CONVOY:s 1/76 194mm S:t Chamond SP Gun

Self-propelled Artillery was no invention of World War 2. The need for this kind of artillery was realised pretty soon during WW1, not least because of all the trouble ordinary Field Artillery of different calibres experienced when trying to follow attacking infantry or even just to regroup on the devastated battlegrounds in the West. The French designed and built two types of SP guns: the Schneider and the S:t Chamond. 

Convoy, one of the best kept secrets of the Small Scale Military Modelling World - they are tough to make contact with! - has made a 1/76 scale model of the S:t Chamond SP Gun (and of the Tracked Load carrier as well). It comes in a sturdy box, and contains some 35 parts, most in resin, but some in White Metal. 

 

This is a very ambitious kit, and both Convoy and the master maker, Arie Dijkhuis, a worthy applause for this undertaking. Quoting the instruction: "This model is not for the 'faint-hearted', and requires some experience of resin/metal kits. All the parts have been included, there being virtually no ned for super-detailing, but the experienced modeller may decide to replace some of the parts". Amen to all that! 

There is an abundance of small parts for the gun and gun carriage - including an opened breech: nice detail I have never before seen on a artillery kit in this scale! - which I find right and proper. Most artillery kits show only the outline of the gun, and leave out all the little parnapheralia, that you can see on a real gun. Not so here! The moulding are sharp and nice, the resin hard, but there is quite a lot of flash around some parts, especially the smaller ones. (And I wonder if those two "Ship Wheels" really well let themselves be freed from all that resin?)

The kit comes with a good set of plans, which is really needed as this IS a bit of a challenge. I have not started to built it yet, but I must say that I like this kit: both the originality of the subject, and the ambitious scope of the kit itself makes it quite irresistible! Well done Convoy! Get it from the producers themselves: their adress is 64 Pine Avenue, Hastings, East. Sussex TN34 3PR, UK, Phone 01424440568, Fax 0142445392. Or simply go to their own site!

If you want some more info on the real gun, click here! For some building tips, click here!