Have Gun Will Travel: SP Artillery GB 2011

Hi Stephen -- by all means! I'll update page 1 in the morning, it's 1am Down Under and I'm drifting off to hit the sack...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Stephen -- you're on page 1 -- clear to build!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Hi Mike,

The KMC tiger zimmerit set is resin, designed for a Tamiya kit, but I've decided to do without it. There are so many little lumps and bumps on the side of the hull of the AFV Club Sturmtiger that it would be a real pain to make it fit. I'm going down the hand made / milliput route. I've done one side this morning, it's not perfect, I'm sure the experts could give it a caning. However it's done. I'll try to do the other side tonight, but it takes ages. I'm having trouble getting a good photo of it, I'll try that again later too.

Cheers

Tony

Right, so I'm based at Ft. Sill, home of the Artillery Center of Excellence (aka Field Artillery's traditional home, and Air Defense's new home...where there are no missile ranges...); but at Ft. Sill and in Lawton we've got a considerable collection of self propelled artillery pieces.  I'm pretty sure that I could get pics of:

Thunderbolt379's M110; Big Smitty/kruppw/iraqiwildman's M7; NucMedtech's M12; and possibly Hans von Hammer's M109A3.  

I don't know what variants they have around here, but I know those vehicles are represented someplace on post or at the national guard center off post.  I cannot get pics of a Paladin (sorry) because I think I'd get some odd looks if I wandered into another unit's motorpool and started snapping pictures.  I'm very unfamiliar with anything that shoots and scoots since my unit takes half the day to emplace; then sits there until nuclear armageddon comes.  Sorry German armor guys; we don't have much of your stuff lying around (although the ADA museum that is in transit from Ft. Bliss has their 12.8cm Flakzwilling sitting out behind their warehouse; awesome, and a bizarre chinese-make T-34 Flak)

Beav -- if you could get walkaround shoots of the details on these beasts I think we'd be forever in your debt! For myself, I'm scouting for info on electrical couplings and hydraulic hoses, hatches and latches, all that sort of thing, the fine detail that might be below the moulding resolution of the kit... I'm sure the other guys would be just as interested in the fiddly bits of their subjects too!

Many, many thanks if you can pull it off!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Mike,

I'll try and get out there today.  Hopefully my kit comes soon as I've stalled out building a Gaz-MM truck due to lack of paint.  

Steven

I've got the Zimmerit done on the other side now. The whiteness of the milliput keep's over exposing when I photograph it against the dark green background of the plastic. I'm going to have to shoot some primer just so that I can work around my photographic inadequacies.This stuff needs to dry for eight ours before I touch it again.

The kit instructions also say to apply Zimmerit to the guards, but some of the photo's I've got show that at least some of the seven production vehicles didn't have Zimmerit there, so I'm going to leave it off.

Cheers

Tony

Steven -- mega-obliged! Here's hoping you can get the goods!

Tony -- great work, looking forard to seeing it! I know what you mean about photographic skills, I'm a pretty good hand with a camera but maintaining exposure and focus can be tricky, especially when shooting on the fly.

I took some WIP pics last night but didn't have a chance to get them up. Here they are...

I got the guncradle and breach block made up, eased by some work on those parts waaay back. The gun barrel was made up and dressed in those days too. I also assembled the wheels:

Here's a hang-together shot of the main bits:

She's going to be a fair size, that gun is quite the, um, endowment!

My target for today is to finish small dressing parts on the gun mount and spade, possibly a few more on the hull, and, just perhaps, prespray the tracks in a base colour.

Here's my best reference, it's from an early issue of War Machine, probably about 1987:

Cheers, that's all for now,

Mike/TB379

The gun on that thing certainly catches the attention. Here's some progress pics, you can just make out the zimmerit. The superstructure is primed now, the hull is awaiting whilst I ascend into an indy track link induced trance for several days.

Now that's what I call a gun !

Taxtp -- Impressive AFV, impressive modelling! The zim looks good, comfortably in scale, I think you can pat yourself on the back!

Cheers, can't wait to see her in colour! M/TB379

...I'm pretty sure that I could get pics of:... Hans von Hammer's M109A3.

Thanks for the offer, Beav... But don't sweat it... I got gobs of M109 pics from my years as a Gunbunny and Section Chief on 'em... Still have my Dash-10 for it, too...  

