Poor man's 4.7 Naval Gun Part 6

 Now here's a blast from the past! The continuation of a long 'dead' project, reanimated due to my new 3D printer acquisition...

It all began way back in 2013, when I was first beginning to dip my toe in the murky waters of scratch-building model conversions. My intension was simple - I could not initially afford to buy the classic Britain's 4.7inch Naval Gun model as the prices were stupidly high on eBay, so I decided to see if I could make a cheaper 'look-a-likely' artillery piece for my Funny Little Wars collection.

Above: Britains' 4.7 Naval Gun model the classic FLW artillery
piece. Now out of production and limited in supply, this die-cast
model much sought-after and prices can be astronomical!

You can read all about the project and how it initially progressed by following this link (opens in new window): Poor man's 4.7 Naval Gun Project Series

Anyway, to cut to the chase, a couple of things happened that put this project into moth balls, so to speak. First of all, my reach out exceeded my grasp as back then my scratch building skills were pretty basic and I got stuck when it came to the - for me - trickier building. And secondly, a change in my personal finances meant that affording the real Britains 4.2 gun model became less of an issue (in fact, I ended up buying two and so my need for a fake copy became somewhat redundant)...

Fast Forward Eight Years! >>
First of all, I can't believe I started this project eight yeas ago! But having dusted off this old job (literally) I now feel a lot more confident that I can actually complete the thing - thanks mainly to my new 3D printer!

What makes the difference is being able to model design ideas in virtually before committing to a build. Whereas before my scratch constructions were very much 'suck it and see' affairs I can now - thanks to the TINKERCAD software - experiment with objects and components to see if they are viable...

Above: The result of a short session in TinkerCad, playing about with
shapes and ways to connect shapes together... No cut fingers here!

As the name suggests, I can tinker away to my hearts content - never worrying about spoiling a laboriously crafted wooden or plastic component and then having to start all over again! I soon had a collection of small parts which solved the quandary I originally had with my faux-Naval gun - how to attach the modified plating to the die-cast model.

Yes, I could have probably - eventually after lots of trial and error - have produced exactly the same components the traditional way with pieces of styrene cut to shape, but being able to model these shapes and alter them on the fly in the software meant I ended up with a more accurate end product in a fraction of the time.

Everything fitted together exactly how I wanted them and if something was slightly wrong it was ridiculously easy to tweak the dimensions and run off another component. This also solved another of traditional modelling's great bug-bears - 3D printing kinda kills the 'carpet monster'! I no longer have to worry about losing some small component as I can simply print off another. 😁

NEXT: Parts now assembled it's time to strip off the old paint!

AiP 1/32 Gatling Gun set complete

Well, although this was intended as just a way of getting me back into my FLW hobby my AiP Gatling Gun set has turned out to be my very first complete FLW unit! Huzzah!

It's a wee bit rough around the edges (my Gatling carriage is a bit shoddy), but I'm very pleased with the gun crew. The colour scheme for my artillery regiment was a good choice I think (this is the 1870-1907 Molatero scheme, I was thinking of a subdued uniform scheme for the period just prior to and including The Great War).

Anyway, task completed and I feel like I have my FLW mojo back again. In fact I've already started getting my brushes into my first infantry regiment. But, back to the here and now, these little chaps are a fairly good start on my way to a modest Molatarian army - if I do say so myself!

AiP 1/32 Gatling Gun carriage re-made - Part 4

Gun complete...

I've given it a coat of gloss varnish to match my glossy soldiers. I didn't use anything expensive, just Wilkos Hobby Lacquer. I have to say, I've tried to do some research on what's best to use as a overcoat but - as usual with these things - there isn't a consensus. In fact one of the FLW bloggers that I admire - Mr. Tim Gow - swears by Ronseal Outdoor Gloss Varnish!

(With my figures I am just experimenting with a light protective coat of varnish followed by a generous painted on layer or two of Pledge Klear Multi-surface wax!)

In the end I was pleased with the black and white colour scheme. It does suit my period (late 19th century) aesthetic very well. And I also think that my scratch-built gun carriage compares quite favourably with the original AiP one.

