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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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| Crew Compartment, finished | Jun 28, 2007 |
This project..... has become a chore. The constant need to rebuild and replace components due to totally incorrect aftermarket sets has taken what I thought would be a fun project, and turned it into actual work. However, the results are starting to make me feel better about all the effort.
This is the crew compartment, finished and done. I think. It's as close to accurate as I can make it with my current skills and available material. A few stowage items I had to guess on their locations, and a couple were left out. Short of going to Aberdeen Maryland, and opening the hatches on their vehicle, I simply cannot do more than this right now. Even then I may not get any more info.
Normally I do black leather seats in my Sherman builds, but I know that green canvas ones were also pretty common too. So I did something a bit different to separate the seats from the many black knobs inside the vehicle. Oh, and speaking of the knobs, I finally found a way to make smaller shifter knobs instead of those melon balls I had in the previous chapter. Candle, styrene, very gentle pressure. Perfect.
Now I just need to finish up the upper hull and engine compartment, and I can seal it all up. |
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