A note here...I built the patterns for all three of these guns and you may be interested to know the following. The Napoleon is based on an original owned by Don Troiani, and the other two are based on originals owned by two other good friends here in Michigan. I cannot tell you how many times we man handled these heavy guns to take measurments and photos. These patterns took a long time to do as I checked and rechecked the actual guns and carraiges to make sure these models were correct. My hats off to Joe and Don for being so patient while I built these.
I have also been active with Loomis Battery 1st Michigan Light Artillery for many years and I have been lucky enough to fire all three of these guns both live and with blanks. It is hot, heavy and potentially dangerous work, but it has also given me a real understanding of the design and performence of these field pieces.
If any of you have watched the movie "Master and Commander" then you have heard some of our guns, as we were hired by the production company to produce the sound of live fired grape, canister, bar and solid shot for this film. Those of you with the delux DVD will even catch a glimpse of me in the extra section on the sound! I hope those of you interested in the ACW support THM and their new releases! Thanks, Ken Osen