Well, it's nice to have made some progress in this particular hobby again. I have to say I find painting FLW figures and models far more relaxing than 'modern' plastic scale military models. None of this fretting over authentic colour schemes or weathering or shading or what-not!

NEXT: I finish off the gun's crew and then put the two together for the final completion photography.

AiP 1/32 Gatling Gun carriage re-made - Part 3

Having got the basic modelling of the Gatling done it was onto the painting. The carriage is going to be predominantly black - with some small details picked out in white - and the wheels are going to be white with black hubs and wheel trim.

The gun itself will be one of the older style brass Gatlings with steel barrels. Here's an example (although this one has black barrels, which I think would be too much)...

And so, it's on to the painting. I'm using Vallejo acrylics (to be honest I rarely use anything else these days, I seem to have settled on Vallejo) with special prominence to their metallics - 801 Brass and 863 Gunmetal Grey.

I've just started applying coats in the above photo, I mention this because the Brass colour, in particular, needs several thin coats I have found (you'll notice it's a bit streaky after just one coat). But I was very pleased with the Gunmetal Grey, it has given me exactly the dull steel look I was after.

It's a bold colour scheme and as it came together I wavered a bit. But I wanted something that would stand out and be immediately identifiable as 'Molatarian' on a table-top or carpet battlefield. Hopefully it doesn't look to much like a zebra!

I'm really pleased with the brass Gatling, in fact if I had known it would turn out so striking I might have even toned down the carriage scheme and gone plain black. I'll have to get everything finished off and assembled before I am convinced.

Next: Hopefully a finished gun!

AiP 1/32 Gatling Gun carriage re-made - Part 1.5

...I wasn't happy. The job I made of the new Gatling carriage just wasn't quite right (a reminder)...

The problem is that the gun's breech mechanism is laying right on top of the 'box' where the elevation mechanism should go (a wheel and screw arrangement which lifts and lowers the gun). At the moment there is no room for the screw to go between the box and the breech. Here's an idea of how it should look...

The elevation screw (inside red circle) lifts and lowers the gun barrels.

I hated to acknowledge what obviously had to be done...I was going to have to raise the trunnion holes in order to make space between the carriage and gun breech. Bugger!

Damn! No space between the breech and the elevation 'box'.

Well, after a lot of cursing and sawing away with my craft knife (must buy a micro-saw) I detached the end of the carriage with the trunnion holes and added a new 'end' piece and then re-attached the trunnion pieces on top on the new end pieces...Phew!

A bit rough and ready, but whatever works!

It's all getting a bit slap-dash now and a little messy but if I can get this first attempt to work and look right I'll know how to tackle any further carriages I make.

Messy maybe, but it did the trick...

I now have adequate space between the breech and 'elevation box' on the carriage (don't know if that's the correct term for it) to insert the screw mechanism. Obviously, now I'm satisfied, I will have to tidy the job up, but I'll add the elevation screw first.

Well, it's not the best piece of scale modelling but it's better than the original AiP attempt (sort of). I really wanted to do a little wheel but just couldn't find a suitable part in my scraps box.

I'm back on course now - this model has turned out to be a bit of a prototype really, as I work out the best way to make a 1/32 gun carriage with my chosen materials. Though I hope that once I have added the extra detail and painted this attempt it will look OK.

Back to square one, but I'm a bit happier now!

The good thing about modifying the way the gun attached to the carriage - and raising it - is that it solves one of the main issues with the original AiP model. It get's rid of the annoying 'droopy gun'!

Next: Adding the detail and painting.

Historical note: I mentioned that this form of Gatling - mounted on a conventional artillery gun carriage - was an earlier form of the gun. But there seems to have been another reason this 'heavy' carriaged version of the gun was in use - apparently it was useful for engaging fixed (or fortified) positions. In this case the ability to transverse - sweep left and right quickly - was not such a big issue (perhaps). I'm still reading but what amazed me was how very large calibre automatic guns were in use quite early on, guns like the Hotchkiss and Maxim 'Pom-Poms' were mounted on gun carriages (Wikipedia: "...37 mm Nordenfelt-Maxim or "QF 1-pounder" introduced during the Second Boer War, the smallest artillery piece of that war. It fired a shell one pound in weight accurately over a distance of 3,000 yd (2,700 m)".