 Oh, BTW.. I finally pulled the gun from the shelf to get started and have to make a correction... My 109 kit's actually Italeri, not Testor's/Italeri...  

Thunderbolt379

 

She's going to be a fair size, that gun is quite the, um, endowment!

 

You got that right.  Holy Moly!

Hi all,

I'm happy to report that I've had one of those 'moments' when you pick up a build that had been shelved some time back. The AFV Club indy track links come in two seperate bags, one for each side. Having spent the best part of two hours removing the links for one side from the sprues and cleaning them up, I reached for the other bag. The good news is that I must have done them last time around, they are ready to go. I must have been well into the indy track link trance, because I have no recollection of doing them.

So now I'm up to joining them and attaching them to the tank, then it's the crane that was used to lift the shells on board, then we are in paintsville.

This thing is moving along at a pace I really wasn't expecting.

Cheers

Tony

Oughtta see the M107 175mm up close if ya think that 8-inch is "endowed", lol.. (check the size of the gunbunny compared to the tube)

I missed winding up on M110s by the skin of my teeth.. When I PCS'd from the 82nd (and the M102), I was told that I was going to a III Corps GS unit at Ft Sill and that meant M110s.. I did NOT want to stand out in the rain/snow/wind all day anymore, lol...  Got lucky and found a "Stateside Swap" in The Army Times with a guy who was at Ft Hood that wanted Ft Sill...   Ft Hood was only about an hour and half from my hometown (Bastrop, Tx), so JUMPED on that one... Heh.. Some friends back home didn't even know I was still in the Army because I was home almost every weeked, lol...

Driving the M110-series was no fun either.. Although I never drove the gun, I did drive a "Snoopy"  (That's the M578 ARV...  We didn't didn't need the Mike 88s for SP howitzers and 113-series tracks) from time to time, and it's got the same chasis.. When you're over 6 ft tall, it's hell in a hole, and it's literally a hole you sit in with your right leg & knee jammed up against the hottest piece of steel ever put in a gun... 

Having that turret on the M109 (and the heater) was a real blessing in the winter, lemme tell ya...  It was even fairly comfortable in the summer, if you were under the net and had a breeze.... 'Course, the heater was a source of many stories, both funny AND horrifying...  Was headed down the road one night with it belching out so much smoke through the TC hatch that it looked like we were on fire, lol... It melted the rubber sole of  my right boot once... (Yeah, I was wearing them at the time)

Woulda been funny if I hadn't wound up with the entire sole of my right foot in one big blister...

This thing is moving along at a pace I really wasn't expecting.

Not really surprising, since you're only building an SP mortar...

(Just yanking your chain a bit, Tony.. A little "Artillery Humor", as it were...)

Tony -- great work happening, you could be finishing first! Great fall-on-your-feet with the tracks there!

Hans -- sheesh! I knew the 107 had a looooooong barrel but... This thing could get a job in movies! I would hope armour today is engineered with a bit more consideration for crew comfort and 'liveability' -- that was wicked!

Cheers, thanks for the reference pics -- the Snoopy looks like a candidate for scratch/conversion...

Mike/TB379

Yah, Arty is rather heavy with sexual inuendo at times, lol.. For instance, all of the following have "dual meanings", one legit in the world of the Field Artillery, the other "meaning" would be right at home during the AVN Awards show:

"Punching the tube"

"Ramming staff"

"Willy Peter"

"Bell Rammer"

"Clearing the bore"

"Impact area"

"Cherry Juice"

"Pulling the Lanyard"

Fall in on the rear of the piece"

"Section Drill"

Etc., etc, etc... You get the idea...

Cheers, thanks for the reference pics -- the Snoopy looks like a candidate for scratch/conversion...

Been meaning to do exactly that for years and years...  There is a conversion set that Verlinden put out some time ago, had a resin doghouse and P/E boom, and I just found an on-line hobby shop that carries it... Of course, the Italeri M-107 kit is what it's for, and I dunno if it's still in production..

http://www.megahobby.com/m-578recoveryvehicleconversionforitalerim-1071-35verlinden.aspx

Here is the result of one night's work. It took me a long time to get the hang of this, I kept breaking off the little locating points until I got the knack of how they want to be put together, then it's an absolute breeze. I'm off to give my eyes some well earned zzzzzz's.

