Old Marine Posted April 13, 2009 Share #1 Posted April 13, 2009 Here is another one of my 1/35 scale models. This is an 8 inch howitzer being pulled by it's prime mover an M-4 tractor. This model depicts a Howitzer of the 578th Field Artillery Bn. in late 1944. The 578th was an African American unit that fought from Northern France until the end of the war. Early on the 578th was assigned to the VII corps and then later, after the Ardennes Battle attached to the 3rd Corps. The Howitzer kit is a resin kit put out by Azimut, a French company I think. That kit was a lot of work, everything was attached to giant blocks of resin that they used in setting up the molds, hours of careful sawing and sanding. Just after I finished laboring over this hard to build resin kit, some one released a real nice injection molded kit, which is a lot easer to build, that figures. The Tractor kit is, believe it or not the old Nitto/Blue Tank kit. I was told by a lot of fellow modelers that, that kit was unbuildable, which is why I think I built it. It was a really bad kit, it was actually more of a motorized toy. But I looked it over and found that the hull, crew compartment and upper decks were pretty accurate and they even scaled out ok, it was the lower part that I had to completely rebuild. The wheels and tracks that came with the kit bore no semblance to any real thing, so I bashed together the whole lower half with M-4 tracks, and parts from a stuart. I am not an engineer, or a mechanic, a tanker nor even an artilleryman so when I built this model I was more interested in having the model "look" right as opposed to getting every scale mechanical detail right. So all you tankers and gear heads try not to skewer me too badly. When I was researching the M4 Tractor I saw that the tracks and wheels are kind of like a mix of M4 Sherman parts and M-5 Stuart parts. It's almost like the designers and engineers stole existing parts parts from both to make this tractor. It's a pretty unique vehicle. A great reference with a lot of photos if the Krauss Publication "Standard Catalog Of Military Vehicles". That's a really good reference book. I scratch built the ammo compartment, the engine and the wire mesh engine doors. Ok, no more talking........pictures. Thanks Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Proud Kraut Posted April 13, 2009 Share #11 Posted April 13, 2009 I think I stopped modeling more than 25 years ago. Today I turn on my PC, enter the Forum and check the Modeling section first. Can't wait to see more of your fantastic models. Please, keep them coming! This one knocked my socks off again! Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Marine Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share #12 Posted April 14, 2009 Thanks for nice words Lars, I have slowed down building a lot lately, but I do occasionally finish a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolas75 Posted April 14, 2009 Share #13 Posted April 14, 2009 wow you've done a wonderfull job ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Meatcan Posted April 15, 2009 Share #14 Posted April 15, 2009 a really excellent job! Nice to see the 8" howitzer modelled for a change. Seems like everyone builds the 155mm. Great subject and a sweet build! Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Posted April 15, 2009 Share #15 Posted April 15, 2009 very cool!!! well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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