Master builder

The lie, or at least tongue-in-cheek nature of the title of this post will be immediately evident from the images at right and below. A good model-builder I am not, but I have been enjoying myself this week building some plastic model kits, recalling why I made so many of these as a kid/youth.

Having completed the base coat and black wash of the additional German infantry in gasmasks and French artillery crews with their 72 mm cannon (shown at the end of this post), I decided to put together some large guns that I can start to paint as I apply the final touch-up to the aforementioned figures. I decided to make a couple of aircraft at the same time. I had put together an Airfix Mk 1 tank last year, which was the first model kit that I had built in years.

First in line was a German 21 cm mörser 10 from Strelets. I have heard that these are tricky things to put together, so I gathered as much information as I could before beginning—the instructional image from the box and additional information on their website—and took my time putting it together, assessing where the pieces should go before applying any glue.

Box artwork and assembly instructions.

Additional instructions provided on the Strelets website.

Despite what seem to be detailed technical drawings, albeit it without step-wise instructions, there were two pieces that I either could not work out where to put or that were not shown in the diagrams, viz. the adjustment wheel to the left of the breech and the one that goes on the front of the undercarriage. Fortunately there are clear photos of extant examples of these artillery pieces on the internet. Those of the gun that is outside the Victoria Barracks in Melbourne were most suitable (and perhaps are what the model was based on in the first place?).

One of three excellent photos of a 21 cm mörser outside the Victoria Barracks in Melbourne—I must go and see it when I am next over there (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

My finished article. I'm happy with it. A coat of paint will hide many sins!

 

 

I put together an Airfix Fokker Eindecker at the same time as I was building this howitzer. This was completely the opposite experience, with step by step instructions and clear diagrams. That said, strangely I made fewer mistakes with the howitzer. I suspect that this was due to the fact that I had to concentrate, deduct and interpret where the various parts fitted together.

Airfix Fokker E. III Eindecker. The black colour on the wing is from me using up some left over paint from undercoating the pilots and gunner of this and the Roland C-11 below.

Next, I decided to construct a French 155 mm cannon GPF (Grande Puissance Filloux), also produced by Strelets. This had the same type of instructions, but was a far simpler model to make. Once again, two adjusting wheels were not shown on the diagram, but a quick internet search yielded a photo from the Imperial War Museum that showed where to place them. I did need to add some putty to provide a base to which to attach them.

Box artwork and instructions for Strelets 155 mm Cannon GPF Mod 1917.

The finished product (construction, that is).

An Airfix Roland C-11 was the plane that I made while constructing the 155 mm cannon. Another kit that was easy and fun to assemble.

Completed Roland C-11 ready to paint.

75 mm cannon and crew (left front) and German infantry in gasmasks (left rear) awaiting basing and final touch-up, along with French and German infantry that are ready to varnish.

I'll put some paint on the completed guns and aircraft, along with the gun crews, when I am applying the finishing touches to the above infantry and 75 mm cannon.