M1 155mm gun Long Tom (USA)

thingiverse

This model continues my small contribution to towed artillery models in 1:76 scale. I hope it is of interest. The gun is the predecessor of the M198, which in turn preceded the current M777 in the US and other armies (models of both already provided to the best of my ability). Long Tom was used in WW2 and the Korean War, and in later years. The model is based on an old .max shell model that was available on various sites, and converted to a starting .stl using the excellent Yobi3D site (file labelled starting point - included to give a perspective on the final model; the wheels are wrong and the supports excessive - DO NOT PRINT). My thanks to the original contributors (not clear) and to this conversion web site. I then worked in 3D Builder and Cura (thanks again to Microsoft and Ultimaker) to scale, correct, split and strengthen the model for printing. Particular effort was required on the suspension and wheels, as these did not convert properly, or were too fragile. As it is, I found that the suspension springs were difficult to untangle from the supports that Cura introduces, and I lost the lower ones, but this is not very visible in the final model. I tried different model splits, but feel that the current files offer a good balance between complexity and printability. I hope that I have the scaling right, as information on dimensions is limited and I was not able to find a properly scaled drawing (any help welcomed). At worst, a scaling factor may have to be applied, but the model looks about right. I include a photo of the assembled model before painting; I will include this as a 'build' in due course. This design might be of interest to WW2 modellers... The next steps are to generate versions in firing position (suspension changes) and in full towing position (barrel retraction), but these will involve some significant work. Enjoy!