1:72 Figure Soldier of artillery crew with a 100-mm projectile

A loader with a 100 mm shell

The 100 mm caliber is among the most widespread on the eastern European battlefield. It is fired by the MT-12 Rapira anti-tank gun-howitzer, and the tank guns of the T-54 and T-55 series vehicles had the same caliber. A figure with such a round in its hands therefore suits several different models at once.

The figure captures a member of the crew at the moment when he is carrying a complete round to the breech. It is precisely such a moment that gives a scene its action. The gun itself stands on its base, but the people around it show that firing is going on right now.

What you get

It is one printed resin figure, which measures roughly twenty-five millimeters in 1:72 scale. The ammunition is part of the casting, so there is no gluing of a small part that at this size is hunted for on the floor for longer than the whole build takes.

Assembly and painting

The print supports tend to be denser at the ammunition being carried. Cut them off with a sharp scalpel in layers, not with a single stroke, otherwise there is a risk of breaking the forearm off. Level the flats with a file with fine teeth. Start the painting with a dark ground, because an artillery crew is painted as a single whole: the uniform, the gloves and the shell all get a common undertone and only then are they distinguished. The brass case and the gray projectile create a contrast thanks to which the figure is recognizable at once within a group. Add the remaining ammunition at the figure's feet sparingly. More rounds than the crew would manage to fire off from one position comes across more as a store than as firing and takes away from the credibility of a scene.