1/35 Krupp Raumer S by Takom

[Schaf]

This is a shelf of doom project, it is also the oldest project in my photo file so I figured if I was going to start clearing the SOD this would be the first to get back on the bench. I started this kit when it first came out in 2016 I think it was

Also at the time I got a MIG red primer modulation paint set and a set of Wilder factory markings dry transfers.

Both ends of the vehicle built up. Like many of Takom's early kits, it is made up of many duplicate parts / assemblies. This is where I left off on it, with most of the sub-assemblies completed.

When I picked it back up, I started by filling and sanding the seams on all of the sub-assemblies. These are the wheel mounts, and on the bottom of each were small raised circular plates. Sanding the seams around and through these was going to be a pain, so I just sanded them off instead of trying to work around them. A hollow punch and .010 sheet styrene quickly and easily restored the detail

Next, I worked on the 64 pieces that represent the solid rubber block pads around the wheels. The actual vehicle was tested and moved around under its own power, and at 130 tons whatever it ran over was sure to leave impressions in the pads. I used a nice little rechargeable motor tool I got for Christmas to randomly rough up the pads, then used a small wire brush in the same tool to remove any styrene "fuzzies" created by the sanding drum and to soften the wear marks on the pads.
This is where it is at now, I only have to add the four head lamps on each cab and add electrical cables to them. Then it will be prep for paint.....

 

[Belugawrx]

130 tons..heavy.! Was it to be a troop transport or what ? I don't see any armament....maybe just the scare value

 

[Jakko]

It was intended as a mine-clearing vehicle. The massive steel wheels plus large vehicle weight were intended to detonate mines it drive over without damaging the vehicle itself. A requirement for a vehicle like this went out in September of 1940 but it took until late 1944 for Krupp to actually build a prototype, which was captured by the Americans near the end of the war:



The kit title has a typo, BTW: it's a Räumer rather than a Raumer — the latter translates roughly as "roomer", as in a room you can be in, plus -er suffix to indicate it's something or someone doing that. With an Umlaut, though, it means "clearer" as in "device that clears things".

 

[Belugawrx]

Ahhh now it kinda makes sense....crazy adolf

 

[BarleyBop]

impressions in the pads

Thoughtful detailing... those wheels are massive! (And I thought the Italians liked big wheels!)
Overall, very futuristic looking, like some kind of Mars mining equipment or something...