AiP 1/32 Gatling Gun carriage re-made - Part 1

OK, while the crew figures should progress quite easily now let's turn our attention to the Gatling Gun itself. I have two issues with the gun as it is provided by AiP, it has been given a simplified and somewhat generic gun carriage (to expedite it's use for the other three gun barrels supplied ) and it's rather droopy gun elevation.

AiP's Gatling Gun. Unfortunately I can't identify exactly which version of
the historic Gatling Gun this is supposed to be.

In the end I decided that the best way to deal with both these issues (and ensure I can make use of the optional artillery barrels) is to build my own custom gun carriage from scratch - using the AiP carriage as a guide. Not a hard job as the carriage is a pretty simple in design...

I was a bit dubious about how AiP had chosen to mount the Gatling Gun, as the way they have done it is to 'pin' it into place using conventional cannon-style trunnions. This means there is no lateral movement of the gun unless you move the whole carriage left and right. I had thought that the Gatling was mounted on some sort of simple swivel mounting?

A 1 inch 1865 Gatling mounted using trunnions on a field carriage. This form of
mounting seems to have been an early type of mount, with fully articulated swivel
mounts coming later perhaps. This is the format of AiP's model.

Osprey's book on the Gatling Gun (By Peter Smithhurst) was just recently released and it provided me with some information which leads me to believe that AiP's British Gatling is meant to be one of the earlier guns made by W. Armstrong, first used in action during Third Anglo-Ashanti War of 1873–74:

"The Gatling guns which accompany the expedition are those known as the 0.45 inch. They will be mounted on carriages somewhat similar to the guns [i.e. artillery], and, we presume, are mainly intended for the defence of stockade positions."
~ The Times of 6 October 1873
[Osprey 'The Gatling Gun', Page 50.]

My reading leads me to believe that these Gatlings were probably similar to Model 1865 guns in 1in calibre (as in the illustration above). The fact that this type of mount existed is good enough for me as it happens to be easier to recreate.

Just bear in mind that if you do want to model later Gatling Guns that their carriages did evolve to include better transverse rail or swivel mounts which provided easier lateral movement. These include British Army Gatlings that were deployed in the later Boer War...

Anyhoo...Onto construction...

Making a feasible circa. 1870 Gatling Gun carriage
All the barrels included in the set (see earlier post) are so delightfully appropriate for my Molatarian artillery company that it would be a great shame to simply consign three of them to my scraps box and just make up the Gatling Gun using the one carriage that AiP includes in the set.

The solution to this problem was simple...Make three more gun carriages, starting with one for my Gatling!

One must remind oneself that this is a 'toy gun' carriage and so the liberties taken are excusable, certainly from the point of view of the Funny Little Wars enthusiast. But even so I wanted to modify the Gatling version of the carriage to something I felt was more appropriate.

And so it begins. I didn't buy any special materials but used just what
happened to be on hand in my styrene collection and of the nearest
dimensions. Though it'll be a slightly lighter carriage, which is good.

It's a simple 'box' frame design so poses no tricky modelling issues. My main concern was getting some form of reference material on which to base my model, this opened up a whole 'research' can of worms. The AiP carriage, as I said, is a generic artillery carriage rather than one of the more specialised Gatling carriages that were developed - which provided movement in the horizontal as well as vertical firing plane - which is more appropriate to the earlier models of Gatling Guns.

Anyway, historical worries aside, I simply wanted some ideas about how I would furnish and ornament my carriage frame. I particularly wanted to replace the 'lump' which is supposed to be the elevation wheel on the AiP original. The AiP carriage also looks like it is a metal riveted affair and I wanted to see if there were indeed such metal carriages in use with the Gatling (as it turned out there were).

As is obvious from the pictures I have taken of the construction process I am working in light-weight materials - styrene and balsa wood. While these will not make the sturdiest of models they are nearly as good as the original AiP plastic and are, naturally, very easy to work with. Actually I haven't worked much with Balsa before and I am finding it a very nice medium (if you aren't too concerned about the hardiness of the model.)

