Vehicle Pintle Mount for the 12.7 mm DShK »Dashka« Machine Gun

Scale Modelling – Scratch-Building

Scale Modelling a Vehicle Pintle Mount for the 12.7 mm DShK »Dashka« Machine Gun from Scratch.

Roskopf 1:100 scale BTR-152.K Armoured Personnel Carrier armed with a scratch-built 12.7 mm DShK »Dashka« machine gun in a vehicle pintle mount made from polystyrene and piano wire.

Materials

  • 1.5 × 2 mm Styrene Strip (Ammo Box)
  • 1 × 1.5 mm Styrene Strip (Receiver)
  • 0.5 × 1 mm Styrene Strip (Feed Tray Cover)
  • 0.25 mm Styrene Sheet or Paper (Front Sight)
  • 2 mm Ø Styrene Tubing (Control Grips)
  • 1 mm Ø Styrene Tubing (Barrel Cooling Jacket, and Muzzle Brake M.1946)
  • 0.5 mm Ø Piano Wire (Barrel, Gas Cylinder, and Pintle Post)
  • 0.2 mm Ø Paint Brush Bristle (Rear Sight)
Scratch-Built Scale Model Parts of a Vehicle Pintle Mount for the 12.7 mm DShK »Dashka« Machine Gun

This scratch-built vehicle pintle mount for the 12.7 mm DShK »Dashka« machine gun consists of eight parts, which are easy to cut and assemble. The work is more fun and provides better results if one or two dozen scratch-built DShK »Dashka« machine gun are available to be fitted with pintle mounts at the same time.

Pintle Mount Parts in 1:87 Scale

Part Length Width Height
1.) Bracket, Base 2 mm 2 mm 1 mm
2.) Recoil Damper Cylinder (× 2) 7.8 mm 1 mm Ø
3.) Recoil Damper Rod (× 2) 2.1 + 3 mm 0.5 mm Ø Wire
4.) Bracket, Left Cheek 2.6 mm 0.5 mm 1.7 mm
5.) Bracket, Right Cheek 2.9 mm 0.5 mm 2.9 mm
6.) Elevation Handwheel 2.5 mm Ø 0.25 mm
7.) Pintle 8 mm 0.5 mm Ø
8.) K-10T Anti-Aircraft Collimator Sight 2 mm 1.3 mm 1.6 mm
9.) IR-Spotlight mm mm mm

Assembling the DShK Pintle Mount

  1. Bracket Base (2 × 2 × 1 mm); cut a 2 mm section of 2 × 1 mm styrene strip.
  2. Recoil Damper Cylinders (1 mm Ø Styrene Tubing); cut two 7.8 mm sections of 1 mm Ø styrene tubing, place them parallel to each other, and glue their ends to one 2 mm long side of the bracket base.
  3. Recoil Damper Rods (0.5 mm Ø Piano Wire); cut two 5.1 mm sections of 0.5 mm Ø piano wire, put superglue on one end of each rod and insert it into the recoil damper cylinder, leaving 2.1 mm of the rod protruding from the cylinder. Once the glue has set, glue a 1:87 scale compatible 12.7 mm DShK »Dashka« onto the bracket base and recoil damper cylinders so that the machine gun is centered and the receiver ends flush with the rear of the bracket base.
  4. Bracket, Left Cheek (2.6 × 0.5 × 1,7 mm); cut a 1.7 mm section of 2.5 × 0.5 mm styrene strip; drill and file this piece into an upside-down comma shape (refer to photos of T-54 tanks with pintle-mounted DShKMT machine gun), then glue to the bracket base and the left-hand side of the receiver.
  5. Bracket, Right Cheek (2.9 × 0.5 × 2.9 mm); cut a 2.9 mm section of 3 × 0.5 mm styrene strip; file the bottom left-hand corner of the 2.9 × 2.9 mm face off to create a quadrant (quarter circle shape), then glue the quadrant to the bracket base and the right-hand side of the receiver.
  6. Elevation Handwheel (2.5 mm Ø Styrene Rod); cut a 0.25 mm section of 2.5 mm Ø styrene rod and glue it to the right cheek of the bracket, slightly overlapping the rounded side of the bracket cheek. If desired, drill a 0.3 mm socket through the handwheel, the bracket cheek, and into the machine gun receiver, and glue a short section of paint brush bristle into this socket as the crank handle.
  7. Pintle (0.5 mm Ø Piano Wire); cut a 7 to 9 mm section of 0.5 mm Ø piano wire. Using a 0.5 mm micro drill bit, drill through the bottom of the bracket base and well into the receiver of the machine gun, then glue the piano wire pintle into this socket.
  8. K-10T Anti-Aircraft Collimator Sight (2 × 1.3 × 1.6 mm); cut a 2 mm section of 1 × 1.5 mm polystyrene strip. Drill a 0.5 mm Ø socket into the rear of the 1.5 mm side and glue a short section of 0.5 mm Ø piano wire into it. Drill a corresponding socket into the right bracket cheek and receiver assembly, and glue the K-10T AA collimator sight to it.

To mount the 12.7 mm DShK »Dashka« machine gun on a vehicle, drill a 0.5 mm Ø socket into an existing pintle post, or glue a short section of 1 mm Ø polystyrene tubing onto the turret or cab roof and insert the pintle into it.

Modelling Techniques