Introduction:
The 75mm Pack Howitzer was first developed in the 1920s and could be broken
down into six loads to be carried by mule into inaccessible areas with
these first guns having wooden spoked wheels.
In 1934, after some modification this was standardized as the 75mm Pack
Howitzer, M1A1 and during WWII was fitted with new wheels and pneumatic
tyres and became the main gun for US glider and parachute artillery battalions
in WWII and was also used by British airborne forces and the USMC in the
Pacific.
The new designation when fitted with pneumatic tyres was 75mm Pack Howitzer
M1A1 & carriage M8 which is the subject of this new full resin kit
from Resicast.
The Kit:
The kit consist of 122 parts in light grey resin, 26 etched parts and
a short length of plastic rod with many of the resin parts being extremely
small and to this end there is a note with the parts saying “BEWARE
contains some very small parts” which would have to be an understatement.
Standard of resin casting is good with crisp well defined details but
there is a lot of fine resin film to be removed from the parts along with
the usual casting blocks and care will be needed cleaning some of these.
The film is quite thin and will easily come off with a quick pass of the
trusty #11 blade but as nearly all parts require some cleanup this can
be a little tedious.
Given the number of small parts and that some sub-assemblies are movable
as per the original some experience working with resin kits would be quite
helpful but the 18 page instructions sheet has good quality step by step
photos of the model under construction which helps with the process.
The kit includes two styles of wheels with different hub and tread pattern
detail for the two most common types of wheels seen on the gun as well
as alternate parts for the US or British gun with the instructions clearly
showing which parts to use for each version during construction.
Construction begins with the lightweight trails and these are split in
two halves that allow detail to be trapped between them during construction
as well as allowing parts to be movable for excellent definition. When
gluing the two halves of each trail together be sure to align any minor
warping ensuring the trails are perfectly straight which is easy enough
to do.
Additional small parts join the left and right trails together and you
have to drill out some locating holes to allow the gun to elevate later
and care will be needed to again ensure the assembly is perfectly square
before the glues dries.
The main barrel assembly has three larger parts, the central barrel with
hollowed out muzzle and cradle included, the top cover and lower recoil
cradle and the top cover will slip into place without glue the same way
as the real thing for excellent realism.
Added to this is the breech with separate breech block that can be fixed
open of closed as well as a number of other smaller parts such as the intricate
sights made up of three parts.
There are numerous other smaller resin and etched parts to be added and
again care is needed with most of these mainly to not lose them during
cleanup and fitting.
Also included is a selection of 75mm rounds and shell canisters to use
in a diorama setting and these are also nicely cast and detailed.
The instructions as mentioned have many good close-up photos of the model
during construction with the parts called out by number but one thing I
noticed with this is there is a list of all parts at the front of the instructions
but not a parts photo so it’s a little difficult to identify the
part once removed from the casting blocks but if you take your time there
shouldn’t be any real problems.
Included with the instructions are additional photos of the actual gun
to illustrate some of the more intricate assemblies as well as a few service
manual drawings and at the back are six pages with close-up walk around
photos of a museum gun to further aid in putting everything in the right
place and added additional small detail if you wish.
Metal parts
Conclusion:
Given the many small parts and the amount of cleanup needed some experience
working with resin will certainly come in handy but the level of detail
and the movable sub-assemblies will result in a superb little model of
this important gun from WWII and beyond if you don’t mind a bit
of work.
Highly recommended 7.5/10