Medium Extended Range Mortar

The Kit:
This is another Dartmoor Military Models offering in 1/35 scale of the current U.S. Army and Marine Corps 81mm Mortar. It is cast in white metal and is just a beautiful kit to build. There were a few very minor casting flaws found and the ones that I did find, cleaned up with a fine file and sandpaper easily. The muzzle needed some interior cleaning that I did with a de-burring bit mounted in my Dremel Tool. Actually, this is the first model that I have built that is cast in white metal and there was some apprehension at first, but by using super glues, it went together really well. It's a fragile kit, but it transports well, already having survived a couple of trips to local shows with no problems. The key to safely transporting something like this is to adhere all the contact points to the groundwork.

The Details:
Just about Out Of the Box (OOB) with this kit. The only additional details that are a must and are not included with the kit, are the retaining strap and mounting hardware to the bipod. I added this feature by using thin strips of drafting tape and photo-etch brass 'hardware'. My example's traversing rod wasn't cast very well, so I cut it out and replaced it with a piece of Evergreen styrene rod.

The Base and Groundwork:
This base is cut to 3-1/2 inches in diameter and is of pine wood, stained with a natural stain and sealed with multiple coats of Polyurethane. Sculptamold mixed with white glue was added for the groundwork. Dry Sculptamold was lightly sprinkled on top for a ground 'texture', and the boot prints were pressed in before the Sculptamold had fully dried. Once again, I added some dried-flowers for the bushes.

Painting, Weathering and Finishing:
With this being another metal kit, I first primed the model with PollyScale Acrylic Metal Primer.
PollyS/PollyScale Acrylic Paints were used throughout. Winsor and Newton Oils thinned with Loew-Cornell Odorless Brush Cleaner and Thinner were used for the washes. Dry brushed in part with PollyS/PollyScale Metalline series Acrylic Paints. PollyScale Acrylic Flat Coat was then applied overall to the finished subject.

General Info:
The M252 is an adaption of the British L16A2, and is found in mortar platoons of infantry battalions. The object at the end of the tube is a blast attenuator device which is fitted to further protect the crew from the effects of the muzzle flash. This weapon is of a British design with Canadian built components and has American modifications. Truly an international weapon system.

The M252 in U.S. Army service is transportable in the self-propelled mode by the M125 series of fully tracked vehicles based on the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. In U.S. Marine Corps service, the M252 is carried in the LAV(M), 8-wheeled Light Armored Vehicle. Both vehicles providing 'under armor' operation and excellent mobility of this weapon.

From a United States Marine...
"As an 81mm mortarman with 2/9 from '88 to '92 I've got a ton of guntime on this excellent weapon.  The one thing that really stands out when firing it is the "ring" associated with the B.A.D., especially when firing max charge H.E. or illum.  When the round goes out there is a very distinct sound as the B.A.D. reverberates - when videotaped the blast isn't as loud as you would expect (probably attenuated by the camera) but the ring comes through loud and clear." -- Dustin Atwood, USMC

References:
Federation of American Scientist

[Home]
[Soviet M-1938/43] [U.S. M30] [German GrW 42] [German NbW 35] [U.S. M1] [British L16A2]
[German GrW 34] [Japanese Type 97] [Italian 81/35] [U.S. M252] [British 3-Inch]
[German kurzer GrW 42] [British 3-Inch Stokes] [U.S. M2] [Japanese Type 89] [German GrW 36]  [CHICOM Type 1963]
[British 9.45" HTM] [German 7.6cm Minenwerfer] [British 2-Inch SBML] [U.S. M29] [French Mortier 120]
[U.S. T27] [British L16A1] [Soviet M1937] [U.S. M98] [British 6-Inch MTM] [U.S. M120]

[U.S. M21 MMC] [British FV432(M)] [U.S. M106A1] [British "Tadpole"] [Russian SO-120]
[SPz 52-3] [V-150 AMC] [U.S M4A1 MMC]

[Three Dwarfs and a Mortar] [Marine Mortar Team] [Catachan Mortar]
[Heavy Infantry Mortar Team] [Assault Mortar Team] [Insurgent Mortar Team]

[The Honor Roll  Page 1  Page 2]

[1/1 Photo Shop  Page 1  Page 2  Page 3]

[Site Awards] [Awards Application] [Guest Files] [Wanted] [Other Models] [Infantry Manuals]
[Site Updates] [Other Mortar Manuals] [Viewer Comments]
[The Author] [Links] [Disclaimer]  [Site Map] [Contributors] [Banners] [Video Clips] [BLOG]

Unless otherwise specified, all models built, painted, photographed and are owned by the author.
Mortars in Miniature, Created and Maintained by Kevin Robert Keefe, Copyright © 2001 - 2008.
 All Rights Reserved.