1/16 RC Vandra M7 Priest SP Howitzer conversion build

[c.rainford73]

Hi,

Here is a rainy weekend project, an M7 Priest gun mount.

From what I could see, there are at least 3 models of M7 gun mounts, completely different between M7 early/mid, M7B1 and M7B2. The upper section coming with the Vandra kit is actually quite close to the M7B1 I have seen on pictures and my feeling is that it could be a good base for a build of that version. However, I needed a mid production one so need to scratch build one. The kit lower section is useless unless you are building a fighter and do not really care about the interior accuracy.

Small plans are drawn as extrapolated from 1/35 scale kit to get the right dimensions to start with. This is critical. Basic shapes of the lower and upper parts are created. Gun mount is built in the old fashion way with 1, 1.5 and 2mm plasticard sheets, knife, files and metal ruler. Parts are bigger here than they need to be, they will be slowly sanded to the proper dimension to avoid mistakes and allow for fit trials.

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Basic assembly

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Upper base starting to take shape

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The upper and lower parts in test mode. The gear dents from the resin kit were reused as I could not make better ones, extended by mine where they won't show much. The final detailing with bolts and other items will come later in following posts. At this point, you just need to make sure the main parts dimensions are good.

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Interior views; The gun mount is assembled and mounted on the shaft/axle. It rotates as per specs for gun rotation. Because the M7 gun can turn in the right direction more than on the left, now I fully understand why the shaft was created at an angle.

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The gun and intricate mount are the highlights of this SP howitzer so I wanted to do a good job capturing the shape of the real gun mount. The whole thing took me 10 hours to build. I had to constantly check dimensions and positions against references.

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View from the right side

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View from the front on the rotation mechanism, quite simple. Temporary installation as it should have a brass tube. This won't show later once the gun is installed. The tube is going all the way down under the floor and a gun rotation system connected to it will be brainstormed later. The center of the tube will carry a pushrod for elevation. Maybe its too simple... well, that's the plan anyway.

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Here is the M7 Priest trialling its new M3 Lee modified Shapeways suspension. These and the spoked road wheels are really nice. Too bad spoked idlers are not available.

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So far so good, all is going according to plans. Test fit of the kit gun shields show that the location, fit and overall integration of the various modules is good. That is a load off because although I took my calculations from a 1/35 that I can see and touch, potential major mistakes are always lurking.

Regards, Louis

Louis your work never ceases to amaze me. The design and concept of your gun mount is excellent and those road wheels are absolutely perfect So nice to see the uncommon kit brought to an entirely new level!

[lmcq11]

thanks Carl,

Here the gun is installed and held in place with temporary braces. At this point, its is better to kept the gun/cradle removable from the gun mount until the gun shields are installed at least.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

The Meng nuts and bolts (small and large) are fantastic to work with. Although advertised as 1/35 scale, the large ones actually fit 1/16 scale armor perfectly and even the small ones are useful. Highly recommended. Here some nuts are installed but are not cleaned up yet, they show some residue. I found it better to clean them once glued in place, using a sharp knife and magnifier otherwise they will bounce around and you will loose half of them.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

Exterior views, the height of the gun is good. That is a relief.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

The shapeways M7 gun parts are being prepared. They will require some polishing. It does not seem it will be too complicated to make them fit the Vandra gun. They can also be further detailed once installed. For the elevation spring that goes under the gun, I am thinking of creating a brass spring but it could be complicated. The shapeways plastic is hard to work with. I'll see.

Regards, Louis

Shapeways M7 Priest gun parts

[c.rainford73]

Louis the blend of kit components, your custom parts and the nuts and bolts are blending together perfectly Real work of art ..... Hard to believe but it's almost a shame to paint it. Do you plan on elevation system similar to the Nashorn project you completed early in the year? Not sure of your room limits but I assume they are similar to the nashorn. I don't recall if you installed traverse on that kit either....

