Bronco 1/35 US 155mm Howitzer M114A1 (Vietnam War)
By Joe Lotz
Item No.:CB35102
MSRP: $46.00
History
The M114A1 155mm howitzer came to life as the 155mm Howitzer M1, which was based of the French WW1 Canon de 155 C modele 1917 Schneider. The United States Army used the M1 in WW2, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1A1 was redesignated M114A1 in 1962. A total of over 10,300 howitzers were build from 1942-1953 by Rock Island Arsenal and sold to over 40 countries. In 1997, 116 surplus howitzers were sent to Bosnia.
In 1982 the US Army started to replace the M114A1 with the M198 Howitzer.
The Kit
The box for this kit contains 9 sprues in olive green plastic, 1 PE Fret and a decal sheet with stencils and markings for the 155mm shells, totaling 290 parts.
The 16 page instruction booklet is very well done. The assembly drawings are clear and understandable. The painting guide is in color and paints are referenced for MR. Hobby, Hobby Color, Humbrol and Tamiya. The assembly is broken down into 28 steps. A nice touch is the use of small colored 3-D CAD drawings, showing how the PE parts are located or should look after bending.
The plastic parts are very nicely molded with no flash or any visible ejector marks. The detail of the parts is excellent. Another nice touch are the plastic recoil springs which actually look like real working springs that are compressible.
The front part of the barrel is slide molded. While most other manufacturers supply tires made of vinyl or rubber, the tires in this kit are actually made out of styrene.
Conclusion
Bronco provided us with another beautifully made kit. But this is by no means a beginner kit due to the high number of small parts. Nevertheless, this kit is a must-have for every artillery or Vietnam War collection.
I would like to thank Stevens International and Internet Modeler for providing me with this review kit
