The US Army M12 Gun Motor Carriage

Scale: 1/35 Kit: Academy #1394 Resin: Legends #1035 engine Photo-etch: Eduard #35298

History

Within the US Army during World War Two, self propelled artillery, or “Gun Motor Carriages” were popular in that it allowed for quick deployment of fire support to advancing armored and infantry units.  However for most of the war, there was no huge desire for a large caliber 155mm gun to be mounted.  A few prototype M12 GMC mounting the French 155mm guns of World War One vintage were developed in 1942, but were not given much attention.  However late in 1943, as plans were being drawn for the invasion of Normandy, interest for a large caliber GMC was renewed as a way to deal with bunkers and other heavily fortified positions.  74 M12 GMC, and 81 companion M30 ammo carriers were rebuilt in early 1944.  Six Armored Field Artillery Battalions (AFAB) were equipped.  They soon proved their worth, as the effect of a 155mm round at near point blank ranges on a bunker was devastating, and far more effective than other methods.  The M12 was also the first US artillery to fire on Germany.  However with only a small number available attrition soon took its toll and by 1945 only two-thirds of the units remained in operation.

The Model

I have always wanted to do a model of the M12, and had started scratch building one many years ago.  As fate has it, Academy released one a short time later.  The Academy kit is very nice, with crisp features, good detail, and includes a complete fighting compartment and drivers station.  Though with any model, there is always room for improvement!  First I introduced Eduards detail set, which provided a wealth of smaller details.  It also provided some great engine deck screens, but that meant that you could now see into the empty engine compartment.  Legends came to the rescue with a resin engine compartment.  The rear engine compartment panel is provided in resin, however it’s a bit short in width, so this was shimmed up with plastic strip.

Continuing with the construction, I decided to replace portions of the fighting compartment walls with sheet plastic.  Both the rear plate and the structure around the crew seats was replaced using the kit parts as templates.  Weld beads were added with putty.  The brackets on the rear spade were also reworked using reference photos.  I noticed in photos how the rear fenders were either missing, or quite damaged.  Using the kit parts I traced a template on paper, then transferred the paper form to sheet aluminum bending it to shape.  Bows for the canvas cover were added with brass wire.  Tracks are from an older Dragon Sherman kit.

Panting started with a base coat of Model Master dark green, followed with Olive green and “Faded Olive Drab” lightly sprayed.  After a coat of Future acrylic floor wax (now labeled as  “Pledge with Future Shine” in the States), dots of various oil paint colors were blended in to vary the paint further.  Once dry, masks were cut for the stars and these airbrushed on.  The serial number was made from spare stencil markings from a Dragon Sherman kit.  The chalked on markings are those seen on M12’s of the 557 AFAB near Linnich, Germany in February 1945.  Using photos in Seven Zaloga’s “US Artillery in World War II” by Concord, I penciled on the markings with a Prismacolor colored pencil, which replicated the chalked markings perfectly.  Additional scratches and rubbed spots were made with brown and lighter green colored pencils, and a graphite pencil.

External gear consisted of various commercial items, as well as some rolls and tarps made from putty.  Sandbags were made with Das Pronto putty, pressed onto the model, including the oil drum, then removed when dry for painting.  The trick with any extra gear is to not have any of it “floating” above the surface, but settled and secured.  This can sometimes be difficult with rigid resin or plastic items, so start with a layer of rolled tarps, bedrolls, or “blankets” made from putty.   Then while the putty is still soft, press in the resin and plastic items.  Think as though you are one of the crew of that vehicle, giving thought to where you would want something, what it would be, and being sure that it does not hinder the fighting effectiveness of the vehicle.  The 155mm Ammo came from the excellent AFV Club ammo set.  A small LIFE magazine from Extradetail gave a finishing human touch.

Sitting next to the Shermans on my display shelf, the M12 makes a nice addition to the M3 and M4 based vehicles.  Its good to have this grandfather of modern self propelled heavy artillery captured in a scale model, and it will no doubt be followed by an M40 at some point in the near future!