The Germans used a variety of railroad guns during World War II, but none as famous as the "Leopold." Dubbed "Anzio Annie" by the Allies, its shelling of the beachhead at Anzio helped stall the breakout there. The gun's location was never determined during the action, but was found after the battle, put out of commission by its crew.
It is unusual that even one injection-molded kit of the Leopold would appear in 1/35 scale, let alone two, but both Dragon and Trumpeter have issued kits of this monster gun. Since both companies are based in China, you might think the kits share the same molds. Not so; each is an original. Tom Foti compares the two.
280mm K5(E) Leopold German railroad gun
Kit: No. 00207
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Trumpeter, distributed by Stevens International, P.O. Box 126, 706 N. White Horse Pike, Magnolia, NJ 08049, 856-435-1555
Price: $139.99
Comments: Injection-molded, 1,140 parts (28 photoetched, 1 vinyl), decals
Pros: Highly detailed, extra under-truck detail, one-piece rifled muzzle
Cons: Lots of small parts, ejector-pin marks in hard-to-clean locations, fragile small parts, gun-cradle assembly fit is sub-par, decal placement errors on the instructions
Even though the basic car body is made up of 47 pieces, assembly went smoothly. I used bar clamps to hold the car body together until the glue dried. I had to fill gaps between the car body and the upper decking. I made the supports for the hatch (D18) over the gun-raising controls with Evergreen .035" rod.
The auxiliary power unit's photoetched-brass exhaust-pipe guards (PE5) were too narrow to be bent to the correct shape, so I attached them flat. I liked the inclusion of the cartridge case for the shell, but my sample was molded out of round.
The track-bed pieces were warped, and I had to reinforce the joints with plastic strip as I did on Dragon's base. The rails were also difficult to slide through the joiners because the roadbed height interferes. I used dish soap to lubricate the rails.
I used Floquil's reefer gray for the early-war gray paint scheme worn by this gun while it was stationed at Calais, France, in 1941. Decal placement numbers on the instructions don't match the numbers on the decal sheet, so I'm not sure I got them all correct. The kit decals were well printed, but needed an application of Solvaset to settle down.
The finished model scales well to the measurements in my reference. I spent 75 hours completing this model.
Trumpeter's release of the "Leopold" appears to be an all-out effort in detailing. The large box is packed full with 20 light-gray sprues plus a sheet of photoetched brass details, a metal chain, two shells, copper wire, plastic hose, and poly caps. The 44-page, 37-step instruction book has a parts map, exploded views, and a painting guide.
An interesting feature is the choice of a long track section or an unusual cross-track base. The second option has a small turntable in the center of a 90-degree crossing, which would have allowed the gun crew to turn one truck of the rail car perpendicular. That would allow the gun to be aimed through a 180-degree arc. I couldn't find documentation on this turntable. In theory, it would work, but Trumpeter's rendition of the turntable is smaller in diameter than the wheel base of either of the trucks. My reference shows a Vögele full-length turntable like the one on the box art, but that turntable was not included in the kit. I used the straight track.
You might want to build the track first as an aid in alignment of the trucks, wheels, and suspension height. There are a lot of parts to Trumpeter's Leopold, and many of them are separate details for the wheel trucks. For example, one truck suspension set from Dragon was made from 14 parts; the same assembly from Trumpeter took 98 parts. But Trumpeter also provides more under-truck detail, with separate brake bars and levers. Each of Trumpeter's trucks comprise 11 instruction steps and more than 200 parts!
In step three of "truck lower assembly," the arrows to guide installing the pair of braces (G3) are hidden among the details. The braces fit into sockets on both insides of subassembly A from step 1. The overall fit of the trucks was good.
After constructing the gun cradle, I had to fill gaps between the gun elevation assembly (A11/A23) and receiver assembly (A3/A4). The gun barrel assembly went together smoothly, with enough barrel length to make a solid joint to the receiver. Trumpeter's one-piece rifled muzzle end means there were no seams to clean up.
German Railway Gun 28cm K5(E) "Leopold"Kit: No. 6200
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Dragon, imported by Dragon Models USA, 1315 John Reed Court, City of Industry, CA 91745, 866-365-8721,
www.dragonmodelsusa.comPrice: $99.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 733 parts (7 photoetched-brass), decals
Pros: Good detail overall, good figures
Cons: Ejector-pin marks on wheels, fit problems, seam in rifled muzzle hard to clean up, errors on instructions
In Dragon's large cardboard box you'll find 21 light gray sprues, a fret of photoetched details, a metal chain, four shells, six crew figures, and a railroad-track base. The model can be painted Reichsbahn gray or in late-war camouflage. The large fold-out 19-step instruction sheet features history, a parts map, exploded views, and painting guides.
I took a lot of time cleaning up ejector-pin marks and building the wheel-and-truck frame subassemblies. The overall fit was good. Watch out in step 3: The part labeled H42 is really H43 on the sprue (it's labeled H42 on the parts map, too).
After constructing the gun cradle, I discovered parts G24 and G25 were too large to fit into the gun pivot location. Instead of grinding them down, I substituted sections cut from Evergreen 3/8" tube. The gun-barrel assembly went together smoothly, and the seams were carefully wet-sanded to avoid flat spots. Rifling is molded inside the gun barrel halves, so it was hard to clean up the visible seam inside. Another caution: Parts F43 and F44 in the gun elevation assembly should go between F21 and F22.
Construction of the internal assembly for the car went smoothly, but there were gaps when I installed it on the rail-car body. Another mislabeling concerns the outboard ladder; the rungs should read E3, not E5.
On the auxiliary power unit's crane, the instructions have part number H60 pointing in the wrong direction.
Building the railroad-track base was a bit tricky. The roadbed pieces don't have enough surface area for a good glue joint. I reinforced the insides of the seams with plastic strip. Placement of the ties in their pattern needs to be done to the letter for proper alignment with the rail. Installing the rails through the joiners produced a lot of resistance, and I broke one rail end. I used dish soap to again lubricate the rails during assembly.
The kit's set of six figures are included in the parts map, but their assembly and positioning are not shown in the instructions. They come with a variety of arms to strike different poses. I used Polly Scale German uniform gray and highlighted them with oils.
For the gun, I chose the two-color late war paint scheme, applied before deployment outside Anzio. I used Testor Model Master panzer schokoladenbraun (chocolate brown) and panzer dunkelgelb (dark yellow). Because some locations were hard to reach, I painted the subassemblies beforehand. The kit decals were OK, but tended to silver even over a gloss coat.
I studied the photos in Joachim Engelmann's German Railroad Guns in Action (Squadron/Signal). The finished model measures to scale with the dimensions in the book. I spent 73 hours completing Dragon's Leopold. It's a stunning model, taking up nearly 39 inches of mantel space!
Conclusion. Either kit will result in a fine example of the giant rail gun. If you like detail and don't mind jig-saw puzzles with lots of parts, Trumpeter's Leopold will supply you with plenty of enjoyment. Dragon's kit looks almost as nice and comes with a bonus set of crew figures.
- Tom Foti