Today I saw this kind of combination in a Finnish war museum. The STZ-3 looked awesome, a little transportation device that carries a crew of two plus a six-men gun crew.
Tamiya seems to make a QUITE similar 75mm gun but does anybody make the vehicle in 1/35? The pic below is a 1/76 one. If you know anything about this subject, please let me know!!!



Toni

Hahaa!
I found the Komsomolets in 1:35 by AER!
It may be a crappy kit but there isn´t much to choose from...



But still no luck with the gun!
Any ideas? I´m preparing myself for plan B, some Russian gun that was captured and used by Finns...
So ANY info about Russian gun model kits will be much appreciated!!!!!

Toni

Toni,

The cannon.

The first one is a German Pak-35/36 37mm AT gun with what looks like wire spoke wheels as the type on a Russian 45mmm AT gun. I do vaguely remember photos of PAK-35’s with wire wheels.

The next looks like a Russian 76mm Regimental Gun with wooden spoke wheels. A Model 1927?

The last is a PAK-40 75mm AT gun.


Dave

Thx!
You know if anyone makes kits of any of these?

Toni

I found it I found it!
ICM makes this great reviewed kit of a 76mm regiment gun:



Toni

Toni,

Ok, kind of long winded, here goes.

Got thinking about the cannons. The first is more likely a Soviet 45mm AT gun with wire wheels.

Found a couple references to the history of the 45mm AT. On JP’s Panzer site: Soviet 45mm anti-tank guns



And a review by Cookie Sewell on the ICM Soviet 45mm Anti-Tank Gun 39/45 Series Kit No. 35021



The Russian Battlefield has some information on the 76mm Regimental Guns. 76 mm Regimental Cannon Model 1927 and 76 mm Regimental Cannon Model 1943

Also found a Finnish 75 K/40 picture.

IMHO the 45mm AT would look great with the little Komsomolets. Don’t forget a limber for the gun. There is no storage space on the tractor for ammunition and such.

HTH,

Dave

Thanks for the great info!


What is a limber? Any kits available?
I´m only used to modern 122H63 howitzer....

The reference pic I thought to use for exact setting includes Komso plus an anti-tank gun. The vehicle carries six men and it climbs up a muddy road side. I thought that they´re moving to a secondary firing position and that the projectiles are transported there by some other means, truck or similar...

Toni

So I went shopping...
When I came out I had a bunch of east-European model kits including:
T-20 Komsomolets (AER)
45mm AT gun (ICM)
122H63 howitzer (skif)
GDR Army motorized rifles (ICM)
US Elite forces in Afganistan (ICM)

The T-20 goes with 45mm AT gun and the DDR group will be modified to Finnish soldiers.
I had to buy the 122H63 as I was struck by a warm feeling from the times spent in artillery...
US soldiers´ basic clothing is pretty similar to modern Finnish wardrobe, so one guy will be modified to a guy standing on guard at the gun.

All this cost me 50 euros. I find it value for the money, although the figures suck and the armor plate of the AT45mm was too thick...but then again, you can´t find this equipment easily. So here´s the hardware for my next three projects!



Toni

Toni,

Sorry for the delay to reply. Where are the REAL Red Legs to answer the limber question. The use of the limber goes back to horse drawn artillery. The best I remember is that a limber was used to for ammunition storage and to act as a means hitch the horse team to. Then there was a caisson that was used for extra equipment for the gun.

Realistically, I would say the limber probably was discarded by the crews as more trouble than they are worth. I’ve seen photos of a Komsomolets converted to mount the 37mm PAK with the ammunition boxes under the gun crew seats. I rembered after seeing Kevin Keefe’s Mortars in Miniature model of a Soviet M1938 being towed by a Komsomolets. Don’t worry or sweat the limber, use on-board vehicle storage.


Good luck,

Dave

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Tanks a lot!

Toni

Project on sketching table...
I thought about timing this dio in spring when the snow has just started to melt. I would offer another interesting challenge to make the scenery partly snowy, partly muddy and icy. This would also reflect the desperation and roughness of the cold winter...
I will "arm" the Komso with six figures just to make sure it looks small and cute(here we go again #:-) ).
Komso will be shown climbing from a mission in the woods over the bank to the muddy road.





Toni

Hi Tony,

A very good idea for the dio.

Another nice sketch.