FEATURE ARTICLE Soar Art Workshop 1:35 35.5cm Haubitze M.1 (35.5-cm H M.1) Heavy Siege Howitzer • Kit No. MT-35002
Soar Art’s 1:35 scale 35.5cm M1 Howitzer.
The plastic caps on milk cartons have a similar shape to the wheel including the tyre. This seemed to be the cheapest solution. It took a little time to gather 96 caps, then glue them all into pairs.
When I first saw Soar Art’s 35.5cm M1 Howitzer, I was absolutely smitten and within a year I jumped at the chance to buy one. I never purchase a kit immediately, to stock up before I finish the one on my workbench. From a modeller’s point of view such and similar massive 1:35 scale models come with eye catching benefit but in contrast, the small spaces in the home are an equally important factor that any of us have to work with.
Weighting 123,500 kilograms, the gun had a double recoil and a twopart base plate for horizontal traversing. It was transported in six loads on separate transport carts. While reading a historical background I stopped as an idea flashed in my head. Why not transport the gun as one whole piece? Of course not on a long distance but for example in the area of production halls, a test range or port before embarkation. It could be more interesting than set the model on a simple wooden baseplate.
Mining German and English sources I found the heaviest trailer used by Germans in the era of pre and WWII was Cullemeyer R80 for an 80 ton payload and the present scale model market offers only Hauler’s R80 kit in 1/72 scale. Moreover, this load capacity would be insufficient.
This fact couldn’t stop me. For this fort-cracker of biblical proportions I decided to scratch build a hypothetical 150 tons heavy trailer Cullemeyer R150 in 1:35 scale.
The Cullemeyer R80 consisted of a pair of twelve-wheel chassis, meaning 24 wheels. My scratch build project consists of a trio of sixteen wheeled chassis for a total of 48 wheels!
Such a quantity of wheels cannot be cheaply found across the aftermarket so I had to find an alternative economical solution that would not break the bank.
A very useful upgrade is available from German producer Schatton Modellbau - a wonderfully detailed and corrected gun barrel made of turned aluminium. For comparison, the length and calibre of the Soar Art barrel are wrong - 10,2m and 42cm. Schatton’s barrel dimensions are correct - 9,2m and 35,5cm. The Soar Art barrel shape looks like a straight tube while the Schatton’s barrel is properly conical. As I found out there’s an urgent need to use some sort of counterweight for the Schatton barrel - otherwise no chance to stay it lifted up! I used a piece of lead casted in a rolled aluminium foil.
That wasn’t enough, so I poured as many 4,5mm airgun pellets into the breech and breech block as possible through the drilled hole.
BUILDING THE GUN
The build was straightforward without any problems so I will only mention the highlights. First, although bearings for the pinion of the levelling mechanism are cast in the sides of the upper carriage, and the cradle is equipped with a toothed segment from the bottom, the pinion and other components of the levelling mechanism are missing.