Hi Jerry,

Thanks for your thoughts.

Al

Hallo Alan,

again a build which keeps us coming back to see the progress!
Thanks for sharing.

Please, allow me one consideration:
The howitser position shows a planked floor. This normally indicates a long(er) stay on a fixed spot.
Is therefore the presence of the limber logic? Unless you starts to show an artillery team that just arrived. (and would show a nice set of horses!!!)

Enjoy your modeling weekend,

P.

Hello Alan ,

i like the idea with the car crossing the railroad , because personally i think it will give the diorama a more dynamic look .

Greets

Kurt

Hi Paul,

The Limber carried tools and parts for the gun so I would think it would be kept near to hand, soldiers being soldiers with a tendency to 'liberate stuff', or else they would be centralised in the rear. I'll see how opinion develops. Their main concern was observation from the air, so poles and a cam net would be very appropriate later on. Thanks for the thoughts

Hi Kurt,

Either a track or road will go forward at that point. Humans have a tendency to go in the shortest possible direction, a track gets started, becomes a path and ends up as a road. I'll see how it develops when I add the next layer.

Cheers

Al

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the reply: you will use it as a 'safe'!
I was wondering if the horses from the MiniArt Russian divisional horse team would eventually fit into your dio, being taken by some horse keepers.
But........... you may think now (quite right! ) "Start your own dio!"
And right you are..................

Enjoy the weekend.
It starts snowing here, so, maybe I will try to build some of my Faun SLT whinches.

P.

Hi Paul,

The limber is designed for vehicle towing, possibly the Holt.

Horses/mules are an option either towing small wounded wagons or carrying shells/stores. I dug out the MiniArt wagon and cart a few days ago as possible scenic items to add. I don't have any horses at the moment.

Many years ago in another life I did convert the Tamiya German horse solder to a British WW1 Cavalry Lancer, but the kit got left behind in a house move years ago. Perhaps I'll do another or one of the manufacturers will produce one but there are great possibilities for the use of horses, towing wagons, guns, etc. etc and I'd love to see some mules carrying stores that could be used in the jungle too.

Back to work. There is snow in the north of the country I believe and we have just had a short but heavy thunder,lighting and hail storm.

Cheers

Al

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the answer. I did not see the limber' s connection. So it is the ' modern' version!

For your info:
ICM has a complete horse team without gun, carrying breast tack, the MiniArt team horses wear horse collars. I think the UK horse powered units used the breast tack for their horse teams.

P.

Hi Paul,

The Limber can be used in WW1 or with the BEF version of the gun.

The Holt tractor and various Steam Tractors were used to tow heavy guns in WW1 as well as horses.

Thanks for the info I'll check out the kits.

Cheers

Al

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the swift reply.
Just curious:
could one change the limber towing part from horse beam into tractor and back?
Or were they fixed and only in one version?

With modern I meant 'not horse powered'

P.

Hi Paul,

The Gun comes with either horse drawn or vehicle drawn towing fixings. My effort displays the horse drawn fixing. The Limber with vehicle only fixing.. I would have to look for some references and check with George Moore who mastered the parts but I imagine the Limber could be made into a horse drawn version if one had a mind to.

Cheers

Al

Hi folks,

Ground works underway, always easier to see things with some paint on.



Cheers

Al

Hello Alan ,

i like the rough terrain , the paint puts everything in to a new perspective.

Looking good !!!

Greets

Kurt

Hi Kurt,

Thanks. As the battle progressed through July to September the ground became more and more like the moonscape we have come to know. As the battle moved into October and November things became a mire until it ground to a halt on the 18th November.

I wanted to keep the scratch work similar to the fixed bases I used and also to create a kind of desolate look.

I'm undecided about the house corner, but I think it adds height. My original thoughts have been along the lines of a cookhouse area or canteen attached to the CCS. Not sure what the space will allow.

Some pics from IWM I've been studying (reference only)







Cheers

Al

Hi folks,

i decided to leave the corner building off and go for something more temporary. I got to thinking about the height issue and did a bit of searching and came up with this:



I have the MiniArt set I bought last year, so that should help lift things up a bit



There is a nice little activity with these on their own.

Cheers

Al

Hi folks,

I decided to do away with the corner house and make a temporary structure in that are instead. Laid some boards for a hut/canteen/feeding area.



Started on the last two sleepers



Some general pics. Most likely have the Ford T heading in the opposite direction to the Crewe tractor.







Cheers

Al

Hi Alan.
Nice progress you show here. To be honest, I had my doubts as you laid down your tracks. As a former 'trainman' the curve made me shiver. But now it's coming together pretty nice.
Railbedding looks good now.
Can't wait to see a full paintjob on the tracks and bedding.

Regards,

Robert Jan

Hi Robert,

Glad you approve.

Cheers

Al

Yep,definitely making a lot more sense now.
J

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for looking in.

Al

These pics you have dug up are really very cool. I have an old stereograph with two sets of slides that show the Great War. It is like looking into a history portal.
J

Hi Jerry,

The IWM archive has some excellent references and the quality of the photographs for their age is terrific.

A bit more work on the basic landscape.

From above:







From the side:







Cheers

Al

Hi folks,

With a bit of work on the dis-guarded helmets.








Cheers

Al

Hi Allen.
Sorry the misbelief comes up that I'm looking to the tracks only. But it's getting better everytime. Maybe some more sand over the stone bedding and it's perfect.
As king of the details, you caught my attention from the beginning I have my login to this forum.
So keep up the good work.
In Wheel of Steel I'm back to railroading again, and I missed it. To work on such a theme in Big Scale is new to me, but I love the detailwork.

Regards,

Robert Jan

Hello Alan ,

it gets better and better for sure ! I love the symbolism of those helmets . Nice touch with the bloody cloths too !!!

Jolly good show, old chap !

Greets Kurt

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the input. I need to sift some fine granules to finish filling in around the sleepers on the bend.

If you have a look here on IWM the track is very much in keeping with a lot of what you see laid. At this point in the war the British would have been utilising existing track as well as starting to lay the pre-fab sections.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?query=Light%20Railways&items_per_page=10&submit=

Hi Kurt,

Yes, the helmets are thought provoking. The idea is a causality clearing station behind the gun position next to the railway line. I'll make a 'hut' of some type as the medical point, maybe a refreshment hut on the opposite side of the road.

Cheers

Al