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Brief History
The M114 traces its origins to the 155mm M1 howitzer first produced in 1942. It saw service with the US Army during World War II, the Korean War, and
the Vietnam War, before being replaced by the M198 howitzer. The gun was used by the armed forces of numerous nations, where it still remains
in service in some countries.
The carriage went through a variety of minor changes over time. The original M1 carriage utilized electric brakes, which were upgraded
to air brakes for the M1A1 carriage. All the carriages used a mid-axle firing pedestal. On the M1 and M1A1 carriage the pedestal was extended by a vertical
gear ratchet mechanism with a rectangular box rack plunger. The M1A2 carriage replaced the ratchet with a screw-jack system and used a cylindrical rack plunger.
Later the M1A1 was re-designated the M114A1. In the mid-1970s the M114A2 introduced a new barrel.
The Kit
Inside the box are two sprues of injected styrene like plastic, molded in a light olive green colour. Total parts count is 98 (Sprue A = 58, Sprue B = 40). There is a
modicum of flash. Most parts show a fine seam line. Ejector pin marks look to be in places where they will be hidden once the gun is assembled.
Instructions are a six page foldout covering 10 steps. No decals are included.
- Kit appears to be an M114A1 gun on an M1A2 carriage. This should make the gun suitable for those wishing to model Vietnam piece as period photos in [1] seem
to indicate that the M1A2 carriage was used in that conflict.
- Overall detail on the kit appears excellent. One feature that's missing and would enhance the kit immeasurably would be lines and reservoir for the air brakes.
- The instructions are incorrect regarding the position of the barrel travel lock (part A6) and the jack (built in sub-step 7h). If the gun is modelled in
firing position the lock should not be placed in the raised
position and touching the barrel as shown in Step 10 & the painting guide. As for the jack, its shaft should not be pointing to the ground as
shown in Step 9 for the travel option. The jack shaft should be raised and mounted roughly parallel to the rest, as shown below.
- The kit's tires are of the NDCC (non-directional cross country) type as seen in reference [15]. Tread detail is excellent.
- From inspecting photographs it appears that the kit's equilibrators (part A11) are molded for a gun with the barrel raised for high angle fire. When the gun tube is
lower there is a space between the springs and the front plate.
- Wheel hubs have the later 10-bolt style. There is a picture of an M114s with earlier hubs in [8].
Conclusion
This looks to be another good effort from Toxso. It's
not quite perfect but should make into a nice model of this gun without too much effort.
References
[1] finescale.com (build blog 1/35 scale Bronco M114A1)
[2] armorama.com
(M114A1 discussion thread)
[3] primeportal.net (M114A1 walkaround)
[4] primeportal.net (M1A1 walkaround)
[5] primeportal.net (Canadian M1A1 walkaround)
[6] usarmymodels.com (M1A2 walkaround)
[7] usarmymodels.com (select pictures from the 1943 Technical Manual TM 9-9-331 for the M1/M1A1 gun)
[8] armorama.com
[9] bravecannons.org
[10] mapleleafup.net
[11] usmilitariaforum.com
[12] TM 9-1025-200-35 Direct Support General Support and Depot Maintenance Manual 155mm M114 and M114A1, Headquarters, Department of the Army, April 1965
(scanned pdf available at google books)
[13] wikipedia
[14] Library and Archives Canada (some pictures of Canadian 155-mm Howitzer M1A1 Cdn on Carriage M1A2 Cdn)
[15] g503.com
Preview sample supplied by KW Leung of Toxso Model.
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