Roden 1/35 BL 8-inch Howitzer Mk. VI
Manufactured at the Vickers Plant in the UK in 1915, it was given the War Office designation Mark VI as it was significantly more advanced on the older Mark V. The biggest improvement featured the hydraulics to counter the massive recoil of the gun. With a combat range of almost 10km and a shelling sector of 4 degrees to the left or right and 50 degrees up or down, this was a fearsome weapon. Unfortunately, the weight of the gun was some three tons more than the mark V. Being such a cumbersome design and load meant the gun had to be towed into combat by either the FWD Truck or the Holt Tractor. This meant that the gun wasn't that mobile, and should the enemy advance too close, there was no chance of getting the guns to safety. As it happened, none of the Mark VIs were surrendered to the enemy.
The gun saw WW1 service on all fronts, including Macedonia and in Palestine and was employed by Canadian and Australian gunners and a small number found their way to Imperial Russia.
The U.S. built their own version of the Mk VI under licence from Britain. They were made at the Armstrong Company. U.S. MkVIs were donated to the Finnish Government to assist against Soviet aggression and remained in service until the end of WW2. By 1960, the guns had been declared obsolete and were sent to various museums and military camps to act as gate guards
The Model:
The kit is packaged in a sturdy two-part box. Inside are the instructions and a small photo-etch fret sealed in plastic, and all the sprues sealed in another plastic bag. No decals are included as artillery pieces rarely had markings. As well as the gun itself, there is a small limber and a foldaway firing platform. Considering the fact that this lot was towed in line-astern, there would be several problems cornering and achieving any sort of flat-out speed! Control would also be a problem.
The Kit itself comes in 7 sprues of pale grey plastic plus a sprue of grey vinyl for the gun's road wheels. There is also a small photo-etched fret containing manufacturer's placards. Care needs to be taken with the wheels during assembly as there are three different pairs that all look the same. The mouldings are very well done with very little flash and little, if no moulding lines. There are one or two release pin marks but nothing to worry about.
The firing platform can be assembled in the firing or transport positions, a nice little touch for those who want some degree of variation. This is a model that screams out for figures, either in transit or using the gun. Unfortunately, there were none with the kit and very few available online!
The black and white instructions are eight pages in length. The first page gives a history and statistics in English, German, and Ukrainian. Next comes the color scheme based upon Vallejo paints and diagrams showing all the sprues and part locations. The instructions are clear and provide ten steps to assemble the howitzer and carriage. An additional four steps cover the assembly of the limber and firing platform. The painting instructions show a dark green British Expeditionary Forces example, and a US Army Expeditionary Forces example in the three-color olive, brown, and black camouflage scheme. The black and white instructions make it difficult to differentiate between the black and brown. The box art is no help as it illustrates a British example. You will have to rely upon other references to determine where the black ends and the brown begins. Printing this page in color would have resolved the confusion.
I used Bronze Green for the gun and limber with a faded Olive Green for shading. The firing platform was undercoated in khaki with a top coat of Russian Uniform Green. These colours (all Vallejo) are as near as dammit to the real article. Weathering was done using Light Sand and Flat Earth and any bare metal was accomplished using metallic grey.
Sprue and parts breakdown
A – 15, Barrel, lower carriage & spade
B – 31, Upper carriage, breach block, and trail details
C – 19 , Limber and firing platform
D – 21 (x2) Wheels
E – 4, Firing platform and limber
F – 1, Box trail
G – 2, Wheel treads
P – 4, Photo-etch placards
Conclusion
A nice easy little build with plenty to get your teeth into. I finished this in two days and am very pleased with the result. Excellent as a presentation piece, diorama or stand-alone model. The only down side to me was a lack of gun crew figures.
Rating: An excellent 5 out of 5
Smeggers..
Manufactured at the Vickers Plant in the UK in 1915, it was given the War Office designation Mark VI as it was significantly more advanced on the older Mark V. The biggest improvement featured the hydraulics to counter the massive recoil of the gun. With a combat range of almost 10km and a shelling sector of 4 degrees to the left or right and 50 degrees up or down, this was a fearsome weapon. Unfortunately, the weight of the gun was some three tons more than the mark V. Being such a cumbersome design and load meant the gun had to be towed into combat by either the FWD Truck or the Holt Tractor. This meant that the gun wasn't that mobile, and should the enemy advance too close, there was no chance of getting the guns to safety. As it happened, none of the Mark VIs were surrendered to the enemy.
The gun saw WW1 service on all fronts, including Macedonia and in Palestine and was employed by Canadian and Australian gunners and a small number found their way to Imperial Russia.
The U.S. built their own version of the Mk VI under licence from Britain. They were made at the Armstrong Company. U.S. MkVIs were donated to the Finnish Government to assist against Soviet aggression and remained in service until the end of WW2. By 1960, the guns had been declared obsolete and were sent to various museums and military camps to act as gate guards
The Model:
The kit is packaged in a sturdy two-part box. Inside are the instructions and a small photo-etch fret sealed in plastic, and all the sprues sealed in another plastic bag. No decals are included as artillery pieces rarely had markings. As well as the gun itself, there is a small limber and a foldaway firing platform. Considering the fact that this lot was towed in line-astern, there would be several problems cornering and achieving any sort of flat-out speed! Control would also be a problem.
The Kit itself comes in 7 sprues of pale grey plastic plus a sprue of grey vinyl for the gun's road wheels. There is also a small photo-etched fret containing manufacturer's placards. Care needs to be taken with the wheels during assembly as there are three different pairs that all look the same. The mouldings are very well done with very little flash and little, if no moulding lines. There are one or two release pin marks but nothing to worry about.
The firing platform can be assembled in the firing or transport positions, a nice little touch for those who want some degree of variation. This is a model that screams out for figures, either in transit or using the gun. Unfortunately, there were none with the kit and very few available online!
The black and white instructions are eight pages in length. The first page gives a history and statistics in English, German, and Ukrainian. Next comes the color scheme based upon Vallejo paints and diagrams showing all the sprues and part locations. The instructions are clear and provide ten steps to assemble the howitzer and carriage. An additional four steps cover the assembly of the limber and firing platform. The painting instructions show a dark green British Expeditionary Forces example, and a US Army Expeditionary Forces example in the three-color olive, brown, and black camouflage scheme. The black and white instructions make it difficult to differentiate between the black and brown. The box art is no help as it illustrates a British example. You will have to rely upon other references to determine where the black ends and the brown begins. Printing this page in color would have resolved the confusion.
I used Bronze Green for the gun and limber with a faded Olive Green for shading. The firing platform was undercoated in khaki with a top coat of Russian Uniform Green. These colours (all Vallejo) are as near as dammit to the real article. Weathering was done using Light Sand and Flat Earth and any bare metal was accomplished using metallic grey.
Sprue and parts breakdown
A – 15, Barrel, lower carriage & spade
B – 31, Upper carriage, breach block, and trail details
C – 19 , Limber and firing platform
D – 21 (x2) Wheels
E – 4, Firing platform and limber
F – 1, Box trail
G – 2, Wheel treads
P – 4, Photo-etch placards
Conclusion
A nice easy little build with plenty to get your teeth into. I finished this in two days and am very pleased with the result. Excellent as a presentation piece, diorama or stand-alone model. The only down side to me was a lack of gun crew figures.
Rating: An excellent 5 out of 5
Smeggers..
