Display base finished.

So far, so good... Just don't fergit them spades, pard... I'd suggest boring holes for them rather than trying to cut the bottoms off though...

Understand the issues with incomplete kits, but I would suggest that you tone down the blackening on the muzzle brake though... They just don't THAT black that far back... They'll blacken a bit at the baffles and the front, but not the top & bottom..

 Not your fault though... Too many people been doing that way for too long that it doesn't look right right if ya don't... But there's never that much carbon build-up on a piece...

I had planned to tone down the muzzle a bit. I got a little carried away. It happens.

As for the spades, My thought was that the gun was just set up, but as yet unfired in this position, so they would not be dug in yet (another thought was that I was just too lazy to dig out the wood of the display base. lol). I'm thinking that I might lean a couple shovels up against the spades, as if the crew is about to dig the starter slits for the spades to dig into.

On a side note, I do have a bit of experience with this gun in the field. I crew one occasionally for reenactments, as seen below. And there is another one I work with sometimes that is licensed and fully operational.

 

 

 

As always, Hans, I thank you for your help and input.

 

Steve

Gotcha.. You ain't doing figures are ya..  Just FYI,TLASBAPP is the order things get done in a gun section, Irish... The acronymn means:

T= Trails get opened & locked, (or on an SP, the Spades get dropped.)

L=Lay the gun from the Aiming Circle

A=Aiming Point is emplaced, e.i., the collimator (if ya have one), aiming posts, and DAP (Distant Aiming Point)

S=Site to Crest  which is the angle measured by the gunner (in mils) to the top of the highest obstruction in front of the gun.

B=Boresight the gun.

A= Azimuth - Primary Direction of Fire, in mils.

P=Pre-fire checks

P= Position Improvement (foxholes, machine gun position, camoflage, ammo offloads, etc..)

The shovel thing is a good idea... Once we got laid, we marked the ground with a shovel around the spades, then moved the trail in a bit, dug the spade-pit, and then dropped the spade into the pit and back-filled... On the other hand, if the ground was frozen solid (a distinct probability with a German piece if you go Ostfront), we dead-manned the trails with stakes and railroad ties... 

We could also fire the spades into the ground if we HAD to...  Ya have a couple gunbunnies standing on each trail at the spades, holding onto the donkeydicks fer dear life, and fire a charge 7, hoping the recoil digs 'em in... Emergency Missions ONLY, ya un'erstand..

 

 

Great looking peice Irish...The odd shaped base and the sparseness is suprisingly attractive...I think it makes the gun stand out more...can't put my finger on it, but I like it..

Col. VH. do you have recall on those the acronyms?...I EASed 20 years ago and only remember a few..(not a acronym but I always liked Beans, Bullets, and bandaids) ....if you do, hats off to your memory sir!

No real trick, Pard... But... I was a Section Chief for a few years, and ya know how that stuff gets poured into ya...

 

Oh,  and somehow my FMs and TMs left the Artillery with me, lol..

LOL Roger That Col.

Nope, no figures with this one. I really need to break some out from the spares box and start practicing with them. I've never been good with figures.

I ain't either, but that's never stopped me, lol.. I don't paint eyes, fer instance... Just narrow slits.. My figures are out in the sun and squinting, far as i'm concerned... I shade faces' "5 O'Clock shadows" with pastels rather than oils... Much more forgiving that way, and they look pretty ok from normal viewing distances... Which is about 35 scale feet...

Ok, so I am sufficiently inspired. Let me see what I can dig out of the spares.

They won't be going on this build, but maybe in the future.