Ola! Build number two for me!

I chose this particular model because it's an Artillery piece (campaign requirements) duhhhh, and because it's easy for me with my time constraints and I've been wanting to build it.

To start off, it's the (way) old Life-Like 75mm World War I Artillery Piece [with Operating Front Shield and Wheels]. :-)



There aren't too many parts in the kit, but they sure are "thick" and clunky.....par for the course for a model of this caliber.



It's the first time I've opened a model and found the main sprue to folded over on itself like this one. Would've though they'd have cut it But, not so. You can also see the amount of flash. Crazy!



So, it begins for me.

Mike

Thats cool Mike, it will be fun to watch this one unfold.

Started to clean things up and put some of the pieces together.



Can you say "Filler!???!" Gads this turned out to be a really fugly model. Sinkholes galore!!!



Once the filler is dry, along with the barrel and lower cylinder, I'll do a bunch of sanding and start putting more pieces together.

Mike

It's the old Palmer kit, re-released by Life Like, and more recently by Encore. It's not actually a 75 (the US acquired the French Schneider Model 1897 for use in WW1, as the guns and ammo were already in mass production). The gun in the kit is the US Model 1902 three-inch gun, a very similar weapon. It was perfectly serticeable, but the US ordnance manufacturers could not ramp up production fast enough for the US forces deploying to Europe, so the French weapon was standardized instead. The Palmer kit is a bit of a monster, with an oversize carriage, around 1/18th scale, and a 1/24th scale gun assembly. Still, it makes into a nice desk top model.
The French gun is avilable in 1/35th from one of the Polish manufacturers, who include some optional parts for an updated weapon in the 1930's. The Germans also upgraded these guns in WW2 for service in Russia, and mounted them on 50mm gun carriages. That variant is available from Dragon in 1/35th.

Gerald,

I really appreciate the information....a Palmer? That explains a whole lot. It's a scary thought that it's so out of proportion
, all this in one that's supposed to 1/35th? Zioks!

And a beast it is:

Trail and front shield configuration. Wish I could get a closeup of some of the connectors....they're HUGE! Everything is really thick....tank armor thick!





It's certainly not hard to put together; I've spent more time doing clean-up than assembly.

Mike

Hey, hey! Got home from work and school and had some time to work on this!

I worked on the foot rests, barrel and breach. The big thing that has to be watched out for on this glob is the barrel and cylinder supports....I temporarily attached the breech to the barrel and aligned the cylinder supports off that. If you boo-boo, you've boo-boo'd big!

The foot rests were easy until I realized that I got the angle that is cut in only one half wrong.... so, easy fix...I'll file that end down and fill the other. Anyhoooooo....see all the filler??? Gads!!



Let me know what you think!

Mike

Just enlisted but thought I better check to see if self propelled artillery is OK?

Gary

Gary,

Yes it is!! Whatcha thinking about building???

Mike

Hi Mike,

I haven't decided yet, I have several kits to choose from so we shall see...

Thanx, Gary

Ola ya'll!

Misfortune strikes!! Yep, the glue fumes got me, and got me good!!! So, can you see my huge boo-boo??? I'll give you a hint: look at the model, then closely look at the box art......something is backwards ! Look close!



Barring a response, I'll enlighten everyone tomorrow. Been doing this model for several days, and it wasn't until this morning I realized I screwed up royal!! But hey, pull out the X-acto, trim, pull, reverse, fix.....done. Wheeewwww. I was really worried when I realized this

Mike

A wild guess Mike:
Gun shield is backwards

Hey Dave,

Right you are! I honestly don't know how I managed to do that, but....I guess I'd better blame it on a Foster's 'oilcan' and not glue fumes



The axle has two small "raises" that keep it in place between the trail arms. I had to remove those to pull the axle out, then needed to cut the trails away from the shield. Once that was done, I reversed the shield, applied glue, and used the back end of a clothes pin (the end that provides outward pressure) to hold the trail and shield together while the glue set. I came apart pretty easy considering the plastic is so soft.

Anyhow, I dry-fit the wheels/hubs to the trail/shield assembly and it looks pretty good. I still have all the supports for the seats and foot rests to install, along with the brake system. Once that's done, the wheels will get their clean-up (it's a lot!) and it's just about ready for paint.



Speaking of which: I normally don't do WWI, so any suggestions out there as to color would be a big help. I know it's gray, but me being colorblind doesn't help.

Many thanks!

Mike

Getting there. I added the foot rests and their supports, elevation handle (little more than a blob of plastic ), and the two foot rests on the trail. The wheels have their hub assemblies on and about all I need to do there is clean up all of the seam lines on them.

I stopped by my LHS to see about the paint and perhaps some plastic tube to replace the axle. Figures....the 1/8" is too small and the 5/32" is too big....need 9/64" which they didn't have.. It was suggested that I use "Lichtgrau RLM63" as the main color, so I got one bottle of acrylic. I already have a bottle of "brass" for all the supports, handles, et cetera, and will mix something up for wood on the wheels and then something for the steel that wraps the outside of the wheel.

Edit: I airbrushed the first coat of the Lichtgrau yesterday....heck it's about the same color as the plastic the model is made of. Nothing at all like the box-art. So, any ideas out there??

Mike

Hey all!

Here is a picture that shows a 75mm....but not the same one I'm modeling...more the same'ish color that was recommended (close anyhow). What color is this?



Here is a picture of the one that I am modeling. It appears to be a greenish color (what color is this??) and note, all the "brass" is painted over.



SO Which way do I go? Light gray and brass (nice contrast) or "greenish" with no brass??

Talk to me guys and gals.....need some quick input!

Thanks,

Mike

Here's a nice colorful one, located at West Point.

Heheheh-Dave,

Saw that one or one similar.....this time I'm following the KISS principle! But it's not being so "simple." For the first time, color is an issue for me. Not sure what to do. I like the gray, but I also like the greenish color. Kinda hozed, you know what I mean. I certainly, upon careful thought and consideration, DON'T like the Lichtgrau...............

Mike

I personally would go for the greenish one, the polished wood wheels add a nice touch, and a slash of color.

Mike,

I'd back up Grumpyoldman and vote for the green. The gray just looks dull. My two cents.

zon

Well.....I came to the conclusion that I was going to go for the gray, just modified.....

I took the original light gray, messed up and accidently added "piping pink" instead of more light gray (told you I was colorblind! ), then added a fair amount of Tamiya IJN Gray. With all that, this is what I have (and I'm actually pretty happy with it):




I still have a couple of coats to add and then work on the wheels. I'm actually looking forward to that part.....wood and worn steel will be a nice contrast.

Mike

Ola!!

Well, here it is.....there is still some time to "mess with it," so.....



The wheels were done in Humbrol Natural Wood and the steel banding a mix of MM flat black and steel.



Comments before it's finalized??

Mike

Looks good mike. Now you need to scratchbuild the figures to go with the odd scale. :-)

Hmmmm....Scratch a couple of figgies....five foot long arms, three foot long legs, size 22 heads...............size 16 hands.........sorry Dave, but that's beyound my abilities.......I'll leave that up to the Sci-Fi folks!

Mike

Mike,

Looks good to me. I like the contrast on the wheels between the metal banding and the wood.

zon

Nice work on the 75mm. I have one of these I would like to build but there were no instructions. Might you be able to email a copy of yours?

Orthodixie: This campaign was six years ago, so Mike might not be watching this thread. You might try clicking on his profile and sending him a PM.

Happy Modeling, -zon