US 75mm Pack Howitzer M1A1 on Carriage M8

The M1A1 75mm Howitzer on carriage M8 was the standard United States 75mm howitzer in World War 2. It was deployed in airborne, mountain, and jungle units as direct support artillery. It could be towed by a jeep, delivered by glider, dropped by parachute, or broken into loads and carried by mules. It was used extensively by US allies and continued in service long after the war.

This model is a minor conversion from the Bronco kit of a 75mm Pack Howitzer as modified and used by the British airborne. The Bronco kit is based upon the old Vision molds with additional sprues to correct the deficiencies of the Vision kit and to add the British modifications. I purchased the Resicast update and ammo kit for this project; but, in the end did not use it as Bronco had excellent detail. The kit built up easily. I spent a lot of time looking at photos, drawings, and the technical manuals to sort out which modifications were British and which were post-war. I ended up not using any of the kit PE as it was all for the British modifications. I revised the Vision drawbar and lunette to be correct for the US howitzer. I added Archer weld beads to the trail flasks. Lead foil and spare PE buckles were used to fabricate the straps for tying down the ramming / cleaning staff sections. The barrel sleeve was textured with Mr. Surfacer 500.

The model was initially primed with Krylon flat black rattle can primer from the hardware store. I touched up the hard to hit spots with Vallejo black primer. The howitzer was painted with Tamiya acrylics. Tamiya panel line accent was used for a pin wash. A filter of Windsor & Newton Burnt Siena and Burnt Umber was applied. AK pigments provided the dust effects. High wear spots were hit with a pencil and buffed with a swab.