Ace Model's 1/72 Putilov 76.2mm M1900/02P Field Gun
 

On the Real Thing

The Putilov 76.2mm m/02 Field Gun is an important gun, as it made up the mainstay of the Russian Imperial Army's artillery during the Great War, and was then used by all sides in the Civil War, and then by the Soviet Army well into WW2.

The design itself was pretty standard, but it had quite a long barrel (2.286 meters). It had a screw breech, and used two types of shells: HE and Shrapnel. The range of the 76.2mm Putilov was actually quite superior to any other field gun used by the other powers in WW1: it was capable of throwing a special grenade (7.45 kilo heavy) some 9.6 kilometers, while usual shrapnel shells could reach some 7.5 kilometers. (It was also accurate: the spread of the shots was small.) However, that range was rarely attained, as it could only be elevated some 16 degrees. Also, the gun itself was placed noticably low between the wheels. For sure, this gave the gun a low profle - the 4mm thick shield was also foldable - but it also made it harder to deploy than other Field Guns, as intervening terrain more easily masked its shot. In practical terms this - compared to the low degree of elevation - meant that it could rarely be used at ranges over 4 kilometers IF there were elevated terrain in the line of sight. 

The 76.2mm Putilov was primarily employed in the Artillery Brigades of the Russian Infantry Divisions, of which there was one attached to each Division. Every Artillery Brigade consisted of six batteries of eight guns, which means a total of 48 guns per division. The Independent Infantry Brigades each had a Artillery Batallion attached, each mustering a total of 24 guns.   

For more info on this gun, including plans and detail shots of a surviving piece, click here!

The kit comes in a nice, well-illustrated box, typical of Ace Models: you see at once that this is a model intended for a bigger market than your usual resin kit. This is a polystyrene plastic kit, of the standard type we all know so well. The plan is very good.

The kit doesn't only contain a gun, but also a limber - pretty good value for money.

The kit is moulded in a soft, light grey plastic. The moulding is good, but as this kit is done with short-run techniques, the details are a bit soft here and there, and you need to trim them with a sharp knife. But again: the material is polystyrene plastic and as we all know very easy to work with, so this is easy. (At least compared to resin or white metal.)

Many details are very small and fiddly, and trimming them can take some time. The fit is good, although you are recommended to do repeated dry-runs of the individual parts.

Artillery kits in this scale are often very crude approximations, often lacking many important details. In this kit you get all that you need to build an accurate miniature gun: dial sight, seats, elevation and traverse wheel, earth spade etc. The accuracy of the Ace kit is top notch, down to the peculiar bent wheel axle of this gun, designed to give the barrel as low sit as possible. And the special twin shield system. (The only detail I find missing is the short lanyard of the breech.)

You will get a very exact replica just straight out of the box!

You can get this kit from most good suppliers, like Hannants.
 

Verdict

This is the best plastic kit we have of this very important WW1 gun! It is even the best hard-plastic WW1 artillery kit you can find on the market today. And the accuracy is top notch.  So you can't go wrong on this one: get it!