I was rather disappointed with the quality of this kit as it arrived. Hobby Fan has a reputation of making excellent models, but both of my examples were terribly warped. The tube needed to be straightened out gently with warm water and applying slight finger pressure. The frailty of the bipod legs made it just about impossible to straighten out without breaking. Fortunately, Italeri makes the M23A1 Bipod assembly that is used with the M29 in styrene plastic.

There were minor mold parting lines to remove that were difficult to do so due to the external threads on the tube. Care with a sharp #11 X-ACTO blade is required there. There were also small pin holes in the resin that needed to be filled. Some of these pits were in rather critical areas and were difficult to fill and sand without some alteration to the parts.

This Hobby Fan kit is the only model of the M29 mortar commercially available to the hobbyist. This model was a requirement for this collection, not only due to the subject matter, but also due to the personal experiences that I have had with the actual weapon. I was determined to build this model no matter what.

The Details:
Numerous parts were added to detail and/or to correct this model. These added parts were cut mostly from styrene plastic. The photos below will describe what I felt was required to make this model as accurate and correct as possible.

The Extras:
The 20mm, .50cal and 7.62mm ammo cans are from Verlinden and are very nicely cast in resin. The rolled tarp is an Accurate Armour resin cast accessory and was very well done. The M16 Rifle and the M79 Grenade Launcher are from a DML Vietnam Weapons Set, and to these weapons, I added the slings from thinly cut strips of aluminum foil and the mounting hardware was made from thin formed wire. The C-Ration box is from Hudson & Allen. This was carefully cut out of the thin cardboard sheet, folded and white glued together. I add two thin strips of black electrical tape to form the wire bands that hold the actual box together. The TM as well as the 'Commander's Report' are reduced scans of the actual items. The letter envelope is from Printable Minis, and was printed and cut on regular white paper. The M18 Smoke Grenade was scratch-built.

The white line decals added to the tube came from my spare decal box. In real life, these marks are used as a guide to properly position the mount attachment ring and also as a safety check to ensure the gunner that the tube is properly aligned and locked into place. They are located at 17 and 23 inches from the muzzle.

The AN/PRC-25 Radio as it came, consisted of just the basic 'box', and needed to be detailed. I will let the photos below show the detail added.

The Figures:
Were included in the kit and are rather nicely cast. The only modifications required were to add the the wrist watches. These were made from thin strips of Drafting Tape with punched out disks of styrene plastic, and super glued in place. My only complaint about these figures is that they both should be wearing Flak Jackets.

The 4th Infantry Division patch decals are a product of Quartermaster's Depot and are quite nicely printed. Adhesion was no problem with a small dab of Future Floor Wax applied to the area prior to adding the decals. The decals should be trimmed from the backing sheet very carefully. Solvaset decal setting solution was applied to the decals when in place and dry. There was no noticeable reaction between the decals and the setting solution. Once all was dry, I added another dab of Future to seal the decals, and then added a dab of PollyScale Acrylic Flat Coat to flatten out the wax gloss. They are pegged in place with small lengths of .032" brass rod for added strength.

The Base and Groundwork:
The base is five inches in diameter, and is made from 3/4" thick scrap oak. The edging was created with my Dremel Tool. The wood was stained and sealed with three coats of Polyurethane to seal the base from the effects of the water and white glue mix of the groundwork. There are four felt pads on the underside of the base.

The name plate was created on my computer with Adobe Illustrator and printed out. It was affixed to the base with double-sided tape.

The groundwork is constructed with a mix of Sculptamold, white glue and water. The mixing ratio that I have the best luck with is roughly three parts white glue to one part water. This provides for a good bond to the wood base.

Painting, Weathering and Finishing:
My typical finishing methods for this collection were also applied to this subject. 99% Acrylic paints and 1% Enamel paints were used as well as the usual oil washes of Winsor and Newton Oils thinned with Loew-Cornell Odorless Brush Cleaner and Thinner. I used quite a bit of Bragdon Enterprises pastel weathering chalks for the ground colors after a base coat of paint. I used Berol Prismacolor colored pencils to aid with the weathering. PollyScale Acrylic Flat Coat was then applied overall to complete this subject.

General Info:
The M29 81-mm mortar was a smooth bore, muzzle loading, high angle-of-fire weapon. This weapon was organic to Infantry Battalions, and was used by the Battalion Commander to support on-going land operations when other supporting weapons systems were not available.

This weapon was manufactured by the Watervliet Arsenal and entered US service in the early 1950's. I have not found any documentation to state that the M29 was used during the Korean War of 1950-1953.

It was man-portable when broken down into 3-man loads... tube and sight, bipod, base plate. It was also transportable in the self-propelled mode by the M125 and M125A1 Mortar Carriers that were based on the M113 Armored Personal Carrier. Reference Mike Pruett's track on the Honor Roll page.

The M29 was replaced in US service by the M29A1 81mm Mortar that was standardized in 1970. The main differences between the M29 and M29A1 were the improved tube that allowed for an increase in the rate of fire, and the new and lighter M3 base plate (although, the M29 could also be found with the lighter M3 base plate). The M29 series of mortars are being phased out of service within the U.S. Armed Forces, and is in the process of being replaced by the M252 81mm Mortar. The M29 series could very well be totally phased out by this writing (10-03).

*The M301A1 and M301A2 Illumination Rounds will burn for 75 seconds (suspended by parachute), provide 500,000 Candle Power and will illuminate an area of 1,200yds in diameter.

Personal Experience with the M29A1:
Being assigned to the S-3 Shop, (Battalion Operations) in my later years, I was always stopping by to check in on how the mortar live-firings were going. Knowing the mortar platoon guys quite well, they would always invite me up on the firing line to 'drop in a few'. I was lucky enough to have been able to fire off both HE (High Explosive) and Illumination type rounds. Quite exciting for me, and I was always very appreciative of the mortar guys (B Co. 3rd Battalion 35th Infantry 187th Infantry Brigade). Of the approximately 30 rounds of High Explosive and Illumination that I've fired, not once did I ever hang a round!

On more than one occasion, I was able to view night time illuminations while flying in helicopters (UH-1H) and at eye level... quite a different perspective.

Had I not been basically RIF'd (Reduction in Force) in the early 1990's, my next assignment would  have been to be the Mortar Platoon Sergeant.

Sources:

Mr. Michael H. Pruett - United States
Mr. Dave Willett - United States

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Mortars in Miniature, Created and Maintained by Kevin Robert Keefe, Copyright © 2001 - 2008.
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