Resin Ammunition for the Renwal/Revell Atomic Cannon

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Officially known at the M65 280mm Heavy Motorized Gun.  This old 1:32nd scale model kit from Renwal never had a decent projectile included with the kit.  The actual shell included in the kit actually sports a rim around the bottom and some very deep engraved lines surrounding it at locations that do not relate to any actual part of the real shell.  The lack of detail and the comic book look of the shell always bothered me and I finally found myself in a position to do something about it. 

I commissioned another member of this forum that is a much better modeler than me who also has at his disposal the necessary equipment to create something like this and he accepted my offer and has recently finished a master of the shell shape associated with the real M65 280mm Heavy Motorized Gun.  I have five copies in my possession at the moment.  I just finished taking some close up images of the one shell that could stand upright on the pour plug included with the molded part. 

[jcf]

Steve had the first pattern at the IPMS meeting on Saturday.
My first thought was, 'what could I shoot it from? ' 

[Rickshaw]

Does it go "BOOM!" in scale as well? 

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Steve had the first pattern at the IPMS meeting on Saturday.
My first thought was, 'what could I shoot it from? ' 

Steve does some excellent work and that is certainly no small projectile.  He really got the dual rotating bands in sufficient detail.  I am just glad to see something that looks more like the real thing instead of that pair of cartoon bullets that were included in the kit.  The things have rims around the base of the projectile that makes them look like a giant rim fire cartridge. 

Any boom noises you make in the privacy of your own domicile are purely for your own enjoyment or entertainment. :)
Does it go "BOOM!" in scale as well? 

[Alvis 3.1]

Does it come with a visit from the NRC?

:)

ALvis 3.1

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Does it come with a visit from the NRC?

:)

ALvis 3.1

I hope not.

[kitnut617]

What are the dimensions of the scaled product Jeff ?

[Jeffry Fontaine]

What are the dimensions of the scaled product Jeff ?

Approximate dimensions are approximately 9.0 mm (3/8ths") Diameter X 40.0 mm (1.5") Length. 

[Feldmarschall Zod]

Those shells look great Jeffry. If I remember,you were looking for them for a few years.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Those shells look great Jeffry. If I remember,you were looking for them for a few years.

About fifteen years of networking, begging for information, and regular search sessions on the interweb resulted in much frustration and many dead ends.  When I finally felt I had enough information to create a 3D model in SketchUp it was a major accomplishment.  Since then the idea was always to try and come up with something that would work as a replacement for the parts provided in the Renwal/Revell kit and Steve has managed to capture the more recognizable features of the projectile without compromising a lot in the process.  It seems that in addition to the nuclear shell (W9) there was a spotting round that matched the ballistics of the W9 shell in addition to a conventional shell that had a slightly different shape.  No hard references available to show the actual differences between the three save for the casual images taken of museum displays and the sometimes grainy images of the shells seen in propaganda videos from that period.  One gun has a shell welded to the loading tray but it is void of many details (located near Fort Riley, Kansas).  So what we have is an amalgamation of the three shell shapes and the end result looks much better than the kit parts.  For those striving for complete accuracy I am at a loss to achieve that but for those that want to build the model and include something other than the kit parts this should do the trick. 

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Some images attached to show the three versions of the 280mm Shell for the Renwal/Revell Atomic Cannon that Steve Gallacci has created at my request.  I am quite pleased with the results and consider this portion of the project closed.  Up next will be the propellant container for the powder bag charge. 

Image one is the conventional high- explosive shell.

Image two is the atomic shell. 

Image three shows all three shells together with a inch-ruler to show the size.  The third shell with the smooth-bulged feature in the area of the rotating bands is the high-explosive shell with the protective cover over the rotating bands and it has a lifting ring instead of a fuze.  This would be the normal configuration while in storage or transit to be consumed. 

Image four shows again all three variations of the shell without any form of mensuration in view. 

[tsrjoe]

I soo 'need' a set of these, iv a Renwall/Revell 'atomic cannon' underway (and a couple more in the stash) 

Are you planning making any of the other nuclear artillery types? I know information is lacking on such things but they would look pretty neat displayed alongside the weapons sitting in miniature versions of their transit cases or lifting cradles 

Hmm, whats next?  SADM.? Davey Crockett (the Sharkit one seems impossible to get hold of?) 

cheers, Joe

[GTX_Admin]

Davey Crockett (the Sharkit one seems impossible to get hold of?) 

I would love a bunch of 1/35 Davey Crockett.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

There is a Davey Crockett available in 1:144th scale from Shapeways.  Not sure how it would work to be scaled up to 1:35th but you can always ask the maker

[Buzzbomb]

Davey Crockett (the Sharkit one seems impossible to get hold of?) 

I would love a bunch of 1/35 Davey Crockett.

Wrong Crockett ?

[Rickshaw]

I always thought he looked like this:

[Old Wombat]

Whereas I always thought he looked like this:

[elmayerle]

I always thought he looked like this:

Ah, yes, from the film that busted John Wayne's Batjac production company.