My challenge with the 37mm guns is that the models (Battle Honors) are 7 piece models (sight, barrel, gun shield, two tires & two trails). Given their size at 15mm they are going to be a pain to put together. I could go the easy route and order some from Battlefront... I decided to put one together and see how it looked. After a lot of filing, swearing and use of my hobby knife (hah...no injuries!) I managed to clean one up for assembly. The trails in particular are very delicate and requited a lot of straightening to get them right.
On to assembly...
While Battle Honors provides a diagram on how the sight is installed (thank you!). They provide only a cryptic note that the trail with the tow hitch should be installed on the right side. Problem is the trail can be installed with the tow hitch up or down? A bit of research decided the issue - tow hitch down. That also makes it easy to orientate the left side trail.
The parts are very small and the assembly was done with tweezers. I finally had to result to using poster-tac to hold the parts in place relative to each other so the glue would have time to dry. The thought of ordering from Battlefront (simpler kit) was getting more attractive by the minute. When I finally got everything dry and removed from the grasp of the poster-tac a funny thing happened...I really liked the finished model. I would change the tires if I could (bad castings), but the model is a very nice representation of the US 37mm AT gun.
I spent a few hours building the remaining 37mm's (three more), basing them and setting them out to dry. The provided crew are a bit small in scale (all Battle Honors figures are closer to 12mm or 13mm), but I can live with it. I wanted to prime them, but the resin sand mix I use to texture the bases should dry for 12-24 hours before you paint it.
spent the rest of the day basing and texturing the remaining support platoons and priming the ones I already had based. Soon I will be forced to paint (I hate infantry).
Tim, they call him...
I did a little more work on my scout platoon. I added green back into the camo mix as the browns made them get a little lost on the bases. I know that is the point of camo, but if I am going to spend all that time painting them I want people to notice them. They look pretty good. I just have to paint the rifles & weapons, and finish off the bases (palm branches, bushes, low/tall grass...not sure yet). Next the 37 mm AT guns are up...I replaced the trucks from QC/BH with Battlefront ones.
