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.

ARTILLERY OBSERVATION WAGON.

Sometime ago I was reading a book where a German artillery officer of early 1914 described using the "observation wagon " to locate British troops. I know the practice of British artillery officers was to use an up turned limber to see further but had not seen reference to a specialised  observation wagon. Such a vehicle sounded very suitable for my army. 

After some research I  found photos of such a vehicle in German service in WW2 but the photo showed the vehicle in the travelling mode. After more digging I at last found a photo of a vehicle from WW1 actually in use showing clearly a telescopic ladder mounted on top of a box like two wheeled trailer. 

I decided to provide my artillery battalions with this equipment. As a basis my standard box trailer was clearly  perfect.  I also use this vehicle as a base for field kitchens, signals and medical trailers and ammunition caissons. Each is distinguished by means of an addition such as a smoke stack, aerial , red cross or spare wheel. The obvious requirement for an observation wagon would be a ladder mounted horizontally in a travelling position. Next question, where to source ladders ?? especially over 40, that being the number of artillery battalions I have in service. I knew I could get ladders from a model railway shop but at what cost ??

I concluded I needed some sort of mesh which could be cut up into suitable scale ladders. Nothing obvious came to mind so I just started looking. A few days later during a visit to Poundland I spotted a pack of two fly swotters for a pound. This looked like my raw material. On getting home I attacked the swots with my modelling knife and soon enough had produced some 118 perfect ladders. After attaching  to a wagon body and painting this is the result.

Since then I have built many of these vehicles which now equip all 42 of my field and horse artillery battalions and regiments.

UPDATE.

This week I have again been able to avoid the dreaded decorating. Apart from some gardening chores  and a little sunbathing !!!!!!  I have managed a reasonable amount of modelling time, perhaps not as much as I would like but better than I expected.

I have made good progress with painting the latest Infantry battalion and have also built a batch of 36 limbers. These I have just started painting today. I have also just begun painting a batch of heavy weapons companies, 6 in number, comprising 228 figures, to upgrade more of my existing Infantry battalions.

Following earlier reviews of the establishments of Field Police and Pioneer battalions, I have now completed reviews of Horse Artillery regiments and Field Artillery battalions. These latter reviews have been prompted by me finally getting round to  equipping artillery formations with observation trailers. The origin of these vehicles and construction details were posted some time ago and can be found under the label of Artillery.

I have always been pleased with myself ( ego !!!! ) on the construction of these vehicles so please look at that post if you have not already. I might mention here, more ego, that the  renowned John Tunstill  (Miniature Warfare, Tradition etc. ) sent me a very complimentary email on that particular post. The photo below shows the historic reference, a German WW1 vehicle.

The actual organisational changes I have made are that each artillery formation has been given an additional limber, light GS trailer and an observation trailer. Each limber comes with two QM men as drivers. Additionally, in order to improve the structure, each Horse Artillery regiment has also been with provided two extra Medics, two extra Signalers and one extra mounted QM Lieutenant. 

 I decided the Heavy Artillery battalions would not need an observation trailer given their long range usage. That said If you have a different view please do let me know. Overall these changes will add an extra 114 soldiers to the army group. 

It also crossed my mind that Heavy Weapons battalions could have the observation trailer, I cannot decide, any opinions out there ????????

The next book review and installment of my IMAGI-NATIONS saga will follow in the coming few days.

Construction of Ammunition Caissons.

Caissons are used in all Artillery and Heavy Weapons battalions. Caissons are the link between limbers and the actual guns and provide a substantial supply of ammunition for immediate use. Additional ammunition is carried in the standard Ammunition wagon except in Horse Artillery regiments where reserve ammunition is carried in double caissons towed by limbers. This is in keeping with the philosophy that only two wheeled vehicles have the mobility needed in the Cavalry environment.. I am aware that the use of a caisson between the limber and the gun is not historically accurate as caissons are usually also towed by a limber however I just like the look of the three equipments together.
Construction is based on my standard box trailer described in posts on light GS wagons and utility trailers. The unique feature of caissons is the provision of a spare wheel and a towing hook. The towing hook is not fitted to second caissons in Horse Artillery regiments.

The above photo clearly shows the unique features of the caisson.

Construction of Ammunition Wagons.

Ammunition wagons are issued to Field and Heavy Artillery and Heavy Weapons battalions at the rate of 4 per battalion. The distinctive shape of these vehicles is loosely based on the Napoleonic Gribeauval ammunition wagon. I believe the use of a fixed roof shape helps reduce overloading of the vehicles with heavy ammunition boxes, a historically common problem with GS wagons using a canvas load cover.
The wagons are made using the 12mm thick balsa plank normally used for House bodied wagons. I then carve the A line roof before sanding to final shape. The rest of the wagon construction follows normal procedures as outlined in the post on construction of GS wagons with the sole exception that my ammunition wagons do not have towing hooks.

The photo above shows an ammunition wagon fully built but quite unpainted.                                                     

                                                    

This photo shows a fully painted ammunition wagon complete with horses. The sharp eyed reader will note that it does not have a spare wheel. This is because I only recently started fitting spare wheels to this type of vehicle and therefore there are a large number already in service without spares.. These will be retro fitted when the army currently under construction is completed.
There are will be some  240 of these vehicles in service when the army group is complete.

On my last blog I showed the batch of 60 artillery caissons then under construction. These are now completed and the metal parts have been primed ready for painting olive drab, my standard vehicle/equipment colour.

I  thought the reader may be interested in the details of construction, which are virtually the same for all trailer type vehicles. The basic starting point is the standard 15mm square balsa block some 5mm thick. To this is added a trail, the making of which is described elsewhere. The wheels are added before we come to the  come to the unique features of caissons.

As can be seen, the defining element of a caisson is the spare wheel fixed above the pole.












       Also noteworthy is the towing hook for the gun.

This is the underneath view. The towing hook is formed from a Bambi staple. (readily available in boxes of 1500 on the interweb.) This view shows the shortened pin part of the drawing pin wheels. These are covered in glue after fitting to ensure they stay put. I have found it unreliable to expect the glue on the pin face to be sufficient to hold it in place.There is also a blob of glue on the staple hook. For some reason I have never painted the underneath of vehicles. Looking at this shot now makes me wonder why not. I think I will put that idea on my "to be considered" list.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been painting a couple of field artillery battalions. I usually do two at a time as the total numbers are quite reasonable, only 272 in total. These are now complete as shown in the photo below. Since the photo was taken they have  been placed in the display unit. These two battalions raise my total field artillery strength to 32 battalions.

The soldiers are shown above on two of the three working shelves which are built into my work station. These shelves are about the same size as the display shelves. They enable me to work on soldiers over a period of time easily as I can just slide them away after each painting session.

In terms of current equipment construction, I have started building a batch of ammunition caissons. All my artillery uses caissons for immediate combat requirements. I realise that with the real thing guns are attached direct to limbers but in my army there is a caisson between each gun and limber. In field and heavy artillery and heavy weapons battalions, additional ammunition is hauled by specialist four wheeled ammunition wagons. (A batch is due for construction shortly so will be shown in a later blog.) However in horse artillery regiments all vehicles are two wheeled to maintain cross country mobility. Therefore additional ammunition supplies are carried in double caisson units behind a limber. The current batch under construction is 60 strong. I already have 60 and need a total of 188 so will build a further 68 at some later date.