AFVClub British 6pdr QF Mk.IV. 1:35

[Shar2]

British 6pdr QF Anti-tank Gun Mk.IV

AFV Club 1:35

History

The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt, or more commonly known as the 6pdr, was a British 57mm gun, which became the primary anti-tank gun during the middle of World War II, as well as the main armament for a number of armoured fighting vehicles. The United States Army also adopted the 6pdr as their primary anti-tank gun under the designation 57 mm Gun M1.

Introduced into service in 1942, the 6pdr was designed to replace the obsolete 2pdr gun. The 6pdr first saw action at Gazala, North Africa where it not only proved very successful as it was able to penetrate and destroy any enemy tank in service at the time, but also allowed the 25pdr to revert to its intended artillery role. Even when the Panther and Tiger tanks were introduced the gun could still prove effective when used against the rear and the sides, but wasn’t able to penetrate the frontal armour. This was overcome however, with the development of the 6pdr Mk.IV, the subject of this kit.

The weapon proved so successful that, in addition to being a towed gun, it was fitted to the Churchill MkIII/MkIV Valentine MkIX and the Crusader MkIII. Naval gunboats, such as the Fairmile D also mounted the gun and it was even mounted in the Mosquito MkVIII Tsetse.

The 6pdr Mk.IV was supplied to many Commonwealth countries as well as Brazil, US Army and the USSR. The last gun was removed from service in 1951 with the British Army, yet it continued to be used for many years after by the Israeli defence forces who put it to use in two Middle Eastern wars.

The Model

The kit comes in a very attractive box with an artists illustration of the model on the front along with a big sticker stating that the first editions have special parts included. On opening the box, you find three sprues of green styrene nicely wrapped in individual poly bags with heat sealed ends which include a small etched brass sheet, brass turned barrel, three brass turned shells and two rubber tyres. The moulding is very nice with no sign of flash, and only a few moulding pips. The detail is crisp and finely done and you notice there are an awful lot of really small parts, so an optivisor or similar looks to be a must have when building the kit.

The build begins with the construction of the split trails. Each trail arm is a single piece moulding which are clipped, not glued, together along with the axle and held together by a pin and socket. To the axle numerous small parts are attached, such as the shield supports, brake handles and axle plate. The lower shield section is then attached, and then fitted with the inner shield spacers, followed by another outer shield section and the pioneer tools. More parts continue to be added to the front of the axle shield, including a towing eye, lower splinter shield, gun cleaning rods, and grab handles.

Back to the split trails and each one is fitted with a large manoeuvring pole, grab handles, locking mechanisms, towing eye to the right hand trail, and the recoil blades. The next operation is to build up each of the two wheels. In this edition the tyres are single piece rubber mouldings, to these are added the inner and outer hubs plus five tyre grips per hub, followed by the three piece locking collar.

At last it’s onto the gun itself. The metal barrel, (there is also a slide moulded styrene item included), is fitted with the muzzle brake, recoil slides, two piece breech, with several unidentified fittings attached and the breech block. The gun mounting is then assembled with the slide in two parts which when joined together are capped off at either end and has the two trunnion blocks fitted midway up the slide. The trunnion supports are then attached along with the gunners shoulder pad and mounting frame, sight support frame elevation wheels, and another protective pad for the gunner.

The inner main splinter shield is fitted with a chart case, binocular case and support arm on the left hand side, whilst on the right hand side is the ready use shell storage. The three shells, (brass in this edition, but three styrene ones are provided too), are fitted into the lower holder and upper collar parts before being attached to the splinter shield. There is an alternative part which provides an enclosed shell case, possibly for a later period. With the inner splinter shield complete the gun trunnion/slide is fed through the hole and the shield attached to the top fittings. The outer splinter shield is then attached and the main gunner sight assembled and fitted to the large mounting hole on the left hand side, which also has a optionally positioned door fitted to the front face. Finally the gun assembly is fitted into the recoil slide from the rear thus completing the build.

There aren’t any decals provided in the kit and only one paint scheme is alluded to. So the modeller will require to do some research as to what, if any, markings were applied to the guns and what colours they were painted dependent on where they were being used.

Etch

The small etched sheet provides alternative parts for items such as the tyre grips on the wheel hubs, small boxes, wing nuts, hooks and the rear parts of the wheel locking collars.

Conclusion

This is a great looking kit and will make a nice companion piece to anything from a Jeep to a Bren Gun Carrier and lots of vehicles in between. You could even mount it on the back of a Bedford QLD truck Portee style. Whilst there are numerous small parts, some of which look quite tricky to fit, this would make an interesting weekend build. Highly recommended.

I would like to thank Dave Wardle, (Panzer Vor!!!), for helping me with this review.

Available soon from all good model shops.

Review sample courtesy of