GBModelli

Cannone Skoda Da 152/37 (15cm. M15/16)

According to Wikipedia [1]:
The 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16 was a heavy field gun used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. Guns turned over to Italy as reparations after World War I were taken into Italian service as the Cannone da 152/37. Austrian and Czech guns were taken into Wehrmacht service after the Anschluss and the occupation of Czechoslovakia as the 15.2 cm K 15/16(t). Italian guns captured after the surrender of Italy in 1943 were known by the Wehrmacht as the 15.2 cm K 410(i). They weren't used much by the Germans, probably because of their unique ammunition, and generally served on coast-defense duties during World War II.

The parts in the kit are very well cast. When looking carefully, we can find an occasional pin-hole, but nothing that ruins the fine detail. There is almost no warping, except perhaps very slightly in the gun barrel. A small amount of flash needs to be removed. The riveting detail is superbly done.

I don't know if over the long life of this gun many modifcations were made to it. I can only imagine something must have changed between WW1 and WW2, depending on the user, so you might want to check your references if you want to build the kit for a specific setting.

The manual has a single exploded type drawing, which might be a little bit crowded in places. Fortunately, there are also 9 pictures of the completed kit on the backside, which help enormously. More are to be found on the GB Modelli website, together with pictures of the real gun. There is a separate instruction clearly distinguishing the three types of hand-wheels. For those who are wondering what the Italian text says that the English text doesn't (notice the difference in volume between the two), it says just that: "be very careful when placing the wheels".
The manual mentions that the kit is a limited edition, but I don't know if this means that the kit has only a limited production run, or that this particular kit has something that the "regular edition" hasn't.

Decals or marking suggestions are not given in the kit, but, as said, pictures of the real gun can be found on the GB Modelli website. I am no specialist when it comes to Austrian-Hungarian, Czech or Italian paint schemes, but I guess that the gun would be painted in the "color of the time". German guns would be dark grey or dark yellow, depending on the time-frame. I don't think it would carry many markings, except perhaps some stenciling and a gun number.

References

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_cm_Autokanone_M._15/16

[2] http://www.landships.freeservers.com/new_pages/15cm_autokanone_m15_info.htm

[3] http://www.landships.freeservers.com/new_pages/principenero_15cm_kan_kitreview.htm

Thanks to Georgio Briga (GB Modelli) for the review sample.

Briga (GB Modelli) products are available at

Article Last Updated: 15 July 2012