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1/35 M114A1 155mm Howitzer in Viet Nam, 9-29-13, Finished

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  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Monday, July 29, 2013 1:02 PM

Yeah, Mike, it's geting really interesting with that bunker, but the howitzer is also a sight to see! Looking forward to the next updates, good luck with this one and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Monday, July 29, 2013 7:57 PM

Karl - Thanks, there is a lot more to us Redlegs than most realize!!  It does not have tracks and is not the tip of the spear but it is the king of battle and what every soldier want when in a fire fight.

Now if I really went obtuse I could model the army tactical laundry vehicle...LOL

Thanks old buddy

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 5:28 AM

Pawel - Thanks for the peek. Yep, the ammunition bunker will interesting...after all the ammunition next is a whole bunch of sand bags. Thanks again

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Goffstown, NH
Posted by New Hampshire on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 6:00 AM

Was it the Beatles who said "Happiness is a warm gun.....and an endless supply of 155mm to go with it"? Big Smile

Brian

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 8:03 AM

Mike: She looks sharp! Looking forward to the final touches!

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 8:32 PM

Brian - Thanks and yes....nothing like a hot barrel!

Gamera - Thanks, glad you drop in for the peek

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Sunday, September 15, 2013 8:41 PM

It has been a while. Let me get caught up. Lots of casting and scratch work. As you saw in my last update I was casting projectiles powder cans and other needed items. Also made custom decals for the ammunition crates, powder cans and projectiles.

Sooo, first looking at the howitzer, the ramming staff is a .040 wood dowel cut 1 inch long and a punched disc from .020 styrene at .160 diameter. The swab is also .040 wood dowel 1 inch long. The swab is a ball of airplane tissue wrapped in the end. The swab is weathered with Tamiya Smoke. The end of the ramming staff is Alclad Steel.

The pail is a Tamiya accessory kit and painted Alclad Steel. Inside the pail is half full using tinted clear furniture urethane which gives the clear oily water effect in the pail

The lanyard is a scale 18” lanyard using shipbuilders string and small section of .040 styrene rod shaped for the end and 26 gauge SS wire used to create the lanyard end and hook

Next is the powder drum painted black and red and “partially buried”. Inside the drum are 5 powder increments that came with the kit as excess powder charges. To the left is a scale 2 meter aiming stake made with styrene rod and painted red and white, scratches with Alclad steel and aged with a mix of steel and rust pigment.

Next I made the walls for the ammunition enclosure using 1/32 inch plywood walls and the beams are .1 inch basswood. After making the back and side walls, here painted with black for some shading prior to painting using Marine Green.

Next the walls were assembled. The roof supports of the 105mm crates, with custom decals. The shorter powder cans are for green bag charges and the taller for white bag charges. All the cans have a custom made decal. In the second bay of the storage shed is crates for fuses with custom made decals. The roof is made from resin planks covered with air-dry clay sand bags. The planks are painted to match the walls and the sand bags are painted Tamiya Drab Green.

The section chest is from the resin parts box, the oil can from a Tamiya accessory set with a custom decal for “bore cleaner”

Next up the projectile, scratch colimeter, final assembly and weathering. Trying to finish up for Armorcon at the end of the month.

As always if you have any comments, please feel free to drop in.

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Valrico, FL
Posted by HeavyArty on Sunday, September 15, 2013 11:14 PM

Looking great Mike.  I really like the ammo bunker and powder cans.  Awesome as always.  I can't wait to see it finished.

Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!

Check out my Gallery: https://app.photobucket.com/u/HeavyArty

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Monday, September 16, 2013 3:39 AM

Oh yeah, Mike, I like it a lot!

That dio not only looks good, it's also very educational! Shows many tips on how to run a gun emplacement :-)) Thanks for sharing and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Monday, September 16, 2013 5:36 AM

Gino - As always you are welcome at the firing point!!

Pawel - Considering this is an era you love to research & model, I am humbled by your comments.

Thanks again

Rounds  Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    January 2007
Posted by the doog on Monday, September 16, 2013 6:22 AM

Mike, your builds are not only a pleasure to watch, they're an education in what these kinds of emplacements would look like. Stuff that guys like me would never know or envision. Really cool, and great detailing here.

  • Member since
    March 2004
  • From: Spartanburg, SC
Posted by subfixer on Monday, September 16, 2013 8:56 AM

I love this one, Mike. You even have that Vietnam red dirt down pat.  Bravo Zulu

 

 I have always advised my kids if they chose the Army for a career, to chose artillery. Seems to be a lot of great guys in that branch, too.

Lee

I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Texas
Posted by wbill76 on Monday, September 16, 2013 5:33 PM

Very nice work as usual Mike, always love seeing all the little details come to life when you're pulling together an emplacement. Beer

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Monday, September 16, 2013 6:45 PM

Karl - thanks...as I have always said, these sites are for teaching, learning and for fun. I am glad to bring some insight to modeling artillery.

Lee - thanks for the kind words. Always loved the guys I served with!

Bill - Thanks for stopping by and for the comments.

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Monday, September 16, 2013 7:14 PM

I think it looks pretty darn great. Maybe some day I'll get my M40 back out.

Wouldn't there be tire tracks, or does that all get blown away?

Like this very much!

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Monday, September 16, 2013 7:25 PM

G - Thanks, as for the tire tracks, this is a Viet Nam fire base. The weapons were not moved much except to shift azimuth. Not many vehicles in a VN fire base.

