Crius

This project is now pretty much done so it's time to get a build thread up here. I know a lot of guys that have built or would like to build the Merit 15cm Howitzer and the K18 cannon (I think that's a 105mm) and I found a couple of interesting mods here that may be of use to anyone that still wants to build one. Right from the start I approached things knowing this would be towed by RC vehicles so a couple of changes were in order, and I also turned up an aluminum barrel for it, but on the whole it was pretty much an "out of the box" build, and it was quite pleasant. Things went together just great with very little clean-up required. I used testors panzer gray rattle cans for most of it, and testors model master RLM 74 for touch ups. So this was the beginning



We started by building sub assemblies according to the well thought out instructions.



and then added paint











I really wanted an aluminum barrel for this, and fortunately I make my living running a lathe, so I whipped up a blank



and turned a barrel





And then comes some video. The first thing to sort out was the non-turning wheels on the limber, two videos for that



and things progress


until we run into another problem


and the solution


So now we're getting pretty close



and finally we get to this





Don't let those dogs get the tires wet!!!



And of course it's not done until we see video of it being towed, right? My Opel Blitz is down right now, so we had to get footage of one that's been captured by the Allies.


So if any of you are planning to build the 15cm howitzer or the K18 you may find a bit of useful info here. I think the two best changes were to put bearings on the limber, and the fix for the center post and the way it made one wheel lift up. I think I now have an interesting accessory for my tanks that can actually get out there with them. I'll eventually do a K18, but right now we're moving on to a 1/6 Kubelwagen, which I plan to make fully RC while still not getting too crazy. She'll have motion, sound and lights, but that will be it. I have one more kubel on the shelf (the DAK), and for that one I'll try making the steering wheel turn with the tires, and possibly the driver's head as well, and then there's a schwimmwagen that I want to go all out on, make it actually swim, turning head for the driver and all the bells and whistles I can cram in there, and these three will all be 1/6. So I hope someone found something useful in there somewhere, we'll see ya next time.

Will01Capri

All good.
looks great, would look.awesome behind a large half track.
The barrel is a work of art aswell

Shark27

Looks great, excellent job on the barrel and the bearings.

Pah co chu puk

That's cool Gary! Thanks for posting that!

MAUS45

Sweet build Gary!!!

Imex-Erik

Informative as always!

Crius

Thanks for the kind words, guys, I think for me the best part was the bearings on the limber. I'm very, very pleased with the way that turned out, now I just need to see if it will hold up.

philipat

Excellent work! Love the barrel and the bearings.

Crius

Thanks, Philip, a lot of guys have commented on the barrel, but as a machinist I do that sort of thing all day everyday so to me it didn't seem like anything special. And if anyone else wants to build one of these and wants a turned aluminum barrel for it you should send me a private message and we'll see what we can do. The guys here that know me well all know that I don't try to make any money off of this, as long as I don't have to take anything out of pocket I'm more than willing to help guys out as much as I can.