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Greetings guys,
just getting into FoW, and wanted to start with early war British. Currently building a BEF army and Africa 8th Army.

Crux of the problem is they need artillery support, and I can't seem to find any plastic OQF 25 pounder kits, so I went and bought a few of the PSC WWI 18 pdr kits in the hope I could convert them to the WW2 spec by implementing the Martin Parry conversion. For those that don't know, the conversion added stub axels directly below the main axel and allowed the use of smaller diameter pneumatic tires.
http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/84K18_2.jpg

My issue seems to be in finding a suitable rubber tired wheel in the right size. Wiki has the conversion wheels being 24" in diameter, and then an unknown diameter tire on top. I found a for sale listing of a real 18 pdr with conversion earlier (that I can't seem to find now), that had a picture with measuring stick next to it. When I scaled that number to 1/100, I got 0.4" inches which seems about right.

Does anyone know of any plastic model accessories that might have a rubber tired wheel in that size? the PSC 6 pounder guns come with extra wheels, but I think they are too small.

It was also interesting to note that the rules for the early war OQF 18 has it listed as having a turntable. I find this odd, as I was under the impression that all MkIV 18 pdr guns on either the MkIV or MkV box carriages were converted to the 18/25, while all the real 18 pounders on the MkII pole carriage couldn't accept the turntable. Still digging to see if I can find a picture of a MkII carriage on a turntable.

Ask the ones with German armies.
PSC 251 half-tracks has extra wheels, pak36 has both wood and rubber wheels so they may have some superfluous, not sure about the size.

 KillerAngel wrote:
Greetings guys,
just getting into FoW, and wanted to start with early war British. Currently building a BEF army and Africa 8th Army.

Crux of the problem is they need artillery support, and I can't seem to find any plastic OQF 25 pounder kits, so I went and bought a few of the PSC WWI 18 pdr kits in the hope I could convert them to the WW2 spec by implementing the Martin Parry conversion. For those that don't know, the conversion added stub axels directly below the main axel and allowed the use of smaller diameter pneumatic tires.
http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/84K18_2.jpg

My issue seems to be in finding a suitable rubber tired wheel in the right size. Wiki has the conversion wheels being 24" in diameter, and then an unknown diameter tire on top. I found a for sale listing of a real 18 pdr with conversion earlier (that I can't seem to find now), that had a picture with measuring stick next to it. When I scaled that number to 1/100, I got 0.4" inches which seems about right.

Does anyone know of any plastic model accessories that might have a rubber tired wheel in that size? the PSC 6 pounder guns come with extra wheels, but I think they are too small.

It was also interesting to note that the rules for the early war OQF 18 has it listed as having a turntable. I find this odd, as I was under the impression that all MkIV 18 pdr guns on either the MkIV or MkV box carriages were converted to the 18/25, while all the real 18 pounders on the MkII pole carriage couldn't accept the turntable. Still digging to see if I can find a picture of a MkII carriage on a turntable.

I really do not think at this scale that the tires being a little off will be that noticible from a tt birdseye view.I would just find some wheels with similiar or the same rims and just give it a good enough.also trying to out source the bits may get expensive unless you alraedy have them or know a bits hoarder like me.

They look similar (though not identical) to 4.5" Howitzer wheels. Maybe you can make copies of a single wheel for the entire battery.

Lathor wrote:Ask the ones with German armies.
PSC 251 half-tracks has extra wheels, pak36 has both wood and rubber wheels so they may have some superfluous, not sure about the size.

Does it have extra wheels? I didn't see any on the PSC sprue picture for either the Ausf C or D. If yes, and someone wants to put some calipers or a fine measuring stick next to it, it would be appreciated.

col. krazy kenny wrote:
I really do not think at this scale that the tires being a little off will be that noticible from a tt birdseye view.I would just find some wheels with similiar or the same rims and just give it a good enough.also trying to out source the bits may get expensive unless you alraedy have them or know a bits hoarder like me.

I'm not looking for perfect, just close enough. That said, the 6 pounder wheels genuinely look too small. All I'm looking for is something roughly the right size. Call it 0.4", there had to be something on the accessories market...

George Spiggott wrote:They look similar (though not identical) to 4.5" Howitzer wheels. Maybe you can make copies of a single wheel for the entire battery.

When you say make copies...?
If you mean the Battlefront metal ones, I think they are exactly it. The WWI 4.5" howitzer had the same modifications done when England mechanized itself in the 20s.
$8 for a single gun is crazy talk though...


I wonder if the Zis 57mm Russian gun fairs any better? They look exactly right, as long as they're tall enough. I even have a friend who wants to start a Russian army...
http://theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk/images/PSC_15mm-ZiS-2-3-gun_400_01.jpg.jpg

I may have some spares since i am a bits hoarder,if i do any preference metal plastic? pm me if you are interested and see how many you need.

 KillerAngel wrote:
When you say make copies...?

Buy a 4.5" Howitzer from another manufacturer and use Green Stuff or Insta Mold to take a cast of the wheel. Obviously don't go selling them, just make enough of them for your needs. Or see if there are any manufacturers that will sell you the wheels. I know Peter Pig will do bits for people as part of an order, maybe other manufacturers will.

On a related note I'm planning to modify some PSC German 105s for Spanish Civil War use.

I honestly never thought about trying to cast my own bits. This might just be the excuse I need to take my hobby "to the next level."

Let us know how that German 105 turns out. Were they also converted to rubber wheels, or was it something else?

I appreciate the offer Col. Krazy Kenny. I might hit you up for a single bit to make a cast of, though I do have my own bit collection that I don't mind purchasing for.

