German 10.5cm leFH Howitzer

First addition to my current project completed.

Warlord Games 10.5cm LeFH 18/40 gun.. Or the 10.5cm light field howitzer. This is an all metal kit which comes with four crew and some scenic pieces to add to bases if you so inclined. The model comes in multiple parts;

Some of the parts as can be seen are quite small and therefore awkward to place on the model, but my main gripe concerning this kit is the fact that like all Warlord models is it comes without an instruction sheet. Now I know Warlord are placing construction diagrams on their website, but surely it cannot be that expensive to add in a piece of paper detailing how to build the gun? N.B. At present there is no diagram for this model on their site. The scenic pieces are in the top of the photo.

I therefore had to do my own research*, which was not as easy as I thought it was going to be. There are contemporary photos of the gun, some modern photos and pictures of models of this artillery piece in various scales on the web which all helped in building the piece. But more often than not a photo did not show the gun from all aspects which meant I had to do quite a lot of research. I could not find any scale drawings of the gun, since these would have been more useful and helpful. So after some trial and near error the model was built.

Once assembled it is a quite solid model. As to be expected some of the holes for the small details had to be drilled out and the fit of the gun shield to the carriage was not that great. Took a little bit of work until I was happy with the fit. Next came the painting;

It was a joy to paint though. Did use this first gun as an experiment to try out some new techniques, such as hairspray and salt weathering technique. Overall I'm happy with the result. I also used AK Interactive 'Dust Effects' wash as finisher. It works but be careful, be sparing with it. It may appear more stark on the model  in the photos then actually appears in reality. I will use the dust wash again but may consider thinning and being less liberal in application (not that I went completely mad with it!).

The dust effects can be obtained from here SnM Stuff. I cannot fault the service from SnM Stuff, very good highly recommended.

*I'm not against research. I'm sure we all do it from time to time, particularly when starting a new project, but Warlord are one of the big hitters in the wargaming world (IMO). So not including an instruction diagram I think is a bit off (IMO). BUT it is a nice model and I cannot fault the service from Warlord Games either.