As for the M40, here is a peek at my M40 and there is a link to my build log on the same page;

www.redleg2scale.com/.../M40.html

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Sunday, September 22, 2013 8:46 PM

Cleaning up the final details. First, for my old buddy Gary, the old fashioned aiming post light held in place by 100 mile an hour tape. The flashlight is from Verlinden, painted with Polyscale light green and the lens is Tamiya Clear Red. The tape is OD decal.
The projectiles all use Tamiya Flat Copper for the rotating bands, the PD fuse is Alclad Burnt Metal, the MTSQ Time fuse is Black. Illumination rounds are Flat White, WP Smoke and HC Smoke are Tamiya Cockpit Green and HE rounds are Tamiya OD Green. After all the paint then all the decals and a seal coat of semi-gloss.
The coilmeter on the roof of the shed used a tripod and yoke from the Academy machine gun kit. The unit is .1 diameter tube, the eye piece in the rear is .060 tube and the focus knob is .020 rod. The lens in front tis is an.075 dia MV lens.
The ready rounds include 5 HE with PD fuses, 1 HE with MTSQ Time fuse, and 2 WP Smoke with PD fuses. The pallet is ,040 basswood, stained with VN Earth pigment and drilled for the bases of the projectiles.
Near the breech, is a 30 cal ammo can for the primers. Two more cans were in the ammo shed middle area along with a 50 cal can used for fuses. Cans are painted with Polyscale dark green
At this point I have to finish with weathering the ammunition shed and some of the loose items but here is the front view thus far
Here is the view from the rear.
Just about done. Once I weather the ammunition shed and some loose items I will be all set for Armorcon.
I will post some final pictures next week.
As always if you have any comments, please feel free to drop in.
Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    December 2006
  • From: N. Georgia
Posted by Jester75 on Sunday, September 22, 2013 10:02 PM

Um, wow!  That stowage is insane! Nice work!!

Eric

 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Sunday, September 22, 2013 10:10 PM

Eric -Thanks...it may not look it but there is about 70 projectiles, 70 powder cans and between the 210 decals....looks goof and believe me it was a pita. Glad to be thru it. Thanks again

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    March 2013
  • From: Puebla, Mexico
Posted by garzonh on Monday, September 23, 2013 7:33 AM

Awesome representation and setting of the howitzer.

So many rounds and details, I only have a question, shouldn't the sandbags be a little bit more "dusty" in that brown/clay dust?

  • Member since
    January 2007
Posted by the doog on Monday, September 23, 2013 9:55 AM

Sheesh, Mike-I believe you've outdone yourself on this one---that looks freakin' tremendous!Your stowage stash is a model in itself!

Do you do figures? Man, this would look cool with a dude hanging out next to all that heavy slag!

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Valrico, FL
Posted by HeavyArty on Monday, September 23, 2013 1:38 PM

"Fire For Effect!!"   This looks awesome MIke.  Great job on all the rounds and powder.  It looks like it just needs a couple guys to fall in on it and start processing a fire mission.  HOOOAAHHH!!!  

Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!

Check out my Gallery: https://app.photobucket.com/u/HeavyArty

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Texas
Posted by wbill76 on Monday, September 23, 2013 4:47 PM

Nice work populating the bunkers Mike, have fun at Armorcon, you've earned it! Yes

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Monday, September 23, 2013 8:48 PM

Garzonh - Yep, as i said I still have some weathering. I will be working with VN earth pigment to finish up. It will be nice and dusty on the sandbags.

Karl - As always I appreciate your keen eye and kind comments. As for figures, you know me, I inhale with figures. Besides artillery figures are hard to find. Someday!! Thanks again

Gino - Safe and ready to fire! Thanks for checking out the position.

Bill - The ammo dump was busy on this one. Thanks for the peek

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:50 PM

redleg12

G - Thanks, as for the tire tracks, this is a Viet Nam fire base. The weapons were not moved much except to shift azimuth. Not many vehicles in a VN fire base.

As for the M40, here is a peek at my M40 and there is a link to my build log on the same page;

www.redleg2scale.com/.../M40.html

Rounds Complete!!

Your GMC makes me cry like a baby...

Now one thing I have noticed is that you redlegs all immediately knew that the barrel assembly is wrong. I would have ignorantly just built it. So I'm curios to know, whats the correct info and where do I find it (for the M40)?

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Goffstown, NH
Posted by New Hampshire on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 8:58 PM

Now that is some master modeling!  As usual I am impressed!

Brian

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Wednesday, September 25, 2013 6:01 AM

GMorrison - OK, if you want to see what needs to be modified, you can read my build log here

cs.finescale.com/.../1180092.aspx

If you need to look at a walk around of the real deal, you can look here

www.redleg2scale.com/.../M40.html

Any other question feel free to contact me

Brian - Thank you, your comment is truly appreciated.

Rounds Complete!!

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    September 2013
Posted by Firebpm on Friday, September 27, 2013 7:55 PM

The attention to detail is second to none! I cannot imagine the patience required for some of the more repetitive tasks (painting and decals on ammo). Thank you for sharing your talents and artwork Sir!  

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by redleg12 on Sunday, September 29, 2013 7:59 PM

Well, after final weathering with MIG Vietnam Earth pigment, here are the final photos of the finished model.
Front View
Rear view
Gunners Side view
Views of the ammunition storage bunker with ammunition
Powder drum and aiming post
Colimeter
Bore Cleaner Storage
I finished in time to take it to Armorcon where it earned a gold medal. Hope you enjoyed this mission. Next up Nike Hercules AD missile
As always if you have any comments, please feel free to drop in.
Rounds Complete!!
EOM!
 
 
 
 
 
 

"The Moral High Ground....A Great Place to Emplace Artillery."

  • Member since
    January 2007
Posted by the doog on Sunday, September 29, 2013 8:38 PM

Mike, let me be the first to say "BRRAAA--VOO!!  Bow Down Congrats on the Gold--Toast--WELL DESERVED!!

This is almost really like TWO models---the gun, and the background supplies. Really, I can't say which looks better--they're both so expertly rendered!

YesYes

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