ARMOR - Towed Gun Group Build (ends 7/1/04)

Larry:

That is the same pic I saw on the French site I ordered from.
Yes, that is a bracket & sheave atop the cradle.
I believe that's a 155, not 8", but it is hard to tell.

I cannot remember a pic of an 8" with the sheave/bracket, but then again I haven't been specifically looking. (Look at pix in the AA book)

You bring up a good point about maint so reread my 155 TM & the only place where jacking the gun in/out of battery takes place is for travel. There is no crew maint action that requires it, so maybe 8" is same.

I gotta get the wheels/tires -- think they'll be in Mon/Tue -- I don't want to go too far with the bogies until I know what I have to do to make them work. Then I can mount the bogies to the carriage & continue with adding brake lines & things.

I think I spent too much time with the M5 Limber to swap to the M2 with the parts kit, but I can convert my gun tube back from an M2 to an M1 if I like the bracket/sheave. That will move me back into WW2.

Re AA#13: You will see several pix of an HST & 155 with name "Lucky Tigers" -- see pg 46 especially. I saw same pic in another book that said it was offloading during Korean War!! Think I'll go with the AA#13. Anyway, look at pg46 & see that the M4 is towing a 155 & that another trailer is hitched to the 155 !!! I believe it to be the M618 Smoke Generator -- some arty units had 'em I think. I spent some time looking around for that stuff because that 3 vehicle combo would have been neat. The 155 has a tow pintle on rear axle, but I do not believe there is any way to run air brake to the next trailer -- must have been fun. Anyway, I think I found an M618 Smoke Trailer resin kit but it was either TBP or BIG$$$ & I dropped the idea.

Anyway, my gun is in lots of pieces building into bigger assemblies and will all fall together wonderfully all by itself .....

QUOTE: Originally posted by jratz When you get your AA#13, check out pix on pg 37,38,47 -- the bracket & sheave are mounted atop the cradle.

Yeah, I don't have the AA yet, but the sheave is definitely in the MP set.

QUOTE: I am unsure what part you are referring to on the M115 as the 8" did not have to be jacked out of battery for travel.

So the 8" M1 definitely did not have the sheave? I could've sworn that I've seen images of the 8" M1 with the sheave. They didn't pull the barrel on the 8" back for transport, but they still would have had to pull it back for maintenance. I guess I'll have to doublecheck the AA before I add that piece. This might actually make it easier for me. As it is now, my gun has the kit pieces.

QUOTE: Am currently assembling the handbrakes & etc to the bogies. The tabs on the handbrakes don't fit in the slots on the axle, so I'm carefully slimming 'em down. I don't think I have enought fingers & toes to handle all these parts at once.

I just ran the edge of the xacto along the tabs on the handbrakes to slim em down a bit.

Hooking the kit up to the Mack has made assembly even more complicated for me! All those crossbars are going to have to wait for attachment until I have the right elevation for the trails, which I guess will involve propping the trails up and then carefully inserting glue into the axles so the gun's suspension can set. Then I'll add the crossbars and all the other goos stuff. One or two of the pieces will require modification due to the increased height of the trails. Oy vey! Is we havin' fun or what?

QUOTE: I did get around to your infamous A28's today ... I agree.

"Now, simple remove this BB from a quart of cottage cheese -- without disturbing any of the cheese." Ah, for fun.

Admit it though. It's gonna look killer when it's done.

EDIT:
John, here's a pic of the AM set for the M1 guns which I got from a helpful person from Track Link. It shows most, but not all, of the AM stuff. Look especially at the wheels.


I may be wrong, but that looks like the 8" to me, and it's got the sheave on it.

QUOTE: Originally posted by zokissima Looks good so far John. How'd you find the kit? I have one unbuilt, and the flak I recently built from Italeri was very nice, so I was wondering about this kit as well

I've built it, primed it and started painting the OD on it. It's actually quite a nice little kit. It's languishing in the mostly-done pile, which I would dearly love to convert into an entirely-done collection.

Looks good so far John.
How'd you find the kit? I have one unbuilt, and the flak I recently built from Italeri was very nice, so I was wondering about this kit as well

sure is its by italeri 1/35

Looks really good, John. Is that a 105?

