WW1 Heavy Haulage and an Omnibus!

The Traction Engine from The Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company hauling "Ada", another 8 inch Howitzer from the same company. The towing limber is a scratchbuild. Apologies if the images are a little blurred. This is a big model and when hitched up to a gun is almost a foot long! I had to resort to hand held photography and it seems that the anti-shake was a bit ineffective. 

Back in March, out of curiosity, I purchased the Model T Ambulance from Warbases. Last week I took delivery of one of their latest MDF vehicle kits, the AEC Model B Omnibus. I've wanted a bus to put into my display cabinet for quite some time and at a tenner for the kit, it is very good value and, I think gives a pleasing end result. With a bit more work filling in some of the joints it could be even better. If you want some affordable transport to run the gaunlet of German artillery along the Menin Road I heartily recommend this kit.

"Who parked this bloody Bus here? It's meant to go over there!"

Private Perkins was ordered to guard this Omnibus until relieved. He is still waiting.

I am quite pleased with the end result of this build and I think I feel the stirrings of a bit of a conversion project....

Royal Field Artillery Limber and Team.

The Great War Miniatures Limber, team and 18pdr field gun with Woodnine Designs heads ready for service somewhere hot and dusty.

Scratchbuilt FWD Model B 3 Ton Truck

The last of these scratchbuilds for a while. I must get on with painting and suppress the the urges of my inner twelve year old self and focus on other projects. With the exception of  two pieces of styrene rod and a bit of brass wire, this truck used to be a manilla card wallet!

From what I can find out, 500 of these American FWD trucks were delivered to the British Army who used them primarily as artillery tractors. Some were convereted into fuel tankers, searchlight carriers and balloon tenders.  

Another scratchbuilt gun: 6 inch 26cwt howitzer (ish).

More fun with cereal packet cardboard... and swearing. This is a very squat and ugly looking gun. It does not photograph very well. It looks a lot better "in the flesh".
The Batttery Major consults the handbook and thinks about getting the brute dug into an emplacement covered with netting.

An interesting thing came to light while researching the plans of this gun. In May 1917, the most forward battery of these guns on the Ypres Salient was dug in 300 yards west of the Cloth Hall in Ypres. Having stood on the area of the front line of the Salient and looked back towards Ypres I appreciate the distances involved.

Scratchbuilt 6 inch heavy gun.

This is a cereal packet and a bit of styrene tube and rod. Thanks for the inspiration must go to Mark (Tin Shed Gamer) over on the LAF. I lifted the template of the carriage from his cereal packet 8 inch Howitzer. His traction engine and gun project can be seen here.

I'm afraid I bottled out of doing spoked wheels. I need to build up my confidence and skill level with this sort of thing before I attempt such a thing.

To give an idea of size, the Battery Major, a Mutton Chop figure, stands along side the finished object. I think I need to give it a name.....

HLBSCo WW1 8 inch Howitzer and 60 pdr field gun.

Big guns!

The brooding shape of the all metal 8 inch howitzer model. Some wag has named her "Ruby" after his wife!

 The resin 60 pdr model.

Interwar USMC 75mm Field Gun.

Some heavy support for the USMC figures painted earlier this year. A GWM WW1 French 75mm field gun with a crew of GWM Late War British Artillery crew with Woodbine Designs headswaps. Strictly speaking, by the 1920s American guns had a simple Olive Green paint scheme but the decision was taken to give the gun a bit more "umph"  by basing the paint scheme on a gun in the Lovett Artillery Collection. An image of this gun appears at the bottom of this page and the other images and information can be found here. A second gun and crew are currently on the table.

French 75mm gun, Lovett Artillery Collection.

UPDATE

An image of both comleted guns and crews.

And next? BIG GUNS!

Mutton Chop BEF Vickers Team (BEF8).

And now onto the summer projects. Guns, Hussars and other bits and pieces.

Mutton Chop BEF Command (Pack BEF9)

Things have not been as bad at work as I feared. I've been able to dabble with the paint over the past couple of weeks and complete the other three figures from the Mutton Chop BEF Command Pack. Deep joy!

I've just noticed the varnish bloom around the Officer's holster and binocular case. Will rectify.

Mutton Chop WW1 British Stretcher Bearer

I've had the latest Mutton Chop releases in the queue since they came out some weeks ago. Having returned from the Salient last month I've been desperate to start them but other painting work has had to take priority. I now enter June, the annual fallow period when I put the brushes down for a month as the next four or five weeks are pretty grim at work and time to paint will be very short and energy to paint quite low. So I don't bother.... but before I took the annual break I had to paint just one Tommy! Here he is, the Stretcher Bearer from pack BEF9. See you all again in July!