CGM Prod. 1/35 M3 105mm Mountain Howitzer, Complete, 5/11/09
To all my armor friends......I'm back (after my little flight in heilo land)
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As usual I build something different!!
Research
The M3 105mm towed howitzer was first developed and introduced during WWII to give airborne and light troops more punch than the existing M1A1 75mm pack howitzers. The main design concept of the M.3 was a cut down version of the M2 (later the M101A1) 105mm howitzer and the 75 mm pack howitzer.
The M3 was fielded to the US Army and to the US Marine Corps where it augmented the M1A1 75mm howitzer thus not only giving more range, more firepower and a greater selection of ammunition especially illumination rounds which did not exist for the pack 75. Over 2,500 M3s were produced and primarily fielded to airborne and mountain units.
The M3 fired the same ammunition as it's big brother but had to be fired at a lower charge due to its small size and weight (approximately 2,500 pounds. With the lower charge and shorter barrel its range was about 6,500 meters as compared to its big brother of 11,000 meters.
The M3 was a successful weapon and near the end of the war a self propelled version was being developed for use in the Pacific using the M-5A1 Stewart carriage called the T82. The war ended before any went beyond the development stage.
The Kit - CGM Productions 1/35 scale M3 105mm Howitzer
Resin Parts
Upon opening the box you are presented with a plastic bag of resin molded parts.
Upon inspection the all the parts have flash to be cleaned. The larger parts have voids, incomplete molding, and every other bad thing you can think of resin parts.
The manufacturer obviously made this from a museum weapon since there is no sight system included. I will be molding some required parts from the Italeri M101 kit
Fortunately the model is small when built as some of the details are muted or washed out.
You will spend a few hours just cleaning up the parts and fixing some of the bigger parts. I will give the manufacturer credit for trying a new weapon but he needs to do MUCH better QC of his molded pieces.
Directions
The kit includes a 1 page direction sheet. This sheet is horrific as many of the parts included with the kit are not even shown on the assembly drawing. The instructions appear as a crude drawing with no other detail shown.
Also included with the instructions is a separate sheet which gives photographs of the M3 which were obviously taken at a museum. They are somewhat helpful in identifying some of the parts not shown in the directions.
Fortunately I put my hands on TM9-1326, M3 105mm Howitzer which will help greatly in figuring this one out.
The Build
Nothing much to show yet! I have spent time cleaning flash and filling voids, air bubbles and gels.
I should have some build photos next update.
H Hour Total 2.5 hours since start
Thanks for looking in
Rounds Complete!!