Heres a couple of progress pics.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Larry_Dunn The sheave is in the Masters Production set. There's actually a decent amount of stuff in the set besides the wheels. Don't know what you mean by "bracket" -- if you mean the mounting part the sheave fits onto, that's in the MP set too, replacing the kit one for the M115.

Larry:
When you get your AA#13, check out pix on pg 37,38,47 -- the bracket & sheave are mounted atop the cradle. I am unsure what part you are referring to on the M115 as the 8" did not have to be jacked out of battery for travel.
Still waiting on MP parts. Am currently assembling the handbrakes & etc to the bogies. The tabs on the handbrakes don't fit in the slots on the axle, so I'm carefully slimming 'em down. I don't think I have enought fingers & toes to handle all these parts at once.
I did get around to your infamous A28's today ... I agree.

Sorry to hear that Kennethc. Well, maybe next time.

John: That's indeed QUICK! Could you show us some pics?

QUOTE: Originally posted by Kennethc Well It sucks but I am officially bowing out of this build... I am just too far behind to get motivated so I'll pick ya'll up on another GB. Good luck on your builds and I look forward to seeing the finnished projects

Sorry to see you go, Kenneth. If you eventually get around to proudly displaying a towed gun, then the GB has done its job.

Well It sucks but I am officially bowing out of this build... I am just too far behind to get motivated so I'll pick ya'll up on another GB. Good luck on your builds and I look forward to seeing the finnished projects

QUOTE: Originally posted by jratz I wish I had decided to back-date this kit to the M1 gun !!! I could change direction right now & backdate this to the M1 gun, but I'm just too stubborn .... and I don't want to be scrounging around for parts to make the bracket & sheave ....

The sheave is in the Masters Production set. There's actually a decent amount of stuff in the set besides the wheels. Don't know what you mean by "bracket" -- if you mean the mounting part the sheave fits onto, that's in the MP set too, replacing the kit one for the M115.

Masters wrote me back a few days ago to tell me that their set includes all the wheels. The guy at Masters says that the wheels in the AFV club kit are ok for 1945 and Korea. When I got the set, I wrote him asking him about how the wheels go on, and about some of the other pieces that are in the kit but not in the illustrations, but I haven't heard back from him yet. I'll let you know if I hear back.

I think I know how you assemble the wheels, but the gap between tires seems rather far for what I've seen in period photos. However, it tallies pretty closely to this (notice the gap between the outside and inside tires):


If you install them the way I think you install them, you leave off the pieces for the rear part of the the wheel (B30) when you use the MP wheels/tires. It's molded right onto the resin wheel. There are even mating pins to suggest that this is the way you do it. Only thing is that the tires are pretty far apart when you do this.

I started my howitzer yesterday and am almost finished, have to glue a few more things and the paint it. Then im done! That would be areal Quik GB!

Thanks, will & petbat.

Looks great Dwight, gotta go see the other pics.

Sorry UI dont know how that happened but it was supposed to say Good job changing it now

Will: We'll be happy to see those pics.

You were also doing an 88?

QUOTE: Originally posted by zokissima Wow, great job Dwight. I've spent the last few days remodelling my house, and in all the confusion, didn't have time to do squat for this. Also, with school and work this week, looks like I'll be falling behind even further

Yeah, my excuse is power-washing & sealing the decks .... Wifey cracks a mean whip ...

Larry:

Wow, & I thought we were moving forward !!!!

My Masters kit hasn't shown yet, expect it next week, but when it does I'll look at it & your post & we'll figure this out the way we figured the other stuff out. Meanwhile, I'll have a few more beers .... Since I have the TM's available, it's easier for me to look at the parts with them in hand ...

The masters I saw showed the Limber & new Bogie Wheels/Tires & that's all.

My bad news is that I think I'm heading for a Korea build, which isn't all that bad. Based oin all my research (see whine way above) it appears the M2 gun probably didn't see WW2 action except maybe on limited basis in the Pacific & I have no proof of that yet.

I wish I had decided to back-date this kit to the M1 gun !!! I could change direction right now & backdate this to the M1 gun, but I'm just too stubborn .... and I don't want to be scrounging around for parts to make the bracket & sheave .... although the pictures of the prime mover pulloing the gun out of battery are pretty neat for a diorama ....

