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Modeller Build Logs
M-12 155mm GMC |
| By Hans Haase | | Started: | Mar 1, 2007 | | Updated: | Sep 2, 2007 |
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The M-12 is, in allied terms, a somewhat rare vehicle. 100 of these self propelled artillery pieces were built in 1942 and 1943 for the purpose of training and were based on M3 medium tank chassis, with the then-standard M1917/M1918M1 155mm gun of French design.
As the actual invasion of Europe got closer, it was decided that the standard 105mm M7 self-propelled howitzer may be too small for dealing with stronger fixed emplacements, and a number of M-12's were modernized and upgraded for combat use. These became the largest self-propelled US artillery deployed in Europe and saw heavy use throughout the European campaign.
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| Adding the Stars | Jul 30, 2007 |
I had picked out a few vehicles that I considered building, trying to avoid using the kit decals. For some reason, I never have good luck with Academy decals. They tend to either silver up very badly, or break apart into little pieces. So I decided I don't want to risk this build with bad decals, considering all the work going into it.
The one I finally picked is a fairly generic marked vehicle in the Concord book on US Armored Artillery. No registration numbers, no fancy artwork, no name, just 4 stars.
I had planned on ordering some Archer transfers, which are always top-notch, but figured I would check my spare decal folder first. And to my surprise, I found a set of Eduard masks! As good as Archer is, nothing looks more like painted on stars... than painted on stars. Just a simple case of applying the stencils, some Tamiya masking tape around the sides to prevent overspray, and put some white in the airbrush. Easy, effective, and avoiding most of the issues with waterslide decals that can really ruin a build at this point. |
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