CONSTRUCTION OF ARTILLERY.

HOW I BUILD ARTILLERY.

The basic principles of construction for all artillery are the same regardless of being heavy, field or horse artillery. I start with an object that can be used to create a platform, that is an item that can be used as a chassis and gun shield. To that platform I add an axle, wheels,  barrel and trail.

In the case of field artillery the platform is a cut down plastic shelf support stud. I cut off the actual stud and the reinforcing web leaving an L shaped piece that makes a perfect shield and chassis.  The photo below shows the stud before and after being cut down.

For heavy guns the platform is a paint tin clip. Again it forms a perfect shield and chassis as shown below.

For horse artillery it's a little more complex. I use the trail spade from an Airfix 5.5 inch gun kit as shown below. I had a number of these in my spares box from years ago when I made up several of the Matador trucks but not the guns. Clearly I did not have not enough for all my needs so I have made more by means of silicon casting. I made a mould using three of the originals and cast from that. I find the success rate on such a small item is only about 50% but when it works it works well.

All axles are made of square matchstick modelling wood. These are glued to the chassis and the ends drilled very carefully to accept the pins on the drawing pin wheels. A trail is made from a flat toothpick sourced from Home Bargains and cut down and drilled at the widest end to provide a towing eye for the limber. The barrels are made from round modelling wood cut to length.

All assembly is carried out using super glue and activator. I make guns in batches so assembly can be time consuming but the results are good enough for me. The use of the various platform items is just the result of having a need and searching for a day to day object that meets that need. The items I use are all relevant to the differing sizes of the guns.

The three completed guns are shown above . From left to right, heavy, field and horse. The basic historic references for my artillery are British WW1 equipment. That is to say the 13 and 18 pound horse and field guns and the 60 pound heavy gun.