Hi guys,

I was considering an entry for the new campaign "Big Guns" but need some information first. The campaign centers around 200mm and up guns. I've got an old Bandai 1/24 scale Long Tom and was curious what it would take to convert it into an 8 inch gun to make the cut for this campaign.
What were the principal differences between the two guns and what would be usable from the 155mm kit? Also did the M5 High Speed tractor ever actually tow this type of 8 inch cannon during WWII or was it always an M4 or turretless prime mover?
There are many aspects of this old kit that will require complete fabrication anyway so if the differences between these two guns isn't that great it shouldn't be too tough of a build.

Thanks for your help,
Jim
Large Scale Armory

The only difference between the 155mm M1 Long Tom and the 8" (203mm) M115 systems were the barrel. The cradle and all parts of the carriage were the same. That was the beauty of them (and later the M107 and M110); they could be re-tubed rather easily due to the common parts.

The M5 HST was only rated at 13 tons and was too light to pull either a Long Tom or an M115. Their main prime movers were the 18 ton M4 HST and the Mack NO truck.

Thanks!

Thank you for that info! It looks like I haven't much excuse for not joining in on that campaign if that is all there is to it. It's a shame for the M5 HST though, I've got one of those in 1/24 from Bandai as well (man does it need work!) and figured it might get finished if I needed it for the 8 incher. It'll just have to hang out in the "to be worked on" shelves for awhile longer.
Thanks again for the information.

Jim
Large Scale Armory

Jim,
I'm currently working on a 1/24th scale Mack NW, so if you want to do the Mack NO just give me a yell and I'll send some diffs, tyres, rims and frontal sheetmetal your way (they use the same driveline components and sheetmetal).
Would make an impressive display piece coupled together.

Casper,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'd be very grateful for those parts as the big Macks were always some of my favorite movers. I always figured I'd do one eventually but that it'd be years from now with all the projects in line ahead of it. It'll be fantastic to have such a head start on a project like this!
I really can't thank you enough for your generous offer and will try to make the finished product something that you'll enjoy. And I'll gladly pay for the shipping as it seems everything that comes to Alaska comes with pricey shipping costs attached. If there is anything you can think of that I might be able to help you with then please don't hesitate to ask. Seriously! I've got a lot of junk and have solved a lot of modeling problems so please ask.


Thanks again!
Jim
Large Scale Armory