Krupp 420mm Big Bertha by Haliburton - Takom - 1/35

[Haliburton]

Hi everyone, my interest in WW1 armour continues.  I’ve completed a Mark IV and Whippet tank and a 10/16 Morser and now continue with the infamous ‘Big Bertha’. A 43 ton monster which apparently they got its  nickname from the wife of Gustav Krupp who owned the Krupp arms works. With a range of 15km they were transported by rail and assembled in place and featured 820kg shells.  Nasty. 
 

I couldn’t find open source photos to share ~ Wikipedia has a photo of a model but that will soon appear here. If anyone has a photo they wish to share that is not subject to copyright please feel free to add it to the log. 
 

Scott 

 

[Baker]

You've got mail (soon)
A series of photos from this book.
feel free to post the photos yourself or not. 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Looks like a cool subject!  Looking forward to seeing this one come along.

[Haliburton]

I made a little bit of progress over the weekend - not because this is a mammoth project but more because the routines of life are impeding access to the workbench including but not limited to - a Costco expedition (why does our cart always end up full😳), helping my son with grade 9 science (meaning I need to take a refresher on the periodic table 😳).  Anyway some work on the platforms here.  Take care, Scott 

 

[pennytimeline]

Looks like quite the model, can't wait to see more of your build.

[Haliburton]

On 3/1/2024 at 1:14 PM, pennytimeline said:

Looks like quite the model, can't wait to see more of your build.

Thanks pennytimeline!  I’ve been working on various sub-assembles over the past few days. The Takom instructions aren’t awful but sometimes they are lacking in detail and I often jump ahead to see if the order of build should change to ensure the best outcome. Today the weather here is wet and cold so outdoor errands have been deferred to another time - meaning some extra time for me at the workbench!😀    Scott 

[Haliburton]

A bit more progress to report.  The scale of this monster is becoming more apparent as the structure grows around it.   In a future post I will add a photo that includes my Mark IV, Whippet and smaller calibre artillery for a sense of scale.   Scott

 

[Haliburton]

A photo of the interior of the Krupp factory in 1915.  You can see artillery barrels in production.  This was a huge facility and at that time apparently employed over 60,000.   Post WW1 Krupp made rail cars before moving back to military production in the lead up to WW2. During WW2 a decoy factory was set up about 10km away from the actual steelworks facility Essen to divert RAF bombing from the real factory. Apparently up until 1943 when the RAF identified the decoy factory, approximately 64 percent of all explosive bombs targeted the decoy.  The photo is from Wikipedia. 
 

[Egilman]

Yes they officially made railcars, but in reality the factory was "sold" to Bofors, and they continued to make guns under the Bofors name until about 1934 when they finally bought themselves out of it and a year later bought Bofors itself...

 

Krupp was one of the most powerful industrialists in the world like Ford, Benz, Messerschmitt, Westinghouse, DuPont and several others... The normal rule of law doesn't apply to them...

Edited March 10 by Egilman

[mtaylor]

6 minutes ago, Egilman said:

Yes they officially made railcars, but in reality the factory was "sold" to Bofors, and they continued to make guns under the Bofors name until about 1934 when they finally bought themselves out of it and a year later bought Bofors itself...

 

Krupp was one of the most powerful industrialists in the world like Ford, Benz, Messerschmitt, Westinghouse, DuPont and several others... The normal rule of law doesn't apply to them...

Some years ago, been so long I forget the title, I read a thick book on the Krump empire.  It's beginnings to time of it was published.  A bit of an eyeoperer to say the least with all the industries and government areas they had their hands in.

[Egilman]

11 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

A bit of an eyeopener to say the least with all the industries and government areas they had their hands in.

Yep, History is replete with them, all eras, all societies..... It's the reason for Ike's famous piece of advice to Jack before Jack's inauguration, "beware the military-industrial complex"..... Play ball or you don't survive...

[Haliburton]

So the Krupp family records date back to 1587.  In more recent times when Fritz Krupp (who expanded the Krupp empire into the construction of warships and u-boats through the acquisition of Germaniaerft) died, his teenage daughter “Bertha” of “Big Bertha” fame, inherited the firm.  As Bertha was a woman, Kaiser Wilhelm II arranged for Bertha to marry a Prussian and through imperial proclamation he took the surname Krupp.  So to Egilman’s point, the ‘military industrial complex’ that was critical to the power of Germany was preserved through this arranged marriage. A photo of Bertha and her husband and of the Essen factory devastated in WW2 from Wikipedia.  

[Haliburton]

A bit more structural work over the weekend. 
 

[Baker]

Nice work 

Some info about the battle of Liege in ww1

 

https://www.visitardenne.com/en/best-ardennes/iconic-sites/forts-province-liege#:~:text=This is the most famous,its garrison under the debris.

