Thunder Model British 7.2inch Howitzer (35211) 1:35

[Mike]

British 7.2inch Howitzer (35211)

1:35 Thunder Model via Pocketbond

 

 

The British were Looking for a suitable howitzer to replace the old 8" type that had seen action in WWI and was already known to have poor range in the run up to WWII, but it took until 1940 to select 7.2" as the most promising candidate, and engineering solutions were sought to make this a reality.  Due to cost concerns the original 8" design was fine-tuned, and the old barrel had a liner installed to reduce the bore to the required size, which is called "lining-down".  A more modern sighting mechanism was installed, along with brakes that were needed by then-current towing vehicles, and pneumatic tyres to get it over difficult terrain and provide some measure of suspension, first seeing service in 1942.  The adaptation of the old design gave the gun a rather aged look, and the large tyres look out of place, jarring to the eye.

 

There were four variants from I to IV due to the use of various types of barrel, and because of the massive recoil when firing with all four charges in the breech, large ramped wedges were fitted behind the gun to catch and minimise its movement, which was otherwise hazardous to the crew as well as terrifying to watch from close by.  It was supposed to be replaced by a Mark V, but as that was unsuccessful it was eventually replaced by a completely new design that was called Mark.6 and remained in service until after the war, propelling the shells an additional 3,000m out to almost 18,000m.

 

The Kit

A new tool from Thunder Models that ties in nicely with their Scammell Pioneer R100, which was the usual prime mover used to tow these guns.  It arrives in a flip-top box with four pale grey styrene sprues inside, plus two small sheets of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, two short lengths of copper wire, a small sheet of decals, instruction booklet, and two painting and markings guides for the gun itself and the accessories that come with it.  It is these accessories that are assembled first, with two ammo boxes, a curved topped charging cradle that feeds the gun, plus four shells and four charges, which have PE connectors and containers with PE handles.

 

 

 

 

 

Construction of the gun begins with the chassis frame, with a warning to treat the parts with care due to their thickness (or lack thereof) to obtain a scale-like look to the finished assembly.  The floor with cut-out, top and side panels make the trail up, with a spade and towing eye to the rear.  Details such as tie-downs and shackles for tools are added, and the assembly is put to one side while the breech cradle is assembled along with the trunnions and elevation mechanism, which is then mated with the trail and has the sighting and adjustment equipment added around the area.  A brace fits across the cut-out in the trail to prevent over-elevation, with a scrap diagram showing how this is properly fitted.  The gun tube is supplied in top and bottom halves and encompasses both the barrel and breech, with inserts depicting the aperture and breech block, with another gaggle of small parts added to the assembly.

 

Due to its WWI heritage the suspension is entirely in the tyres, with simple stub-axles that have brake actuators linking the system to the drum brakes hidden in the back of the hubs.  The tyres are styrene, and built from back and front parts with a centre insert to give the impression of circumferential tread, plus a little lynch pin that fits at the centre of the hub.  Two types of chocks are included, one for the front and the large curved ramps for the rear, which are each one part with a hollow underside, and an optional part that digs into the ground on each of the rear ramps to prevent slippage.

 

Markings

The base colour is British Military green SCC2, with two options from the box.  One has a wavy lined stone grey underside to the barrel and front of the cradle, reminiscent of the Sherman Firefly scheme that was used to fool the enemy regarding its barrel size, the other is a more usual green/black camo.  Colour call-outs are given using the AMMO paint system, but also gives their names in case you use another manufacturer for your models.  They even suggest a few weathering compounds from the AMMO range if you wanted to go for a more "lived-in" look for your model.  The decals are printed in either black or white, and are used entirely on the shells, charges and cases, so there's no concern over registration, and as I could read each one with my Optivisor on, sharpness shouldn't be an issue either.

 

 

 

Conclusion

It's nice to see some of the more neglected subjects covered from a British point of view, and this model does seem to tick all the boxes of good detail, some nice accessories and (to me at least, and probably you if you're reading this) an interesting subject in the dominant AFV scale.  Put this together with an R100 and it'll make an impressive model.

 

Very highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

UK Distributors for

[magman2]

A photo, of the kits second paint option.   

7.2-inch howitzer of 51st Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, France, 2 September 1944

 

Net Photo (IWM)

[593jones]

Looks very good.  Of course what it does need is a crew with a 1/35 Spike Milligan figure!

[Andy Robbins]

The famous time Spike first met Harry Secombe after a 7.2 ran away over a cliff would be a good diorama. 

According to Secombe (described by Milligan as ‘short, fat, myopic and wearing a pith helmet), a Scammel drove up and a tall figure got out asking ‘anybody seen a gun?’ 

[Pete in Lincs]

What colour was it?

[Chris Hughes]

I don't suppose anyone can tell me where the recoil ramps were carried when the detachment was on the move?  There's certainly no room in the back of the Scammell!

[Bonhoff]

On 1/13/2019 at 7:07 PM, Pete in Lincs said:

What colour was it?

 

And lo! He hitteth them....

[Andrew Jones]

4 hours ago, Chris Hughes said:

I don't suppose anyone can tell me where the recoil ramps were carried when the detachment was on the move?  There's certainly no room in the back of the Scammell!

Probably carried in one of the units many 3 tonners .

[Chris Hughes]

58 minutes ago, Andrew Jones said:

Probably carried in one of the units many 3 tonners .

Thanks Andrew!  As good a place as any I suppose.

[Andy Robbins]

On 1/13/2019 at 7:07 PM, Pete in Lincs said:

What colour was it?

I think Seagoon’s pith helmet was a buff desert issue colour...

if you mean the gun, photos in Spike’s books show the guns to be the green/brown standard colours, albeit covered in inches of sand.

[Andy Robbins]

He talks about the first guns his battery had (in Bexhill) not having any shells. They would do the firing drills and then shout ‘bang!’ when the lanyard was pulled. One day, a shell was found in Woolwich Arsenal, and taken to Bexhill with great ceremony. The gun was polished to within an inch of its life and civic dignitaries invited to view it and the shell. The gun was fired, the shell whistled overhead, and then..... splash! It was a dud. The battery were sent out to find the shell. There is a photo in ‘Adolf Hitler, my part in his downfall’ of Spike and a couple of his mates looking for it.

[Andy Robbins]

I think another idea for a diorama would be a 9.6’’ gun in a high gloss finish set in a corner of Devonshire Square surrounded by impeccably dressed civilians and soldiers in perfect KD’s. 

Or a gun crew firing it, entitled ‘Bang!’

[ExiledFish]

On 01/05/2019 at 18:38, Andy Robbins said:

Or a gun crew firing it, entitled ‘Bang!’

😀 You could cut out little speech bubbles and attach them to the figures.

 

And scratch build a trumpet for one of them...