Britains Heavy Howitzer re-make (2 Viewers)

[johnnybach]

Hi John,
Yes it can be done, for short distances, and as long as you have the hooking pole!...The Gent in question in the photo is doing it for a short distance on parade ground quality ground, I would question if he were to try that on rough terrain...I have seen a direct engagement only on certain WW2 and modern guns that have the layout set for that......For those of us that ever have had to tag along a boat or a camper....you will remember that there is a little contraption that resembles a pole that extends from the actual trailer/volume being hauled and the actual hook on the " pulling vehicle"...you need that so as to provide maneuverability.
Cheers
Luiz

Yes - I had a camper with a short bar link like that - and another with an "A-Frame" connector. I also drove Lorries in the Army with lots of hooks and couplings - and a whole variety of trailers, from water bowsers to more specialist cypher stuff - which had a variety of couplings too. In fact my two triangular plate version - is really a short variety of an A-Frame, when you look at it.

I already have a few limbers on my horse-drawn guns - but they are spoken for - so.......................I will be looking for either a limber to fix-up, or even chewing over the idea of doing one from scratch. But......until then, my Tractor pulls my Howitzer ( how good it is to be able to write that, at last), from place to place in the Gun-Park - without one. :salute:: jb

I simply don't have the Artillery that others own - (yet).

 

[Artillery_crazy]

Hi John,
Great to know that!
With your expert handcraft abilities, shown here as you built up the howitzer and tractor you will come up with an idea in no time! And when you have it , do post a picture!
I do not have a picture with me now to show, but you do not need a full cassion to use as a limber, they had some two wheel carts that coupled up with the gun and then with the tractor that had just that function.
I will try to look for one and if I find I will share with you....
In the meantime keep building the Artillery park.....Artillery fans like us are few....:salute:::salute::
Cheers
Luiz

Yes - I had a camper with a short bar link like that - and another with an "A-Frame" connector. I also drove Lorries in the Army with lots of hooks and couplings - and a whole variety of trailers, from water bowsers to more specialist cypher stuff - which had a variety of couplings too. In fact my two triangular plate version - is really a short variety of an A-Frame, when you look at it.

I already have a few limbers on my horse-drawn guns - but they are spoken for - so.......................I will be looking for either a limber to fix-up, or even chewing over the idea of doing one from scratch. But......until then, my Tractor pulls my Howitzer ( how good it is to be able to write that, at last), from place to place in the Gun-Park - without one. :salute:: jb

I simply don't have the Artillery that others own - (yet).

 

[johnnybach]

Hi John,
Great to know that!
With your expert handcraft abilities, shown here as you built up the howitzer and tractor you will come up with an idea in no time! And when you have it , do post a picture!
I do not have a picture with me now to show, but you do not need a full cassion to use as a limber, they had some two wheel carts that coupled up with the gun and then with the tractor that had just that function.
I will try to look for one and if I find I will share with you....
In the meantime keep building the Artillery park.....Artillery fans like us are few....:salute:::salute::
Cheers
Luiz

Thanks Luiz. I think that the small pic that Obee posted will probably do me fior a start. It shows a simple limber with two wheels on an axle - and a simple box structure on top. I can understand that - maybe as a tool-box for the gun - or something similar???? (just guessing here). I'll have to give it a bit of thought - as I want to keep the modifications to my already modified Gun to a minimum.

Any illustrations you may have for the big stuff would be welcome though.

Then there's the shells to source....................... Yikes! jb{eek3} Good job I'm patient.

 

[theBaron]

Then there's the shells to source...

I'm looking at the originals again, and I wonder if you could use real spent cartridges as a starting point.

Prost!
Brad

 

[johnnybach]

I'm looking at the originals again, and I wonder if you could use real spent cartridges as a starting point.

Prost!
Brad

This is the good-old UK here pardner - The Politicians took most of our guns away years ago ( Now makes you wonder why eh???).

I haven't seen a cartridge since I left the Army!!! And please don't send me any - the cops would be around before you could say Bang!

I'll keep looking for a shell or two - but won't lose any sleep over it, if I can't get one. It would just prove a point - and I'm not looking to take pot shots at anything, anyway Brad.

Cheers - jb{sm4}

 

[johnnybach]

Thanks go to Obee for a pic of a limber for this 6 incher.

Now my beast is a whopping 18 incher - so I guess that would mean quite a beefed up limber.



So..................... I got out a few tools............and had a go. I've got this far with it.

This is around the half-way point - where I have part of the box constructed from various thicknesses of my Alloy sheet stock. Also shown are some of the tools used - hacksaw, drills, files etc. You can see the limber just in front of my table-vice, which is a very useful third hand. Note that I had the wheels in my stock of spare parts. I think they originally came from a Britains Farm-Cart. Scale looked to be just fine - so tried them out with a new brass axle. I put end caps on the axle-ends - again made from sheet alloy - wheels rotate just fine.



Just connected up to the Tractor - to check for a fit.



Next job will be to figure out how I would like to connect the new limber to the Gun.

to be continued. jb

 

[Al Fisher]

Really great to see something made from scratch . . . anybody can buy something if they have enough loot, but precious few can make something that doesn't exist otherwise. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. I have a 1:35 scale Case steam tractor (not as fancy as yours) and a 18 inch WB howitzer and will try to match you one of these days. But doubt if it'll be as elegant as yours.

Bosun Al

 

[Artillery_crazy]

Fantastic John.....
As Al just said, to be able to create it out of a drawing is great!
You have been pretty busy as it seems.....and a lot of thinking out of the box....:salute:::salute:::salute::could not be nicer....
Kind of reverts us to the days we were small, and we would build some of our own toys based on an idea or drawing......
Cheers
Luiz

Thanks go to Obee for a pic of a limber for this 6 incher.