BTW, I found a picture of an 18-pounder with pole carriage in Africa utilizing a turntable.
http://ww2talk.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=60008
I'm hoping the original wagon style wheel and some plasticard will work for that.

Fun Pictures
http://www.thegarrison.org.uk/history/Graphics/18pdr.jpg
http://ww2talk.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=59731
http://wwiimodeller.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/Ordnance-QF-18-pdr-Mk.II-Field-Gun-1.jpg
http://www.energeticiron.com/wwii-field-artillery-18-pounder-britain.html (Image with measuring stick I mentioned above)

Thanks. The LeFH 16 was AFAIK used in Spain so the only change will be the crew. I'll be using the plastic WWI Germans that come with the gun and using a mix of FiB WWII Germans and Peter Pig SCW Nationalists to make up the missing crew, command, staff team and spotters. I'll be adding Peter Pig 'Isabelino cap' heads to some of the crew but I'll leave some with their German helmets as they look quite similar to the Spanish helmet (or could just be German helmets).

Once they're painted up they'll not look particularly 'German' and the mixed uniforms will help towards the overall look.

I never knew PSC had plastic 18lbs. Looks like my EW Finns get an arms shipment in.

Both those and 105s. Hopefully he'll have them at Vapnartak. I've PM'd him to find out.

Just got the 18 pounders in. Quality is a bit shy of their 6-pounder kit that I have, which makes some sense being that they were designed for their board game "The Great War," but still perfectly usable for FoW if you don't mind the crew poses being all the same (you can always spend the money on more crew figures from elsewhere).

The plastic is also much harder (and brittle) than a normal plastic kit sprue. I managed to snap the base and feet off one of the crewman on the first sprue I was cutting. Also curious as to how well it will accept paint, but I have seen these painted before.

The wagon wheel will definitely serve as the right diameter for the turntable, it just needs a circle cut plasticard base underneath.

The PSC 6-pounder wheels are definitely too small for this conversion.

I would really appreciate someone putting calipers one the PSC Russian Zis artillery wheels:
http://theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk/images/PSC_15mm-ZiS-2-3-gun_400_01.jpg.jpg

I'll document the conversion here with pictures (over time), unless there is a better forum for that...

Cheers

I got my 105s at the weekend. I'll post progress pics as things happen.

Managed to find a battery of Battlefront OQF 4.5" howitzers for $20, so I have 16 period correct wheels in hand. Also have the casting supplies in, so I'm hoping I can do that this weekend.

Will hopefully have some pictures up by the end of the weekend. Unless minor details, like Valentines Day, get in the way

Step 1: Clean and trim the Battlefront 4.5" howitzer wheels


Step 2: Build the mold
Hot glue each wheel to a flat surface, and hot glue each corner of the Lego walls.


Step 3: Pour the mold




You can see that some of the mold got behind the wheels enough for full enclosure. I gave it a try to see how they would come out, but the small holes would not let enough resin in to completely fill the void.

Step 4: Resin!


Notice the incomplete wheels.

Step 5: Clear material away from mold holes, and cast batch #2


Scrape with a flat object to ensure the resin is level with the rest of the mold. Otherwise, surface tension will allow it to pool.

Both sides of the second batch

Step 6: Cut stub axles



Step 7: Trim lower section of gun shield, and original axles


Step 8: Assemble!




Step 9: Cut and assemble turntable






Step 10: Final Assembly



Step 11: Basing
Nice layer of drywall putty, using a small tool to press and smooth into areas.



9 more to assemble, and then hopefully some paint!
Comments/critiques welcome.

Impressive stuff. The turntable is particually ingenious. Some of my 6 Day War 25pdrs came with resin bases (which I hate) so I made a cast of the turntable in Greenstuff.

I've also made some progress with my PSC 105s. I'll post some pictures at the weekend,

Still work in progress. A battery of three PSC 105mm leFH16s with Peter Pig, Old Glory and Forged in Battle crew and accessories.

[edit] picture is of the finished models.

That looks really good, I like the crew variety. What basing medium is that?

I wanted some variety, but I've spent more than I was planning to already.

Thanks. The crew on the guns are the stock plastic gun crew figures with Isabellino cap heads from Peter Pig. The fifth crewman (the guns come with four) is a Forged in Battle '88' crewman with the same headswap. The command team and spotter are Peter pig SCW miniatures and the staff team is a mix of Peter Pig SCW and Forged in Battle '88' gun crew (with head swaps).

The basing is done with builder's sand and small stones from my garden. Both of which were free.

Proof that progress is being done. Bought a house end of last year, so all my free time has been spent unpacking, painting, and building the projects room. Finally have a nice 4x8' gaming table though.

Next update, these should be painted, and the 4.5" howitzers at least assembled.

Better late then never I supposed, finally got a chance to finish them on vacation. I'm really happy with how they turned out, and they should make a fine compliment to the inbound PSC 25-pounders.

So this is the final 12 gun early war British Royal Artillery battery. The 4.5" howitzers and all 8th Army command teams are Battlefront. The 18 pdrs are the PSC conversion from this thread. The trucks and OP teams are only 90% finished, but I have no idea when I'll get the final 10% done with the holidays approaching, so they are sans markings and weathering. The images look blurry until you zoom in slightly, no idea why. Seems to be an artifact of the Dakka hosting.

Hope you guys appreciated the custom journey. Feel free to leave comments or critiques, but this should be it for now!

Quick note about the uniforms: The gun teams are all in full length uniform, which would be appropriate for the Nov 1940 time frame of Operation Compass, where this would most likely have been used. It's cold in the desert during winter! The command teams are all in 8th Army summer uniforms, as they will double duty for late-early war and mid-war Artillery HQ with PSC 25 pounders. So not completely 100% historically correct, but sometimes you have to pick and choose.