Russian 76.2mm AA m.1900/O2P

Kit # 72265

Oddly, ACE has given this light field gun model the same name as their kit #72257. My references refer to it as the 3-inch (76-mm) quick firing field gun Model 1900. The gun may share the same caliber, same wheels and same limber but otherwise it is a very different, and a less advanced gun. Rather than a recoil system under the barrel like the M1902, an oil and rubber-donut recoil system is housed in the single trail. ACE’s very nice box art portrays the gun in service as an anti-aircraft gun during WWI. By this time it was largely replaced by the M1902 gun (ACE kit 72257) as field artillery and was relegated to be used as an AA gun (of questionable effectiveness).
This weapon can also be modeled in service with the Russian Army during the 1905 Russian-Japanese War, and with the Finnish Army during WW2. There is an example of this weapon in a Finnish museum but this is not referenced in ACE’s website.
The exploded-view drawings in the kit instructions demonstrate assembly of the gun and its limber; no crewmembers, horses or harness is included. At upper right is the assembly of the wooden frame for use as an AA gun.
There are four small sprues of light hard styrene plastic, one more sprue than kits #72252 and #72257. The additional sprue, at lower left, is for the frame to elevate the gun for AA use. The sprue for the gun (upper right) is almost exactly the same as for kit #72252 except for several minor changes. Detail is good though with the limited-run molding, you may find some significant flash with kits from older, more used molds. The muzzle should be drilled out. At the top center is a small fret of etched brass to replicate crew seats on each side of the gun barrel, a not uncommon feature of pre-WWI era field guns.

Article Last Updated: 21 July 2009