Today's post returns to the Prussians of the Franco-Prussian War and shows the 5th and 6th Heavy Batteries of the 3rd Field Division, 7th Field Artillery Regiment attached to the Thirteenth Infantry Division, Prussian VI Corps. These are the first of six heavy batteries that will complete the artillery of the Corps.
This heavy piece is a lovely model. It comes with the breech open and closed and I have done one of each here. I wish these has been available when I did the light batteries as the crew could have been mixed and matched to give greater variety, but they weren't.
Really nice model, figures and painting, with the light blue carriage really making the whole thing 'pop':).
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if the gun colour is exactly right, but it looks ok to me.
DeleteYou really are cranking these out at a furious pace Mark, and it is all top notch quality. Those seem like noticeably large wheels on the heavy pieces, almost as tall as a person.
ReplyDeleteThere are two more sets completed now! I know that the wheel size for an ACW gun was 57 inches or just under shoulder height, but I remember being surprised how big the wheels were on a Swedish 3lb gun that I saw in a museum in Stockholm - supposedly a light gun - that were chest high. I think too many wargames manufacturers make their gun wheels under size.
DeleteI sculpted the gun master models for this range, and the dimensions are as close to accurate 1/56 scale as I was able to establish. About three slightly different types of 6-pounder barrel were used in 1870, and they all seem to have been mounted on what was close to being a scaled-up version of the 4-pounder carriage.
DeleteAnd very nice it is too John and most pleasing is that the mould maker has done a better job on it and the casting quality is much cleaner and sharper.
DeleteExcellent work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan. More guns on the way.
DeleteNicely done Mark…
ReplyDeleteI can’t imagine sitting on those axle seats would be pleasant…
All the best. Aly
I agree, with no pneumatic tyres and no suspension it would have been a real bone shaker...I always have the same pity for gunners riding on the limbers...I think I would rather walk.
DeleteNo pneumatic tyres, no suspension *and no seat padding*! I think probabl;y on the march they would extemporise something to soften the seat a bit, a folded blanket or something, and they would alternate riding and walking. In action, the main concern would be falling off: apart from anything else, you are facing backwards, so can't see what is coming up. Oh, and you're inches from the revolving wheels! I think the wire mesh around these seats was a rudimentary attempt to avoid any of the seated gunner's gear getting caught up in the wheels.
DeleteI guess it us easy to understand why all the images of troops going into action riding on gun seats and limbers have a suitable look of horror on their faces!
DeleteVery cool looking artillery groups Mark!
ReplyDeleteThanks Keith
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