M7 B1 105 Howitzer Gun Motor Carriage "Priest" 1/16e

[Boris Plotnikoff]

Hi,

some time ago I start to build an M7 105 Howitzer Motor Carriage " Priest"

The tank is based on a Heng Long lower hull and part of HL upper hull :





Many details are made from pictures of Squadron Signal Walk Around book :





The gun is from Shapeways production :



Many parts of the gun mounting are made of brass machined and welded by myself :











The side and front armour is made of plastic card of 1.5mm thickness:





The pulpit is made of rolled plasic card of 1mm.



The gun armour is made of welded brass sheet of .3mm





The gun legs are made of H brass profiles cutted and silver welded.

Telescope mount M21 is made of bress tubes machined and welded:



The left motor was too high, so I made a modification of the gearboxes allowing to place the left motor lower
and allowing to have the true position of the gun :







The gun equilbrator :



The complete gun with all sighting devices ( m21 telescope mount and the M4 range quadrant )

[greengiant]

Love the guns detail . Is it to be static when done or will you make it able to move by radio (elevation , recoil, traverse)?

[Boris Plotnikoff]

Hi,

it is not easzy with Heng Long radio but i will try.

Boris

[greengiant]

I would think the traverse and elevation could be done with small rc servos run off the HL receiver. The long recoil would take a lot more thought but should be able to be done with a servo also.
Sure would make the project come alive to be able to have a radio controlled main gun. especially with all the fine detailing you have done with it.
Even if you don't I still think your build will look fantastic.

[Boris Plotnikoff]

Hi greengiant,

I''m not a specialist in radio control, so, i have done one experience with elevation of the gun of my M10 Tank Destroyer with a microservo. But the motion is to fast even with the shorter arm of the microservo.

Ho to do ?

Boris

[Boris Plotnikoff]

Hello,

I resumed the post after a month in the hospital for a pleural effusion for which I was drawn 2 liters fleet and found after many exams a cancer sarcoma and for which I am in full chemo, so I'm not very brave !

I think again the machine gun from the mounting system on the circle, I ordered the elements allowing me to do it in brass.





Meet you later !

Boris

[greengiant]

Still looks great
On the servo, the shorter the arm is the quicker the movement appears the longer the arm is the slower it appears if hooked up to a non proportional control source. HL radios only have proportional control on the engine drive speed stick.

[Boris Plotnikoff]

Hi,

I would like to make a true machine gun monting on the pulpit !

I bought, expensive, the gun holder assembly of at Shapeways but it will not, it's too lace!

I think again the machine gun from the mounting system on the circle, I ordered the elements allowing me to do brass mounting

I manipulate this material better, two profiles, a H for mounting a machine gun and U soldering on the H, and mounting this assembly on the "pulpit" of the priest!

Boris

[Raminator]

Spectacular work, Boris. I'm really impressed by the metalwork you've done on the howitzer.

I've always had a soft spot for the Priest, it was one of the first kits I built when I was a kid. Not quite the same connection that you have with it, though!

[Boris Plotnikoff]

Hi,

waiting for the H and U profiles to make the .50 machine gun mountng, by the time, I make the electrical mounting with the
2.4 Gh receiver, all functions are ok !!

Boris