I suppose the ideal way to ensure a fairly strong toy - for playing with - would be to cast my model in resin when I have finished making it. This would make it more resilient and durable. I'll think about that (it depends how good a job I make of it and whether I feel this carriage may be just a 'one off' or not).

So, onto fitting the AiP Gatling Gun model to my carriage. The trunnion arrangement - the metal pivots which are used to attach the gun to the carriage - are those parts which mark this gun out as being an earlier version of the gun. What this means is that, while the gun could be elevated freely, moving the gun from side to side - an basic requirement of a machine-gun - was only achievable by rotating the whole gun carriage (like a cannon).

Well, I completed the basic carriage frame construction, but there is a lot of detailing work left to do. Still, it looks OK and I found a spare set of white-metal wheels that finish off the compliment of parts, the AiP original items being those moulded in the blue-grey plastic.

Now I have to plan how to add all the carriage furniture and detailed accessories - like the elevation screw - and clean up the AiP gun itself (which has a little flash and some seam lines). But, not a bad start.

Next: Adding all the fancy details to finish off the model.

Molatarian Gatling gunners - test figure, complete...

Well, the test figure is complete bar the gloss coat. But it's really nice to get back into the swing of FLW 'traditional' toy soldier painting - I had forgotten how relaxing it is. Then again painting with Tamiya paints can be challenging, they are like treacle and have to be thinned with Tamiya's own thinner for best results...

It was pointed out to me that this chap looks a like Chuck Norris!

The reason I like the Tamiya paints is because they do have a nice opaque quality to them and look a little like enamels, which suits this job (sometimes the Vallejo paints can be a bit thin resulting in a semi-transparent and streaky finish). But I have given up trying to use the the Tamiya for my normal plastic modelling, where the thinner opacity is an advantage for washes and weathering effects.

I chose a colour pattern for the Broadwell drums (Gatling magazines) incorporating 'brass' side panels. I will probably include a brass element on the gun itself with the overall colour of it and the gun carriage being black. I do think the Gatling rather splendid when done in brass!

(I *believe* the use of brass is an indication of earlier models of the Gatling [?]. Certainly by the Boer War the British Army seemed to prefer a fully painted Gatling - perhaps for tactical reasons. I really must buy Osprey's book on the Gatling come pay day.)

Anyway, now I'm happy I remember the process for painting FLW figures I'll get started on the other two members of the Gatling team...

Same procedure, the only noticeable difference being the stance of the figures which will require the use of larger rectangular bases. AiP have chosen to do quite dynamic poses for these gunner, I suppose you could say they are less 'traditional' compared to the style of original Edwardian toy soldiers but they look interesting.

However, there were a couple of problems while doing the head conversions. It turns out that there were a few shortcuts AiP had taken with the sculpting of the heads because they were effectively hidden by the big pith helmet the figures came with. Removing the helmets revealed my chaps had 'skinny' necks and practically no ears!

So now I have fitted my Molatarian hats I will have to rebuild some of the features of the heads. But no biggy as I kind of do that anyway with the extra facial hair I decided to do.

Next: The figures shouldn't take too long so now it's time to start on the Gatling Gun!

Heavy gun team complete

Huzzah! I have just completed my very first FLW unit! My Heavy Artillery team is all done and dusted and all that's left for me to do is do present them in all their glory. Phew!

Gilbert the Rammer!

Lt. Cuthbert - gunnery officer

I'm quite pleased with this set, I think Cuthbert in full uniform was the right choice as the contrast between the four characters makes the team look more authentic. I am definitely glad I went with this Belgian army inspired uniform - I was very impressed by some of the Belgian WW1 uniforms and I will be dipping into this reference source again no doubt.

I really have to give a mention to Black Hat Miniatures (UK) as the basic gun team figure is theirs, and it was a superb starting point for my conversion project. Big thank you to them.

Well, what now? I'll take stock and then decide which one of my back-log of projects to get on with - but finishing my first FLW unit has given me a bit of motivation. I hope you like them.

