Well
here is the finish. First some of more details, the bore brush, I used my punch
set to punch .160 to punch felt I use for the pads under the base. Two punched
pads glued together to make the brush. Some .020 styrene punched for the brush
end caps. Then the .040 styrene coated wire for the ramming staff section,
1.375 inches long. The end caps and the ends of the ramming staff I painted
with Alclad Steel. The main section of the staff I painted with Tamiya JDSF
Green. Eventually it is weathered with same MIG pigments used on the howitzer.
Next, I
made the ramming staff. Similar to above using .040 styrene rod 2.75 inches
long (2 sections) and punched .020 styrene sheet for the .160 end plate to make
the 8 foot ramming staff. Painted same as above.
The
aiming post painted in my last update, I weathered with MIG Light Yellow wash
and Alclad Steel to create the scratches
The
projectile carrier I made using some leftover PE cut to size to match the
projectiles. Using 20 gage SS wire I shaped the handles on either side and the
two set of feet. Since they were already a steel color, no other finishing was
required.
The
most important items to a towed artillery crew is the shovel and pick. Out of
the spares pile, the heads and shovel handle were painted with Tamiya Flat
Black. The wood portions were painted with Valejo wood primer. The scratches on
the metal parts I dry brushed Alclad Steel onto the ends and the wood scratches
I dry brushed with Tamiya Buff. Finally the dirt was added using the MIG
pigments used on the howitzer.
The
bogie wrenches come with the kit. I painted the handles with Poly Scale OD and
the ends with Alclad Steel. They were finally weathered with MIG Light Brown
wash. I positioned one on each side of the bogie.
The
tarp under the projectiles I made with airplane tissue. First the ends are
cuffed and glued using landscape cement. After it cuff seams dried, the tarp
was placed using landscape cement and once the cement dried it was painted
using Tamiya Olive Green. The tarp was then weathered with the MIG pigment mix.
After
adding the projectiles, a .50 cal ammunition can was added as a fuse can for
the projectiles. The .50 cal can came from the spares box and was painted with
Poly Scale Medium Green.
I added
“oil” stains where the bore brush would be carried. Here you can see the oily
stain on the howitzer trail and on the ground around the pail and under the
breech. Lastly the brush and end of the staff was also coated to create the
oily look all using Floquil Bright Oil.
Lastly, I added the all-important lanyard. The lanyard is from
wax covered ship string, then painted with Tamiya Olive Green. The connector
hook is 26 gauge SS wire threaded through a drilled hole on the trigger
mechanism. The .30 cal ammo box is for
primers, also from the spares box and painted
with Poly Scale Medium Green.
So, with all the details complete, here is the completed big
8 inch howitzer!
Thanks for following along. On to the M4 HST with the M5 Carriage
Limber up next
As
always all comments are welcome
Rounds
Complete!!
EOM