Latest edit: Added Kozak Artillery crews at the bottom of the post.______________
Crescent 25 pounder Field Gun
Also known as Ordnance QF 25 pounder, this was a 87.6mm caliber gun. Introduced shortly before the war, it was the main howitzer in the British Army during the War and many years thereafter. Its maximum range was 13,400 yards with a HE shell of 25 pounds (hence the name). This is another nice model by Crescent. The rivets on the gun shield make it look very real. Like the 5.5 gun, it also has a lever that allows it to shoot rounds.
Crescent 25 pounder Field Gun - from above
This picture shows the circular platform that these guns used to have which enabled them to be rotated to point in the right direction more easily. When the gun was deployed, the platform would be placed underneath the wheels of the gun. Unfortunately, most of the models that you find today are missing this part, as it is relatively easy to detach it.
Crescent 5.5 inch Medium Gun
The 5.5 inch (or 140mm) gun went into service in 1941 and first saw action in North Africa. It was operated by a crew of 10. Its firing range was between 16,000 to 18,000 yards. Each shell weighed 100lbs. The firing angle went from -5 to 45 degrees. This model by Crescent has a wheel on the side that can be loosened/tightened to adjust the firing angle. It also comes with a lever on top that controls a spring and it allows it to shoot actual rounds. Unfortunately none came with the gun, so I will need to improvise some ammo.
Lone Star Anti Tank Gun
This is an under-scale gun by Lone Star. Rather than 1/32 it seems to be 1/40 or 1/43. Based on its size it can probably be used as a 6 pounder or even the 2 pounder anti-tank guns. Like the Crescent guns, it also comes with a lever-controlled spring that allows you to shoot rounds with it.
Lone Star Anti Tank Gun - Desert Version
This is the same gun as the previous one. I don't know if Lone Star released it in this color scheme, or if a prior owner spray painted it this color. In any case, I just got three of them in this style and they provide much needed artillery support for the B8A guys.
Lone Star 25 Pounder - Front
Here is another under-scale model by Lone Star. Given their 1/32 figure range, I just wish they had manufactured these sets to match those figures. BTW, this one also lets you shoot with it.
Lone Star 25 Pounder - Back
Here you get a good idea of the size of the gun relative to some actual 54mm figures. I guess it could be used to represent a smaller caliber gun. But definitely, if you are undecided between the Crescent 25 pounder and this one, the Crescent one is head and shoulders a much better choice.
Crescent 18 Pounder
As you might suspect, perhaps from the wooden wheels, this is a WWI gun. At the beginning of WWII some British units were still equipped with them. Anecdotally, I have also heard -although I have not verified- that they were also used at the outset of the war by the Soviet Army, hence I staffed the gun with a Soviet crew for this picture. This model comes in metal and as other Crescent guns, has a spring-based firing mechanism. The only thing to criticize is that it is a bit undersized. This particular model is well used, so the gun barrel drops below horizontal, which is why I had to place a small twig to support it.
Britains Deetail L6 'Wombat' 120mm recoilless Antitank gun
The Wombat is actually a weapon developed in the1950's. I suppose this is why it looks so much like a WWII artillery piece. At any rate, since I don't have many other British anti tank guns, I have decided to accept it in my WWII collection. Plus it has a nice, heavy caliber!
Britains Deetail British Heavy Mortar Set
A really nice heavy mortar team. The mortar can actually fire shells enabled by a spring mechanism inside the tube. There is a small lever in the back of the mortar which can be pulled and released to eject the shells. A pretty fun set.
British Paras with 6-Pounder Anti Tank Gun by TS Central
This is a nice set from Kozak. It gets two thumbs up from me for its uniqueness as well as the execution. The gun and the figures are both nicely sculpted. Good poses and good level of detail. The crew includes a kneeling loader, a standing ammo handler, the gun operator, the commander observing and directing the fire, and an additional guy plugging his ears :-) I am not sure what his job was meant to be, but he adds some realism to the scene. I got these figures from TS Central which has developed a flexible, softer resin for 3D printing. The figures are now so flexible that I had to use the hot/cold water trick to straighten out the gun's barrel!
British Paras with 75mm Pack Howitzer by TS Central
These are the same five poses that come with the 6-Pounder AT Gun. Besides the fact this crew is operating a different artillery piece -the 75mm Pack Howitzer- the other difference is that these paras come equipped with helmets, most of them with a bit of cammo attached to them. After I took the pictures I realized that I swapped the crews and the guns. The guys with the berets are the ones who originally came with the howitzer. But I think I like them better this way. I like to think that the guys with the berets are probably a bit more settled after their jump and have adopted a defensive position with the AT Gun, whereas the crew with the helmet just landed, assembled their howitzer, and started a fire support mission, without time to change their head gear. Both pieces and crews are great additions to my British Airborne troops!
Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central
These are the same five poses as the British Para Artillery crews above. They are just dressed in desert uniforms with short sleeves and short trousers. A couple of them are wearing netting on their helmets. In terms of poses you get a loader, an ammo handler, the guy operating/firing the gun, an observer and a guy just trying to preserve his hearing. I labeled them 'light' artillery because they are holding smaller shells as compared to another B8A crew shown a couple of pictures below.
Kozak Miniatures British Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central
Again, these are the same five poses as the British Paras and British 8A gun crews above, now dressed in full British infantry uniform. It would be nice to have more variety in the poses across sets, but I guess they will never be displayed side by side. Most of the kneeling guys are quite stable without a base, except for the man with the binoculars. I had a tricky time stabilizing him. Then I realized that he has some excess resin on the sole of his front foot. I removed some of it and that helped. I will probably sand off the rest to make it even and that will stabilize him for good.
Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central
This is a second artillery crew for the B8A guys. I labeled them heavy artillery because they are holding larger ammo shells. Maybe for a 17 pounder gun? It comes with seven poses, of which five are new compared to the other gun crew set. The loader and the ammo handler are the two repeated poses. the only minor difference is the size of the shell they are holding. This time the operator, the observer(s) and the man covering his ears are all standing. There is an additional guy sitting on the gun carriage or the wheel. I don't think I will have much use for him as that would be a very odd thing to do while the gun is being fired. In terms of the observers, I would have preferred to get a different pose instead of having two that are almost identical. The main difference is the head gear. I suppose they could be used as the officer and his second in command who are discussing what to do based on their observations. But most likely I will set up the crew using one or the other. The other guy can be assigned to a mortar or MG team!
Kozak Miniatures British Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central
And these are the same seven guys as above, just dressed in regular British infantry uniforms. Since they are all the same poses as the previous picture, I am not going to repeat my observations. One thing to comment though is that I initially meant to photograph these crews with the 6 pounder anti tank gun that I also got from TSC. Unfortunately one of the trails was a bent about half an inch off the ground and when I tried to straighten it for the picture, I broke it. And that's despite the fact that it is printed with a very nice, flexible resin. I think the problem is that I stored my figures in a room in the basement that is not well insulated and with the cold weather the resin got a bit stiff and was not ready to be bent. So a word of caution. The material of these items is the best resin I have seen so far in terms of flexibility but even so, at cold temperatures, it might break if you are not careful about warming it up first.
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