[Baker]

Parlez Français ?😇

 

Did a google search in French 

 

https://1914-18.be/2009/12/31/la-grosse-bertha-le-10-aout-1914/

 

[Haliburton]

13 hours ago, Baker said:

Parlez Français ?😇

 

Did a google search in French 

 

https://1914-18.be/2009/12/31/la-grosse-bertha-le-10-aout-1914/

 

Merci Paul!  (and with that I’ve used up about 10% of my French vocabulary!😆). That is a fantastic link and is going to come in very handy.   (Btw my French will improve as I’m trying to help my son with Grade 9 French …and science🙄)

 

Scott

 

 

[Ho203]

I’m very curious how you plan to paint this model? It looks like it will be very difficult to paint the wheels. It will probably be pretty hard to get up under the pads on them.

 

I assume you did not glue the catwalks in place or attach the wheels yet.

[Haliburton]

Hi Ho203, I will use the airbrush generally and brushwork for details and accents. The base is not glued nor the wheels the main catwalk is glued at a hinge point for structure/stability/fit but can be manipulated. Scott

[Haliburton]

An update primary painting is complete but will still need to install catwalks, add barrier chains and additional detailing.  Scott

 

[Baker]

Impressive ...

😇

 

[Haliburton]

A rear shot that shows some of the bits and pieces to be added.  I’m struggling a bit with the colouring of the artillery shell. I think it needs to be shinier than this?  I’ve seen versions that are sort of a matt grey black.  All with a stripe that I haven’t added. Thoughts?

[Egilman]

2 hours ago, Haliburton said:

 I’m struggling a bit with the colouring of the artillery shell. I think it needs to be shinier than this?

Looks pretty darn shiny to me..... (metallic shiny)

[Haliburton]

8 hours ago, Egilman said:

Looks pretty darn shiny to me..... (metallic shiny)

I used a tamiya copper colour I had on hand. I might consider picking up something that has a glossier metallic look. 

[Baker]

 

https://www.kaisersbunker.com/cc/cc16.htm

 

[CDW]

What a gun! Great looking model. I’ve wanted this one, too. Seeing it built is fun to watch.

[Haliburton]

11 hours ago, CDW said:

What a gun! Great looking model. I’ve wanted this one, too. Seeing it built is fun to watch.

Thanks CDW and everyone for the likes. CDW can’t wait to see you start your Dora!

[CDW]

1 hour ago, Haliburton said:

Thanks CDW and everyone for the likes. CDW can’t wait to see you start your Dora!

The Dora will require about a lot of shelf space. Lots of parts, too.

[CDW]

On 3/9/2024 at 8:08 PM, Haliburton said:

So the Krupp family records date back to 1587.  In more recent times when Fritz Krupp (who expanded the Krupp empire into the construction of warships and u-boats through the acquisition of Germaniaerft) died, his teenage daughter “Bertha” of “Big Bertha” fame, inherited the firm.  As Bertha was a woman, Kaiser Wilhelm II arranged for Bertha to marry a Prussian and through imperial proclamation he took the surname Krupp.  So to Egilman’s point, the ‘military industrial complex’ that was critical to the power of Germany was preserved through this arranged marriage. A photo of Bertha and her husband and of the Essen factory devastated in WW2 from Wikipedia.  

What I would like to know, was Bertha really as big as she appears in the photo? She seems to dwarf her husband. Perhaps the name, "Big Bertha" was literal in more than one sense of the words. Look at the size of her hands! Sheesh.

[Haliburton]

8 hours ago, CDW said:

What I would like to know, was Bertha really as big as she appears in the photo? She seems to dwarf her husband. Perhaps the name, "Big Bertha" was literal in more than one sense of the words. Look at the size of her hands! Sheesh.

I haven’t found images of her standing next to him - she’s almost always sitting or is positioned lower, and to your point maybe it is because of her height.   Of course her husband could also have been on the short side too. 

[mtaylor]

17 hours ago, CDW said:

What I would like to know, was Bertha really as big as she appears in the photo? She seems to dwarf her husband. Perhaps the name, "Big Bertha" was literal in more than one sense of the words. Look at the size of her hands! Sheesh.

That may be something we'll never know.  Family secret?   Here's two photos.I found.... I would say that she was probably taller than him.  More here:   https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=ab02dd2696e7e4b9&sca_upv=1&rlz=1C1ZCEB_enUS832US832&sxsrf=ACQVn09ESCEVz_QXBbFR9fC_TRsX6tfTmA:1711482749432&q=bertha+krupp&uds=AMwkrPuVzDpF2Ui_jON45qdA4bHuaHtwN5uMYbkb-EoQCwf4tgfMe3RbCwWKKKsGuwV1YGZG6AFSoWLj9WhYVweKietEHHK8wwUybZ3pZ5P2PD1qBwCgDCNEvO-nMkVQPiq9erkJadapCnuDEm0YGuUzxi2d6p6sX_qeHEtI1FWjHqeXQDYoBXO0otjT6FQTyWfwfA9jhLQhdE8HAo2wR7CqeMD1WsT2udTfEk-U872LtCahmQjxmgiiAv1XaYCzmEsyx0gy_QGzpGs9fWZf7bbB3vY1CV78F446PfUieJLt85MhIAf-qP0&udm=2&prmd=ivnsmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjWsMaK2pKFAxUmI0QIHTA3B-8QtKgLegQIDRAB&biw=1402&bih=656&dpr=1.25