Guns of History Civil War Napoleon Cannon with Limber - Historically Accurate Wood & Brass Kit Combination 1:16 Scale Model Kit for Adults to Build

I was at first taken back by all the parts supplied and what looked like poor instructions. Once started things did fall in place. However the laser cutouts where not all perfect and some trimming and sanding of the wooden parts had to be done before the parts could be assembled. While most of the cast metal parts were OK they needed trimming, filing and sanding. I was disappointed in the non functioning 'Spike Swivel' which looks fine but spoils any attempt to use it. I rebuilt the 'elevation screw' to be functional with proper screw thread and turned brass 'Rammer Head' and 'Scoop' to fit the wooden dowels and fashioned a proper cotton 'Sponge Head' from a firearm accessory cotton bore mop. In the end the cannon looks fine, now to tackle the Limber.

Hi unboxed found no tenplate fot building the wheels live in UK been in touch with model expo hopefully will sort it out otherwise I'm knackered

I have been modeling for over 70 years including kits and scratch-building. This kit is much closer to scratch building rather than a "pre-made-kit" But it does eventually build into a nice representation of a civil war limber and Napolean 12 pounder. Unlike other Guns of History kits, allot of basic work is necessary.Regarding the limber, only the ammunition chest sides, bottom, and top are laser cut walnut. All other wood pieces are stock sticks and need to be cut, shaped, sanded/filed to shape. All Britannia metal pieces required considerable filing to final size and shape. Instructions and related drawings were not not very clear. Some mistakes were found and detail drawings are not to scale. The photo etch items are nice and to scale. They fit well.Regarding the Napolean 12 pounder cannon, the carriage and cheeks are laser cut walnut with very minimal locating hole for the Britannia metal accessories. Significant sanding and filing on the trail sections is necessary to get the correct profile. The kit provides wire to represent certain items like drift pins and the bolts that run trough the cheeks and trails. I replaced these with #1 and #2 screws and nuts. The plans and detail drawings again are not very clear, errors were found, are not to scale and show only minimal measurements. You have to find your own round stock for handles for the Brittania metal ram rod, sponge and worm. The brass barrel is beautiful and has an integral trunnion.The four wheels are Guns of History wooden wheels sets and build nicely and cleanly. Instructions and scale drawings are good and accurate. I added #0 screws and nuts through the wheels representing the tire securing screws on full size wheels.Once all the shortcomings are overcome, the cannon and limber build into nice representations of their full size counterparts. When I built these, I addressed each section as a separate project and then assembled them. In my case, I painted the limber and cannon carriage in shades of gray, so the walnut is hidden. One could leave the walnut pieces unpainted. This is not realistic, but it is attractive.I suggest if this is your first Guns of History kit, put it off and try their Whitworth or Parrot Rifle kit. Their carriages are cast Britannia metal trails and are a bit easier over-all. And they give you a sense of how the carriage, trail, cheeks and other attachments fit together.

Instructions were terrible for parts that wouldn't fit. Been making models for 70 years and this was the worst yet!