dear all,
here's a 37 mm Hotchkiss naval gun for probably my next diorama, 100% scratchbuilt.
These kind of guns were used on almost every Russian ships between 1892 and 1904 from what i read.
It was also used on some small boats as primary weapon for river monitors, and i am pretty sure the last rounds they fired were against the Germans in '41!
it's quite a small built, that's why i put a lighter near the finished built!
i still have a bit of riveting to do on the base of the gun as well as a bit of sanding. But i will sadly have to buy one of those terribly expensive punch and die sets before completing it.
thanks for viewing

Sweet build JB. Awesome detail.

My-oh-my, JB...
You always brighten my day with your awesome builds, bro, no matter how great, or small they are...thanks for your artistry and total inpiration, mate!
~Gunny

Ahoy JBA,

Always a pleasure to see your work!

Is the little one keeping you up?

Cheers,
Joe

Darn it, I just read an article recently about making a home made punch and die set. Now I have to see if I can find it again. If you can scratch build a gun like this you sure should be able to scratch build a punch and die.

The gun looks great. Would this have been called a 1 or 2 pounder?

Thanks my friends, always such a motivation

Joe, the little one is certainly keeping me up awake, but then I hardly can model at all at 4AM! Actually I might model on and off some small projects for some time, till I can reasonably cope with my new responsibilities
btw, I saw a pic of this gun, with an anti aircraft sight on the bridge of a late WW1 Russian submarine!
Rodger, i am not sure about the pounder amount, BUT I found accurate plans of the Hotchkiss mechanism in a British website and it appeared the 47mm version which is longer was actually mounted on British vessels in the late XIXth century, and the site called that the "2 pounder"!
Then if i am okay with plastic n' mastic, everything of a harder consistency usually drives me mad, but then I would gladly know that link to a self made punch and die

Thanks again for the comments!
JB

I'm still looking, but here is one thing I found that might help.

http://www.modelgeek.com//features/447

Oh, so close, thanks for pointing me there Rodger! looks like I could use that one, thanks a million!
JB

Ahoy JBA,

That link to the tool from Rodger is great.

Also have you tried some aftermarket nut and bolts rivets etc. many different
styles and not so expensive. Modelrailroaders use them for scratchbuilding
and they come in all sizes...adaptable to any scale.

Cheers,
Joe

Jean-Bernard,
Is this the site you looked at?
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNRussian_37mm-30_maxim.htm
Just the one pic unfortunately.
Tom

thanks for the tip Joe actually i do have a few Grandt Line bolts that i bought some 15 years ago that I treasure -and I used actually 2 on that one. i can't find them in France anymore it seems. I also have a Royal model photoetched card with bolts, but that's the same thing everytime, i have few of them, I use them scarcely, and then i never have in stock the exact shape I have. So it looks like the punch and die set will be the option!

Tom the naweaps.com site is an old favorite of mine -especially because they give precise measurements of the stuff, but yes, few pictures.. The Maxim gun you give the link of I will certainly do one day as I have good plans too
if you mean the British website where I found the plans for the Hotchkiss, it's that one:
here
absolutely excellent resource i must say

Hi jba,

More interesting stuff. Thanks for the link, very useful.

Al

Thanks for the comments on my 2 guns Al, the big one should be part of the next diorama but i am not sure I will use this small one yet.
Both guns will be enhanced with homemade photoetch as well as those metal rivets that Scale Hardware are producing. And then they will look pretty good

btw, I have an answer for Rodger about the pounder thing: a few weeks ago I came across a great book about Fairmile boats that were used by the British, and I was surprised to see that little gun in the drawings, the text was saying something like "at the beginning of WW2, the British didn't have so much guns at their disposals and exhumed those old ones who were both extremely obsolete and reliable", and it IS a one pounder

Hi jba,

Your ability to make all this stuff from styrene just amazes me, and your accuracy to detail and research is always a pleasure to follow.

I am sure you will find a use for this little gem and it's bigger brother is equally impressive and will make a great scene. The early war period when things hadn't quite developed so far has a lot of possibilities, a good mix of the old and the new.

Keep em coming, it's inspirational stuff.

Cheers

Al

J.B., excellent work as always !!!
I've found some more ref. pics for you, I hope you don't mind me posting them on your thread. The pics are in my gallery if you want them.

First is a Finnish gunboat with a Hotchkiss.



The next four are very early 1900's pics. of U.S. patrol craft. Notice on the first pic. the ship in the background with the two guns mounted on top of an open air gallery on the fantail. Also notice the heavy bolts [ and plentiful ] securing the gun to the deck.









