6-inch Terror
6-inch Coastal Gun Model 1905 on Carriage M1917

The US entered the Great War with a woefully small and antiquated field artillery park and no usable heavy artillery. The US purchased as much heavy artillery as it could from France and Britain. It was not enough, so they licensed the best designs for production in the US. It took time for US heavy artillery production to ramp up; so, they started to look around for plan C. The US west coast was well protected by seacoast fortifications with usable 5- and 6-inch guns in fixed mounts. A field carriage was quickly designed, the guns dismounted from the forts and they and their coast artillery crews shipped to France. The 61st, 62nd, and 68th Regiments of the Coast Artillery Corps were in training in France with these guns which they nicknamed "6-Inch Terrors". One CAC artillery lieutenant wrote in his diary "the 6-inch seacoast gun on the mobile mount was a new weapon, which had to be trained in French methods and acclimated to French mud. It had little regard for the range tables and less for the feelings of a Second Lieutenant trying to convoy along a muddy road. But even with all these difficulties the regiment was ready to go."

Panzerconcepts released an outstanding 3D printed kit of the 6-inch gun. It is the only kit of this subject in any scale or medium. I have built a lot of 3D printed kits from a number of suppliers. This is the best kit I have seen. The printing is detailed and flawless. There are no print lines or print artifacts. The fit is Tamiya-like. The instructions are the best I have seen in a 3D printed kit. The kit includes the barrel transport wagon, limbers, and recoil ramps. I replaced some of the delicate grab handles and equipment hooks with wire as I broke a couple off during assembly. The kit includes the brackets for the large wrenches; but not the wrenches so I scratched those up. I added staps from lead foil and PE buckles to the equipment tie-downs.

After priming with Mr Surfacer 1500 black and painted the camo pattern with Tamiya acrylics using the silly putty method. The wheels were painted with excellent Lifecolor Rust and Dust set using a sponge. I used the hairspray technique to chip the recoil ramps. I weathered it with AK enamel weathering products and Winsor & Newton oils.

I am happy with the results. I was so impressed with the kit, that I am going to build a second one with the barrel in the transport wagon and the whole thing being towed by a Holt 75 tractor. With this completion, I have built every artillery piece used by the American Expeditionary Force in WW1 with the exception of the US 4.7-inch gun. How, if I could only convince someone to produce a kit of that piece...