105mm Howitzer M2A1 & Carriage M2A2
1:35 Kit Comparison
kit #AF35182 - 
kit #6531 Review by Terry Ashley
Some of the assembly sequences are not as per the kits instructions and are not the optimum method but have been done so to highlight the detail of the kit sub-assemblies prior to final assembly. Therefore don’t use the assemblies here as a specific guide as it could lead to problems and as I have mentioned ad nausea I simply present the information and it’s up to the individual to take it or leave it as they see fit.
Both kits represents the later M2A1 105mm Howitzer with M2A2 carriage with a double shield arrangement with smaller front shield and larger rear shield that extended further out over the wheels with a lower folding flap that provided more protection for the crew. The other major feature is the use of the standard WWII combat rim and tyres as well as other smaller detail changes from the earlier M2/M2A1 carriages.
Following the basic introduction here the review is in the chapters listed below and follow the format where the brief individual text review of each kit section (instruction steps noted in brackets) is accompanied with detailed comparison images highlighting the issues outlined in the text to fully show the differences between the two kits. I’ll just quickly mention for the conspiracy theorists that the reason the AFV Club kit is mentioned first in the review text and images is simply due to the alphabet, but you can’t be too sure these days.
This is basically the same kit as the previously released 105mm Howitzer M2A1 and Carriage M2 (kit #AF 35160) with additional parts for the revised shield layout and combat wheels plus other minor updates for the later M2A2 carriage. The kit consists of 223 parts in olive drab plastic, 16 etched brass parts, 4 parts in black vinyl and the full 105mm gun tube in turned aluminium plus a small decal sheet and small 12 page instruction booklet.
The standard of moulding is very good overall with clean crisp detail but there is also some fine flash and mould seam lines to be cleaned especially on the numerous smaller parts in the kit, this does require a bit of time invested in cleanup before assembly but results in a higher level of detail definition. There is also the odd pin mark about the place but the major parts such as the shields are blemish free.
The kit can be built in sub-assemblies with these bought together for final assembly which allows you to work on one sub-assembly while the glue another dries with some of these sub-assemblies designed to be movable allowing you to pose the gun in the travel or firing mode but extreme care will be needed especially with the spring equilibrator assembly which is the trickiest part of the kit.
This is basically the same kit as the previously released 105mm Howitzer M2A1 and Carriage M2A1 (kit #6499) with additional parts for the revised shield layout updates for the later M2A2 carriage. The kit consists of 104 parts in light grey plastic with a further 73 parts in the same plastic for the figures, the short muzzle of 105mm gun tube in turned aluminium plus a small decal sheet and small instruction sheet.
The standard of moulding is very good overall with clean crisp detail with just the usual mould seam lines and moulding plugs to be cleaned especially on the numerous smaller parts in the kit. There is also the odd pin mark about the place but the major parts such as the shields are blemish free.
The kit can be built in sub-assemblies with these bought together for final assembly which allows you to work on one sub-assembly while the glue another dries with some of these sub-assemblies designed to be positioned such as the trails or movable allowing gun elevation or traverse but these depend on the assembly as well will see.
- Top Carriage:
- Gun Cradle:
- Barrel Sleigh/Recoil Mechanism:
- Bottom Carriage:
- Trails:
- Shields:
- Additional Items:
These are the usual exploded view type drawings that have clearly laid out assembly sequences that are easy to follow in most but some sub-assemblies are quite busy and you need to study the instructions carefully.
There are also a few small B&W images of the actual gun to illustrate some of the sub-assemblies that help in positioning some of the smaller parts.
These are the usual DML foldout sheets with exploded view drawings but even with the small number of parts the layout gets quite confusing at times and you really do have to study the sequences carefully before assembly.
The small decal sheet has markings for five howitzers but following what seems to be a trend in kit markings these days only one is identified with the remainder being unidentified units. Also the kit is labelled WWII but the only identified unit is for a USMC howitzer from the Korean War period and another from the Taiwan Army, quite strange. The five options are:
- 1st Marine Brigade, Naktong River , Korea, August 1950
- Taiwan Army
- Unknown
- Unknown
- Unknown
The kit includes a small decal sheet with data and markings for six howitzers all based on Iwo Jima in 1945 but only one is identified by unit. The most interesting aspect is the kit gives you a set of USMC gun crew but only two of the marking options are USMC with the other four being US Army howitzers, interesting? The painting guide shows four of the howitzers with camouflage on the gun shields but the illustrations are in shades of blue with no colours indicated so you have to decide this yourself? The six options are:
- USMC, Iwo Jima 1945
- US Army, Iwo Jima 1945
- US Army, Iwo Jima 1945
- US Army, Iwo Jima 1945
- 3rd Battalion USMC , Iwo Jima 1945
- US Army, Iwo Jima 1945
The AFV Club kit is basically dimensionally accurate overall as well as smaller individual items and features a superbly done fully working double spring equilibrator assembly that allows authentic barrel elevation as well the trails can move between firing and transport mode by removing the securing pins just like the real thing. The shields can be depicted folded for travel mode as well as being the first plastic artillery kit to actually include the barrel slide securing ridges allowing authentic cradle recoil with movable recoil piston to boot. The breech can be shown open or closed with separate breech block operating handle along with finer details throughout, but the cost is a lot more parts and a lot more assembly required than with the DML kit.
The DML kit on the other hand while dimensionally accurate overall has a number of individual parts undersized such as the spring equilibrator, hand wheels and other items, the spring equilibrator is actually moulded solid and can only represent the barrel at about 25 ° elevation accurately and can’t elevated higher due to the limitations of the solid spring equilibrator. The trails can only be fixed in either the firing or travel mode but the one piece shields are fixed in firing configuration in any case and would need some cutting for the travel configuration. The basic representation of the details in a number of areas are quite basic indeed when compared to reference photos and the detail on the AFV Club kit with only a few areas were the detail is better represented such as the barrel rifling but when viewed in isolation can build into a respectable model.
Ratings: 8.5 7.5
Click for larger views
Etched, metal and vinyl parts |
Metal barrel part |
Click on thumbnails for larger view
kit #AF35182 Sprues
Sprue detail images
kit #6531 Sprues
Sprue detail images
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| M101A1 105mm Howitzer in detail Wings & Wheels Publications R 048  |
U.S. WWII 105mm Howitzers M2A1 & M3 Tankograd Technical Manual Series No.6016  |
TM9-325 105mm Howitzers M2A1 Carriages M2A1 and M2A2 Easy 1 Productions CD-ROM #T003  |
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