Small things...

Creeping progress on Cuthbert, but some progress is still progress. I've been working on his arms and his pose and also on a small pair of binoculars.

Still some putty work to finish off but that's about it. So that's the four crewmen for my heavy field gun team

I've really enjoyed this set as they are such little characters, which makes me think that I'd like to focus on making the rest of my soldiers little characters too.

This means continuing with a similar style of face or head sculpt. I know this may mean my toy soldiers may be more caricatures than historical miniatures, but I find this more fun.

Molatarian gun crew - Hubert

Having completed 'Albert' - based on my scratch-built Mk. II head - I have now completed the second in my Molatarian artillery crew based on the Black Hat figure in combination with my home-made head.

Hubert is a veteran gunner and as such has his particular priorities when it comes to the efficient running of a gun team. Coffee and Goulash, that's what keeps a Molatarian field gun ticking over!

While Albert was the straight forward transplant of my Mk. II head onto Black Hat's metal artillery crew man Hubert is a little more ambitious in his construction. Again I have used the excellent metal Black Hat body but then scratch built arms and further customised my head to give the figure a bit of personality.

The coffee pot and cooking pot were scratch built from plastic tubing and Milliput I had to make new hands as we. The whiskers are Miliput and the pipe is a piece of brass wire bent into shape and finished off with - you guessed it - Milliput.

Of course Hubert suffers from the same basic flaw as Albert in that my Mk II head is a little over-sized for 1/32. But as they - there will be four crew eventually - will all be grouped together in an independent team I think I can get away with the big head!

Well, next stop - painting Hubert!

Fudge mountain (gun)

(Project 9 - A simple mountain gun conversion)
Er, best I could do for a title...What I mean is that I am fudging a piece of mountain artillery from the good old Britains 25 Pounder toy gun. My reason for doing this is because I wanted a firing model of a mountain gun for my Molatarian Jaegers but unfortunately I can't find a suitable existing model.

Well, there are plenty of toy 25 Pounders out there so converting one of these as a stand-in doesn't phase me, I'm hardly destroying a collectors item!

The original Britains 25 Ponder based on a World War 2 design, I want
to retro-grade this to look more 19th century.

The conversion process is fairly straight forward, though may take a little time. First I want to remove the 25 Pounders shield and then make a new gun carriage for it to make it more appropriate to a gun of the late 19th Century. Therefore, the first step is to disassemble the Britains toy...

By the 1890s breech-loading guns had begun to be designed with recoil systems so not much needs to be done to the gun itself once the shield is gone, but the carriage is another thing. A lighter skeleton carriage will have to be made and older style wooden wheels attached. So, let's get that shield off...

Hard work even with my trusty Dremmel - take care, the metal gets VERY hot while cutting through it - but eventually you will get through it. Next I will have to smooth out the remaining shield vestiges and cut off the original axle attachment, another job for the Dremmel!

Next: In part two I will start to design a suitably period looking gun carriage and source some wheels.

Light Infantry test figures

Having received my resin heads with Romanian hats it was time to fit a couple of these to my AiP Russian bodies. My Molarian light infantry are loosely based on the Romanian army of the 1890s, the 1900 Russians being a very good base as they shared several items of equipment that were common to the Romanians.

However, there is some differences between the Russians and the Romanians, including the double breasted Russian style tunic and I will have to modify this. A simple job which just entails smoothing away the tunic button seam and replicating it with a central seam and pockets...

You might be able to see that I have already removed the tunic seam on the officer figure (in the foreground) and I will be adding a thin strip of kitchen foil to represent a new seam and pocket tabs. I also added a pin to help attach the heads to the bodies and will smooth out any gaps or jagged join with some Milliput putty.

Once I have any imperfections filled and modifications added I will start the painting of these two test figures.

Adding new heads to commercial figures is the next stage in move towards - eventually - producing a wholly original toy soldier of my own design. The next stage will be to add a completely custom head, including face, and then a custom body.

Review all my Molatarian Light Infantry posts by
clicking on this Complete Series Link.