Really awesome Chris, I like that you diversified the crew, I have always wanted to portray every color of warrior who has served however even caucasion tones still elude me. You'll be an armor modeler soon

Sorry, can't half read here- thanks for the correction! 

Great job on the dio, everything looks good, gun, figures, shells, groundwork- great job all round! 

Well gang this one is complete! It was beating me so hard I spent more money on it   the diorama was looking good, just devoid of ammo! So i bought AFV Clubs 155 and 203 howitzer rounds. the banding on the crates is 0.010” lead wire rolled out flat with a wooden paint brush handle and painted natural steel (with some stripped off to show wear on the bands from shipping and cutting).
For the figures I primered them in satin black, then dusted them with white primer from the top, like they were standing up, so that the white covered everything except creases and folds. Then i put 10-12 coats of glaze on them in the final color i wanted the uniform or skin to be. A learning experience for sure as they needed more white on them as a base in many cases. This method worked out well so will really try to do up the next bunch of figures really well. 
as expected by taking some final shots I found what i missed haha My guy without a shirt needs his dog tags painted. Let me any other areas you pick up on. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gamera

Looks great! I love the EZ line for the cut bands- it really worked out really well.

 

hey Gamera, the bands on mine are 0.010" lead wire rolled flat. My buddy used the ez line. EZ line does work great for banding the pallets but never looks kinked.

Looks great! I love the EZ line for the cut bands- it really worked out really well.

TheMongoose

HeavyArty great link! I will use that for the next one...i think i can clean up the ones not in crates and then use these for a Korean war build right?

I actually think the DODIC (Depatment of Defense Identification Code) #s were not used until Vietnam.

Hey Guys thanks! I can guarantee to do more artillery going forward. And a bonus, I've got lots of shells for future builds 

HeavyArty great link! I will use that for the next one...i think i can clean up the ones not in crates and then use these for a Korean war build right?

Chris

That looks fantastic. I am not an armor guy but I like whatyou did there. Again looks fantastic.

That's a good looking scene.

Looking good. The howitzer came out nicely and the crew is coming along great.

One note on the rounds. The DODIC number (DXXX) is a post WWII feature. WWII rounds didn't have them. The rest of the stencil data is fine for WWII.

Here is more info on WWII rounds and their markings.

http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/Building%20155mm%20Gun/building155mm8.html

Looks great.  Those rounds look fantastic and the bands turned out great as well.

Making some good progress. Slow and steady on this one. I'm doing the wood right now and the oils take a few days to dry even with the drying agent. No rush tho. My figures are all done, mounted, and some dirt thrown on their shoes haha

right now I'm working on all the shells. Wow what a ton and f work. no reason to do this twice so I'm painting and weathering and assembling both the 155 and 203 mm shells and crates.

and i wanted to have some of the cut bands lying around. My buddy uses heavy EZ Line and it looks pretty good. Hard for me to kink it to look like metal bands once it's laying loose on the ground. Decided to try something which i think came out oretty good. I rolled out .010" lead fishing wire with a large round wooden paint brush handle to flatten the lead out. attached it on one end and then painted it natural metal. Next i'll wrap it around and finish it off on the crates. Then wrap a couple loose around the crate, then remove them and toss to the side like the guys threw the bands while uncrating the ammo. Check them out...

Looks great to me!

I've got the same kit, cemented some parts of the suspension together wrong and got annoyed and put her back in the box. So I know what you're talking about there!

Only thing I'd add is a little dirt and dust on the tires!

Nice work all around including the base. I like how you created a sort of wear path around the gun. Very believable.  

Very nice!

It looks good to me. Good recovery on the build flubs.

Very nice artillery piece Mongoose. Can't wait to see what HeavyArty will comment on it.

Looks great.  I'm not an armor guy either but that kit always catches my eye.  

   Looks great Mongoise, not an armor guy eh? Never woulda known it. That kit can truly make a man outta ya....as with most AFV stuff. Great builds if done with patience. Great work bud.