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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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| Engine Compartment | Jul 6, 2007 |
Originally I had planned on having the hatches removed in the engine compartment. But a few things changed my mind on that. One is that the Verlinden PE mesh for the hatches is just terrible and unuseable compared to the Eduard. Another is that, I am worn out on this interior, and the engine compartment would be as much or more work than the crew compartment if I took the tops off.
So, I begged on Missing-Lynx, and got a new upper hull to replace the one I'd already cut the hatches out of. (Thanks Ken Daigle!) Having the hatches in place also makes my job a lot easier, as I can focus on just doing the more visible components and not every wire and hose.
The engine, unfortunately, still needed a lot of work. It's drastically oversized for this compartment, and I had to sand material from both the top and bottom to get it to fit in the closed engine bay. The exhaust manifold was just totally wrong, I ended up having to severely modify the Verlinden parts to make it work. The M12 exhaust appears very similar to that used in the LVT series amphibious vehicles, where Verlinen just gives you standard Sherman parts. I find this odd, as they do have it correct in their LVT set, and that part would be much closer to having it done right.
Then I followed up by doing some generic wiring here and there, just to give the appearance of something, even though I know it's nowhere near as complex as the actual plumbing system. There would just be too much for me to do right now, and still have the enthusiasm to finish the project.
I also will be doing the prominant air intake tubes, and I do have the lower half of the divider under the engine already. But I won't be attaching them until I put in the upper hull. |
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