Sledgehammer Project; Preparation Pt I

I have been cleaning all the parts for Reaper's Sledgehammer BFG, part of their Kickstarter 3. This piece was designed by Victoria Miniatures of Australia and really fits into their 40K Imperial Guard lines. In fact on the Victoria Miniatures website you can obtain the crew as resin casts rather than in the soft plastic they are molded from in the kit. There are also a three conversion kits to make changes to the basic gun; a gun shield, crawler tracks to replace the wheels and a shorter barreled assault version (Howling Wolf Siege Howitzer upgrade). I also figured out that the artillery crew provided is part of the Rausenburg Siege Corps. Which means that there are plenty of potential 

Another interesting fact is that the Sledgehammer BFG is based on the WWII Soviet B4 howitzer, also know as the Sledgehammer. And it was a towed, tracked howitzer (it could act as a self-propelled howitzer but could only manage about 9 MPH on a road). That gives me a reference to do a certain level of additional detailing if I so desire. So the gears were turning as I was cleaning up the parts the other day.

The initial prep was just to remove the mold lines. With that chore done I need to go back and clean up the file marks and make sure I haven't flattened any cylindrical parts out. I'll do some filling of injection marks and dimples as well. I have been going over the pieces and noting where I could make detail changes relatively easily and see what detail I can pull over from the B4 howitzer.

I think the concept for a diorama is starting to gel, it would be a good piece for that as I have no use for it as a gaming piece.

Most of the Cannon portion plus the shells.

Basic frame

Gun supports, and misc pieces

More parts including the frame for the wheels.

And the wheels! Six double wheels, three for each side.

Pieces press fit together pretty nicely. the rear portion of the howitzer bed really begs for some extra detailing and the metal anti-skid plates could be replaced with some nice brass etchings.