll pose it at full elevation so it takes up less room.  There's quite a bit of play in the plastic gears and the gun pivots so they aren't quite parallel in all positions between depressed and elevated but they seem pretty good at full elevation.

 

 

 

[snapper_city]

Mine also struggle to remain parallel in all elevations.

[Blaubar]

Interesting build, both of your two 12.8 scenarios. The kit was only released recently, I think to remember, so you must be among the first to build it?

Keep it up!

/Stefan

[snapper_city]

32 minutes ago, Blaubar said:

The kit was only released recently, I think to remember, so you must be among the first to build it?

Keep it up!

/Stefan

 

I have only seen maybe 3 built online. Never in person.

It was released in 2015. I bought it in September at the Farnborough show but first saw it at the War and Peace show in the summer. 

[Blaubar]

Thanks for the info there. I noticed that you are already at the paint stage 👍🏻😂. Looking forward to more stuff from the two of you!

/Stefan

[BlackMax12]

And the saga continues, a long time ago in a space far away...this kit got whipped into something resembling the prototype.

 

Getting closer.  Still needs one loading chute installed and the PE on the motors and I see there's a seam on one of the muzzles that needs fixing.

I added some cranks for the fuse setters, some terminal boxes and cables, some bolts on the lifting pads, hinges on the boxes near the cylinders and some bracing on the seat supports.

Probably go to the spray booth later tonight or tomorrow morning.  Tamiya NATO black undercoat with Tamiya RLM02 gray as the finish coat.

 

 

 

 

 

[BlackMax12]

The assembly is pretty much done.  Added some handrails to the steps and the second loading tray, etc.

It's in black primer now and probably will end up gray tomorrow.  I can't dirty this one up too much as it was atop the Zoo tower in Berlin so probably had priority for

maintenance and polishing.

 

Interesting build so far but not hankering to do a second.

 

[snapper_city]

I think I had 3 priming sessions just to get in all the crevices at all the gun angles. Being all black it won't matter if I miss bits with the grey as these will help with shadows. 

[BlackMax12]

Great minds think alike as I was thinking about shadows also.  I have done two black sessions already and it seems that I have most of it covered.

 I wish now that I had left the lower part of the cylinders off as they should be silver to represent hydraulic  cylinders and they will be tricky to paint in place.

Maybe I can remove them, paint and reinstall them, I'll have to try.

 

Take care,

 

Lloyd

 

[BlackMax12]

Snapper

 

I gave it a coat of Tamiya XF-22 RLM Gray and it looks like it will need a second coat.  I tried something different and thinned the Tamiya 50/50 with the X20A thinner and that didn't cover all that well, especially on the base.

When it cures I'll give it a second shot as there's lots of nooks and crannies that didn't get much the first time.  I managed to get the lower part, the rams or whatever, off of the cylinders and painted them silver to represent hydraulic

cylinders and I'll see how they look when everything dries.

I see already that those two round units just above the breeches, part of the recoil mechanism I suppose, both need some more filler and repainted.  When will the filling and sanding end on this thing?

 

I wish now that I had painted the guns, mount and base as sub assemblies before rushing ahead and assembling everything.  Then all it would need is a light coat to blend it together after it was all assembled.  Too late now though and I

will never build another of these so however it turns out is whatever it is.  It looks like a big twin AA gun and I guess that's what I was aiming for.

 

Take care,

 

Lloyd

 

Edited March 14, 2017 by BlackMax12

[BlackMax12]

Almost finished.  A light dark wash, put the cylinders back together and painted the ammunition.

 

Here is a 1/35 scale Tiger I for a comparison.  This is one BIG anti-aircraft gun.  I wonder what happened to a B-17 that got hit, or even if a shell exploded close.

 

[snapper_city]

I read somewhere that these things could put a shell up to 30,000 ft four times quicker than an 88mm thus making them that much more accurate also.

[BlackMax12]

Snapper

 

I think it was something like 1500 meters per second muzzle velocity.. That means something like just over 9 seconds to their max altitude of 48,000 feet.

They were also used in the battle for Berlin as killing tanks was real easy, apparently they could rip a T-34 or Sherman in half with one hit, and 20 rounds per minute was a lot faster than a

Jagdtiger or King Tiger could fire.  WOW!!!

 

Lloyd

 

[George Manson]

Anyone know where I can buy this great kit (1/35 12.8 cm FlaK 40 Zwilling Zoo ). 

[Lazy Modeller]

What an impressive build...

Cheers👍

LM