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A little background on real gun

Schwerer Gustav (English: Heavy Gustaf, or Great Gustaf) and Dora were the names of two massive World War 2 German 80 cm K (E) railway siege guns. They were developed in the late 1934 by Krupp for the express purpose of destroying heavy fortifications, specifically those in the French Maginot Line. They weighed nearly 1,350 tonnes, and could fire shells weighing seven tonnes to a range of 37 kilometers. Designed in preparation for World War II, and intended for use against the deep forts of the Maginot Line, they were not ready for action when the Wehrmacht outflanked the line during the Battle of France. Gustav was used in the Soviet Union at the siege of Sevastopol during Operation Barbarossa. They were moved to Leningrad, and may have been intended for Warsaw. Gustav was captured by US troops and cut up, whilst Dora was destroyed near the end of the war to avoid capture by the Red Army.

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Yah help would of been nice it's over 1700 pieces. I can't find figures that seem right for this. I have grabbed some other 1/72 vehicles to go with it to show off the size. I have never done a diorama, but maybe this would be a good piece to try one. I did get some railroad rock for the track. At the same time it would be a huge scene the tracks are 48 inches long. So would think I would need to make a space of 5 ft by 2 or 3ft.

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It is a massive 1:1 object. Even the 1/72 is a fairly large kit (around 3' long). Was carried by a train 25 cars long. Took 250 men 3 days to assemble it. Took thousands more to lay the special track needed to aim and traverse the gun, dig the embankments and man the 2 full AA battalions to protect it from air attack. Two were built, Schwerer Gustav and Dora, Schwerer Gustav was only used once in combat, in Sevastopol. Began its move to the front in February 1942 , wasn't ready to fire until June, it fired 48 shells over the span of 12 days. Each gun would be moved and attempted to be made ready to fire once more, Schwerer Gustav near Leningrad and Dora near Stalingrad. WWII German excess at it's finest. They really were their own worst enemies...

8023489471_4ccd4c27a7_z.jpg

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