Recoil would be most difficult I see. For traverse a small motor could be mounted similar to the way Alwyn's Nashorn kit came with. A small arm and thin but effective metal shaft move the gun assembly left and right using limited space.

Have fun

Carl

[lmcq11]

Hi,

It took me 3 hours of trials and errors but the gun shields are finally in place. I have achieve the best results possible considering all the variables.

Be aware that the upper pulpit kit part is 3mm too high and was reduced in height at its bottom.

M7 Priest gun shields

Much patience is required to get to this result. Keep in mind the gun has to rotate as well. You will also notice that the hull armor plate on the left has been repositioned at the angle indicated in a earlier post so that it matches with the corrected gun position.

M7 Priest gun shields

The other side

M7 Priest gun shields

Views of the interior. The mounting for both shields had to be redone because the ones moulded on the parts were too high, too small and did not fit my new gun mount. There is a lot left detailing to do. The gun as provided with the kit is pretty naked.

M7 Priest gun shields

M7 Priest gun shields

M7 Priest gun shields

Now that all the main parts are all in place, the fun really start where I can detail the rest of the model without so many big concerns.

Regards, Louis

[Marco Peter]

...otherwise they will bounce around and you will loose half of them...

So glad you said that, I was afraid I was the only one haha!

Great build!

[c.rainford73]

Exceptionally done as always Louis

[Soeren]

The Nashorn was great already, but this one, omg, that is

[lmcq11]

Hi,

Today was a nice Saturday and I worked outside on the electronics and associated modules. Took some pics tonight.

Here is the gun rotation system. A bit similar to my Nashorn build, it is the Heng Long rotation unit coming with the Sherman that turns a portion of the Sherman turret round gear. It is mounted on a plasticard piece linked to the shaft fixed to the gun mount above. I will put some blocks on both ends so that I do not rip the gun mount by travelling to far right or left. With such (no cost) primitive system, it is only to play around with the howitzer. No one is going to dog fight a Panther with an M7...

M7 priest electronics

Here a gun elevation system has been built mainly with plasticard and a brass rod, and needs to be integrated with the Heng Long Sherman elevation unit. You must be wondering what is this but see the picture further below

M7 priest electronics

Temporarily in place next to the gun rotation without a single mm to spare, the Heng Long unit is tied to the arm ahead of it. Turning the elevation gear makes the push rod go up and down through the rotation shaft. I have not done extensive trials yet because the gun and the electronics are not yet ready to be fixed in place.

M7 priest electronics

The M2 105mm gun is muzzle heavy but light, and the natural position is down. The push rod from below pushes on the cradle to make the gun go up and down. This view will be hidden by a central gun shield section that has not be built yet. Notice the Mato lights and metal frame.

M7 priest electronics

Here the top of the gun shield has been extended as per references, and this change makes it possible to install the braces on each sides.

M7 Priest gun shields

M7 Priest gun shields

I initially wanted to reuse the Heng Long lighting units but once cut and taken out of the Sherman upper hull, they became very fragile and the wires were not long enough with the new setup. So, I ordered brand new Mato metal Sherman lights from Forgebear. It is a rare luxury with this build. They were easy to install but the metal is difficult to alter, the metal will break instead of bending. You have to be careful not to ruin them when doing alterations to make them fit the M7 hull.

M7 priest electronics

Same treatment at the rear with Mato rear lamps. Again, the Mato metal is difficult to work with, there is not much that can be done to remove excess material without damaging the wire and lights.

M7 priest electronics

I would have normally put the wiring strait inside the hull sides but references show the wires going externally forward before entering the hull. If I had to redo it, I would have put the Mato wires strait inside and put a single fake wire going to the front to simulate it. Too late now, I won't redo it.

M7 priest electronics

M7 priest electronics

Regards, Louis

[c.rainford73]

Fabulous work

[HERMAN BIX]

Brilliant idea for the elevation.