Now my beast is a whopping 18 incher - so I guess that would mean quite a beefed up limber.

View attachment 224315

So..................... I got out a few tools............and had a go. I've got this far with it.

This is around the half-way point - where I have part of the box constructed from various thicknesses of my Alloy sheet stock. Also shown are some of the tools used - hacksaw, drills, files etc. You can see the limber just in front of my table-vice, which is a very useful third hand. Note that I had the wheels in my stock of spare parts. I think they originally came from a Britains Farm-Cart. Scale looked to be just fine - so tried them out with a new brass axle. I put end caps on the axle-ends - again made from sheet alloy - wheels rotate just fine.

View attachment 224316

Just connected up to the Tractor - to check for a fit.

View attachment 224317View attachment 224317

Next job will be to figure out how I would like to connect the new limber to the Gun.

to be continued. jb

 

[johnnybach]

Really great to see something made from scratch . . . anybody can buy something if they have enough loot, but precious few can make something that doesn't exist otherwise. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. I have a 1:35 scale Case steam tractor (not as fancy as yours) and a 18 inch WB howitzer and will try to match you one of these days. But doubt if it'll be as elegant as yours.

Bosun Al

Thanks Al - appreciated. Now...............I've shown you mine - now..........................???^&grin

Seriously - it would be nice to see other folk's stuff too - just to see how I'm doing. jb

 

[johnnybach]

Fantastic John.....
As Al just said, to be able to create it out of a drawing is great!
You have been pretty busy as it seems.....and a lot of thinking out of the box....:salute:::salute:::salute::could not be nicer....
Kind of reverts us to the days we were small, and we would build some of our own toys based on an idea or drawing......
Cheers
Luiz

Thanks for prodding me into it Luiz. I've always been keen on making stuff for myself - in fact, that's really my hobby. I tried JUST collecting, and it wasn't for me. But as soon as I started painting castings - and then repairing stuff - I'd found my hobby.

Glad you approve - just got to find something for the draw-bar to the gun and connect it up now.

Cheers buddy - jb

 

[theBaron]

Speaking of steam tractors, this video just showed up in my news feed on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/100011084177861/videos/523770031335798/

Prost!
Brad

 

[johnnybach]

Speaking of steam tractors, this video just showed up in my news feed on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/100011084177861/videos/523770031335798/

Prost!
Brad

Did you see the Tractor with tracks on the flat-bed ? That's the one that took over from the Steam powered ones - as it had the internal combustion engine. Quicker to start up - and no give-away smoke or steam clouds.

I just finished off painting my version of a limber for my set - so will leave it to dry overnight. I worked out how to put the three pieces together - to look very much like Obee's excellent pic. I should be able to complete the sealing in with a varnish coat tomorrow - and hope to show you how I got on with it, then. jb

 

[johnnybach]

Okay - all three pieces of this set are now completed.

I began by re-building a Britains Heavy Howitzer, by connecting up an e-bay purchase of the top half of the gun - to the bottom bits which I already had from a previous job-lot find. I little knew that there were two versions of the gun by Britains - and my two sections of it were from different versions - so they didn't fit!!{sm2}

Anyhoo - a few tweaks later - and it did!{sm3}

To pull this monster - I needed something special - and that I had already - just not quite completed. It was my Steam Tractor with driver which came from John Eden Studios, and a beauty she is too.

Then - after a few discussions and a bit of thought ( and a gorgeous pic from Obee - thanks again John), I scratch built a limber to fit between the two - and help with the steering.

So below, find the results of my labours - which I hope you may approve of. (Note I've also reproduced part of Obee's pic for copmparison.) jb

 

[DMNamiot]

Very cool!

 

[Go for Broke]

Good job JB. As soon as I saw your howitzer, I jumped on Ebay looking for one. There were several to bid on, but thankfully my urge to buy one went away. Like others, I don't have room for more TS. I still think its a neat piece though. So much neat stuff to tempt me.

 

[Ivanhoe]

Okay - all three pieces of this set are now completed.

I began by re-building a Britains Heavy Howitzer, by connecting up an e-bay purchase of the top half of the gun - to the bottom bits which I already had from a previous job-lot find. I little knew that there were two versions of the gun by Britains - and my two sections of it were from different versions - so they didn't fit!!{sm2}

Anyhoo - a few tweaks later - and it did!{sm3}

To pull this monster - I needed something special - and that I had already - just not quite completed. It was my Steam Tractor with driver which came from John Eden Studios, and a beauty she is too.

Then - after a few discussions and a bit of thought ( and a gorgeous pic from Obee - thanks again John), I scratch built a limber to fit between the two - and help with the steering.

So below, find the results of my labours - which I hope you may approve of. (Note I've also reproduced part of Obee's pic for copmparison.) jb

You are amazing jb !!

The variety of what you attempt, and accomplish is fantastic.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[johnnybach]

Good job JB. As soon as I saw your howitzer, I jumped on Ebay looking for one. There were several to bid on, but thankfully my urge to buy one went away. Like others, I don't have room for more TS. I still think its a neat piece though. So much neat stuff to tempt me.

I know the feeling well! Glad you like it. jb

 

[Obee]

Great work JB

The making and installation of the towing bar onto the howitzer really sets off this set, and you have achieved a wonderful makeover.

Well Done ,


John

 

[villagehorse]

Yes you have nailed it. Brilliant. Robin.

 

[johnnybach]

Great work JB

The making and installation of the towing bar onto the howitzer really sets off this set, and you have achieved a wonderful makeover.

Well Done ,


John

From one Artillery-man ( to a Grandson of another) - many thanks for that - much appreciated. Glad you approve. jb

Thanks also for the pic - I should have known to ask you.