Next are three very haunting pics. of a sunken Italian fishing fleet in a canal just a ways in from the sea. This is WWII.
I hope you will think about using this in a future build, I'm certainly going to !!! The ghostly masts sticking out of the water are just too interesting not tobe built into a dio.








And the last pic I just couldn't resist, he's a U.S.Coast Guard mascot from WWI I believe.

dear Pier team!
Al -accuracy in detail yes, maybe, but real accuracy I don't know, I struggle everytime with documentation on the stuff I scratchbuild
but I agree with you that the beginning of both world wars are really interesting because of what you say -counties to dump whatever they have in their wastebaskets to face dire needs...

Glenn what can I say? thanks a million for your pics, the first is pretty cool and this is the bigger version of the Hotchkiss gun, it's the 47mm one (2 pounder?) i have got some very good quality plans the day I need it, I just wonder about the recoil on such guns on such a small ship!!
your 4 next pictures are great too, I wonder what kind of gun it is -I am not that good at American stuff, looks to be at least a 100mm. I like the fact on the 3 following ones that the stirring wheel is just in front of the gun! I guess the pilot would not be too tall.

Your 3 next pics are of course my preferred, you see, i already made quite a big dio around 1995 with exactly that, plenty of masts going out of the sea (the last medal I ever won at an exhibition) I will post pics somedays in Modelgeek.

But that diorama I did was certainly SF inspired while this... It just confirms some thing i think since quite a few time now: why do we need science fiction, as the human or the nature already produced the weirdest things imaginable!
I wouldn't have believe those pics If i didn't see them , they're just totally great, they fit in my imagination like a 1000$ pair of shoes

thanks a lot
JB

okay for the dog, he really looks so proud

Hi jba,

The first boat looks a bit top heavy with the 2pdr but your 1pdr would do very nicely. Interesting pic though.

I'll look forward to developments in the future, the last 3 are great but I wouldn't like to be the helmsman of one particular ship lol, lol.

Glenn,

Brilliant pics, thanks for sharing. Love the dog

Cheers

Al

Awesome work so far JB.

Thanks everyone for the photos and the links.

Hi all

Jean -Bernard, sorry for joining late but better to turn up last than not turn up at all, what can I add to the comments written so far, probably nothing apart from to agree with all the praise that your work has already received.
In a vain attempt to sound clever and more as an effort to add some thing at this late stage I have some information that might be of help, particularly as it involves a form of this "French" gun and its use by the French during WWI in Aircraft, I joke not.

Hotchkiss Canon de 37mm modele 1885, weight 325 Ib, muzzle Velocity 2,850fs, recoil 1.5 tons, lenght of recoil 24in, shell weight 1.5 Lb

A picture of such a weapon (long barrel) mounted into a Voisin Ca4 "Le Rapace" of a French naval squadron at Dunkerque in 1916 can be seen on page 210 of "Early Aircraft Armament" by Harry Woodman, the same model weapon can also been seen mounted into a Voisin Ca5 on page 211.

Hotchkiss Canon de 37mm, modele 1902, Weight 103Lb, Muzzle velocity 1,200 fs, recoil 1.5 tons, lenght of recoil 5 in, shell weight 1lb.

The same book shows a short barreled version of the 1902 gun mounted in the nose of a Breguet 5.

At one point there were 59 37mm & 47mm armed aircraft on front line service, mostly ground attack.

These guns do however have recoil systems mounted over the top of the barrel.
Just to prove that if you give a pilot a big gun he will fly almost anything the French mounted a Hotchkiss 47mm in a flying boat that was powered by a 200Hp engine, too much Pernod (LOL)

If you think the pictures would be of help just drop me a line Jean-Bernard


PeteV

Pretty cool. Great detail especially for its size.

Sorry guys, just found out of your replies today

thanks for your comments, and yes Al, I guess the fishermen ran away pretty fast when the bombs came, so much ships destroyed, these are very scary pictures.
thank you Kenny and Redshirt, but indeed when i look at it now, I just look at all the mistakes, and i will have some extra work on it

Well Pete, a recoil system.. i didn't think about this, but that would explain the bizarre tubes I have seen here and there on late pics! The book on Fairmiles I told about showed some weird tubbed up version of that gun and I can't doubt now that it could be a recoil system ! I didn't know there was a version for planes
thanks once more guys!

jba,

I didn't see any trouble spots on your build, looks very good to me. Those pictures of all those poles were a bit different. Great build and keep us informed of the progress.

JB, your hexagon holding devices are on the way.

thank you Frank, yes i will keep on sending in progress shots -next one should be the circular holed area which holds the guns, with stanchions all around!

thank you Dave, - i hope I will find an occasion to contribute to one of your builds too..

Hi jba,



This is off topic but I thought you would appreciate this:

1939



Cheers

Al