Korean War GB: 1/35 Tamiya Big Shot M40

Artillery was literally the big gun in the Korean war. Without heavy artillery and skilled forward observers laying down high ex on Chinese and North Korean infiltration/human wave attacks along what would eventually be the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) during 1952-1953, the thinned ranks of United Nations troops would have had quite a more difficult time than they endured.

The M40 Big Shot 155mm Self Propelled Howitzer was produced for late WW2, but ended up being the main Self Propelled (SP) howitzer of the US Army during the very hot Korean War as only 311 in total were produced.

The Tamiya Big Shot kit is a remarkable kit worth its MRSP in my opinion because it was one of the easiest armor kits I ever put together despite it being quite complex. I also used the metal barrel/Photo Etched Grills set produced by Tamiya along with assorted weathering tricks/skills I learned/borrowed from such folks as Charles King.

I am very happy how things turned out. One day I might use the troops and shells to make a diorama of this vehicle.

I used Mr Color Aqueous H80 OD2 as the base as well as various shades of tan, brown, Khaki and green to fade it.

11 additional images. Click to enlarge.