Cheers

Tony

Impressive work -- I can understand about the eyes! MIne are a bit sore and tired right now too. This is going to be a very impressive model!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Thanks Mike. I got the 2nd track done before work this morning, it only took about 20 minutes this time. I've always painted the tank, and also the tracks separately, then attached the tracks and weathered it all together. However my treadhead friends tell me they always attach the tracks first, then paint and weather the lot.

I'm tempted to try it, but what's the consensus of thought here about it ?

Cheers

Tony

Tony -- I've heard this approach too but I can't for the life of me figure out how they do it. If I tried painting the tank after assembling the running gear I would have the most amateurish mess imaginable. I look at it this way, the real tank is painted in subassemblies, the wheels are painted in a spray bay more than likely before the rubber is attached (not positive about this, though!), the hull gets sprayed as it goes down the assembly line, or she rolls into a spray bay at the end of it... The tracks are unpainted but nevertheless have their inherrent finish before they are joined to the vehicle. If you paint them all separately you'll emulate this process... My earnest advice is stick with what you know works, you're well through a cracker of a build so this is not the trime to try a technique which could set you back a long way if it doesn't work...

My , Mike/TB379

PS -- weathering is another matter entirely, though -- weathering everything together (fully assembled), especially final wearthering with pigments, creates a continuity between hull and running gear that is very necessary!

Cheers, M/TB379

Well, just for the sake of completeness; sometimes vehicles are painted with the running gear on.  I remember a thread over at armorama where an guy is building at least 3 (maybe up to 6) M113s in UN white/Vietnam colors.  His reference pics show the overspray.

I got my SP MRL today!  I'll be starting him (I suspect the Chinese assign masculine nouns in the way we assign feminine nouns to objects, I'd accept correction) tonight!

Thanks Mike and Steven. I even thought of researching whether the cam on the Sturmtiger was field or factory applied. Therefore I'd paint the sand and tracks separately, then fix the tracks and apply the camo.

However I think Mike's advice about not risking a good build is sage advice, I'll probably go down that route.

Cheers

Tony

Spent a little time with the Sturer Emil today and trimmed all the parts for the lower hull from the trees.

Tomorrow i'll get out the sanding sticks and clean up the sprue gate scares and attach the parts to the tub.

See Ya Later

Tony Lee

Well, sorry to say that there are no real pics as yet, mostly because I just built the 12 cylinder engine tonight...and it takes an entire sprue of parts to do it.  My goal is to get the interior to painting readiness by this weekend, but to get there I need some bits from the hobby shop (and while I'm there I also want to get some balsa for another project)  Trumpeter's detail on these kits is pretty fantastic for their moderate age--5 or more years; and should be really looked at.  

Some other finalizations; I want to paint it with the new digi cam scheme that they've come up with; and have as many of the hatches open as possible.  I'm not that good at scratch building, so...don't expect a whole lot of that.  

(the above is my inspiration, from Stroju @ armorama)

While my subject looks pretty neat (to me) apparently the PLA's Type 89 MRL is basically just a soviet BM-21 MRL mounted on an indigenous tank chassis with an added (and I must say, really ingenious) magazine that houses an entire set of reloads for the 40 launch tubes (80 rockets total).  Its all old tech, but even outdated weaponry that hits on target is devastating to the defender.  This build will probably be pretty clean, but who knows.  

The best part about chinese armor?  Whitewalls.

Pvt Mutt -- looking good! I have the same kit and am looking forward to seeing howe this animal goes together.

Beav -- wow, this digtal camo is interesting stuff! I know what you mean about all the engine parts on thise kits, they're beautifully made and very tempting to go to town on.

Cheers, M/TB379

I've always painted tanks and other AFVs the way they looked rolling out the factory doors, then weathered them according to the particular climate they're operating in, and how long they've been out in it...   

Howdy Folks

I think I won the wheel lotto,each one has two halves but they're all sanded and ready for paint.

I'll get those Friulmodel tracks assembled and fitted next.

We got some snow last night and now it's cold as a well diggers destination, 9 degrees last night and going down to zero tonight plus windy windy.

Tony Lee

I'm watching!!!

All I have to say is you have not lived until you are the AG (Assistant Gunner) on an M107. And yes you had to account for barrel droop with your boresigt but the best was watching the barrel bend when you fired. Needless to say it was not an accurate weapon. But effective for fear factor

The M110A2 looks good in 3 color NATO or in a nice ODS sand. As for the M109A3...that sould be a treat.

Looks like everyone is laid and safe....some nice fire missions here

Rounds Complete!!