Did I mention a few more beers ??

Sorry i havent posted lately but I swear i'm finished I'm just waiting for my Dad to upload the pics

goo job on that 88 dio too!!!!

Thanks Larry!!!

Zokissima/Larry: Thanks for the kind words. I have affixed the badge to my sig now if you don't mind.

Dwight, great looking diorama! Thanks for posting the pics.

Wow, great job Dwight.

I've spent the last few days remodelling my house, and in all the confusion, didn't have time to do squat for this. Also, with school and work this week, looks like I'll be falling behind even further

QUOTE: Originally posted by jratz Larry: An update -- I found the Masters sets at www.blast-models.com a French site and ordered 2 sets. One set was 15Euro & they have a 20Euro minimum. We shall see what we shall see ....

BTW, John, have you seen the bigger picture of the Masters set online? I coulda sworn I found it using a websearch a few days ago, but now I can't find it! It's not the little picture I posted, it's a photo of a 155 (I think) with all the Masters junk attached to it. Can't find it now! I coulda sworn it was on the Blast website, but now I don't see the Masters set there AT ALL! [:0] This has not been a great night.

QUOTE: Originally posted by rebelreenactor Is it too late for me to join this build? I have a Howitzer waitng in my pile and have gotnothin else todo. Let me know. Its perfectly fine ifiam too late.

Go man go! All are welcome between now and July 1. The purpose of this GB is to get you to build and display a cool towed gun.

QUOTE: Originally posted by jratz If you haven't ordered AA#13 yet, I gotta tell you I wasn't impressed at all with it (for the HST & LT). Pictures are a mish-mash of stuff (M4,Mack,D8,155,8") and little coherency or in my case little new of interest.

Already ordered it!

QUOTE: Like you, I am waiting on the Masters detail -- that'll at least let me finish up my enhanced M5 Limber.

I got it today, with a mixture of happiness and dismay. The pieces themselves seem nice. There are backfdating pieces in the kit beside the wheels, little bits here and here to make the guns look more like M1.

Problem is that some of the pieces are not described in the instructions at all. Also, the wheels don't at all match the description in the instructions, and I have no idea how to install them. You're supposed to slip the wheels+tires you get over the kit piece B30, but there is no holew in the back of the rearward wheel to fit it in. To complicate it, the front wheel and the rear wheel have matching pins on them, and then you can just leave off piece B30 and install the wheel right on the axle, but then there's a huge gap between the front and rear wheel.

Are there gaps like that in the photos in A&A13? I mean, between the front and the back wheels/tires on the gun's suspension? My sources show the tires fititng snugly together, kinda spooning.

Seriously, it is pretty upsetting. I may even say F it and put the kit wheels on.

Oh yeah, I amlost forgot. I got five of the front wheels and three of the rear wheels. Thank you, Masters Productions.

Is it too late for me to join this build? I have a Howitzer waitng in my pile and have gotnothin else todo. Let me know. Its perfectly fine ifiam too late.

Larry:

If you haven't ordered AA#13 yet, I gotta tell you I wasn't impressed at all with it (for the HST & LT). Pictures are a mish-mash of stuff (M4,Mack,D8,155,8") and little coherency or in my case little new of interest.

Glad you are moving on yours. I'm trying to get going also & got some work on all the major components done today. Like you, I am waiting on the Masters detail -- that'll at least let me finish up my enhanced M5 Limber. Still haven't started the HST. My hang-up right now is that I have back-dated the AFV gun to the M2 standard which various Ord catalogs indicate became standard in Sep'44. Yet I do not think I have one picture of an M2 Gun in WW2 or KW !!! And I have a pretty good home library.

You are lucky with the 8" because it wasn't jacked out of battery for transport like the 155 was, because my hang-up right now is trying to find a picture of a gun with the Front & Rear Retracting Eyes on the gun & cradle rather than the Bracket & Sheave on the cradle of the M1. The AFV cradle isn't complete for any version of 155 !!!!

If anyone knows what I'm talking about, and can help, I'd appreciate it.
I do not feel like changing course & backdating this thing all to an M1 !!!

Finally I have finished my Flak 36 Dio. Here is a sample pic. The rest of the pics are posted outside of this thread.



Can I have my badge now? He-he-he.