Renwal 1/32 "Atomic Cannon"

By  Rod Lees, IPMS# 10821

Kit #553 MSRP- Nope! Web Site: Get real! Originally released the year of my birth, 1958, at the princely sum of approximately $2.50, I believe. Now: Up to $500 on E-Bay (and climbing). The M553 atomic cannon was a weapon developed and delivered to provide Army commanders the ability to deliver "the nuclear option" if it ever were to be needed in a field situation. It was made obsolete by tactical air-delivered nukes, but as the box art shows, what a way to deliver a small package of sunshine. Fortunately it was never used in anger; I've been amazed at how small the overall weapon is, having seen the original "Atomic Annie" at Fort Sill. There are others around at other Army posts as well… and if you go to the web, there are videos and pictures for your viewing pleasure. From the moment I purchased this kit, I knew I would build it. The box was water damaged; even so, I paid a lower collector's price for it, and decided it was time for construction to commence. (Insert internet collectors' screams here) This was to be an out-of-box build; when I found some of the sites where people had modified the kit to make it more accurate, I thought, "good for them". My purpose was to return in my mind to 1971, when I originally built one of these. This kit was re-released in 1981 by Revell in the "History Makers" series; I would have preferred to have paid for one of those just as a cost savings, but 'twas not to be. (In 1981, I was newly commissioned in the AF with real bills and college tuition loans to pay, so purchase of this kit at the time was not on the agenda). I decided to pull out the original instruction sheet that I had saved from my original build, and use it, as the kit I had purchased came with large photo-copied instructions that had some areas cut off. Besides, what a better way to take myself back.

There's not much to say except I followed the instructions. In the box was typical 1950's modeling bliss; plenty of parts swimming around, torn off the sprues. This was back in the days when they put part numbers on the parts, or had extra circular tags with numbers on them. Two bags with special parts were included; one blue label ("A" unit transporter parts), and one pink ("B" unit Transporter parts). The both had the admonition, "DO NOT OPEN until "A" (or "B") unit transporter is completed… this will prevent any mix-up of contents with unrelated pieces". A sage admonition for a complex kit with similar parts throughout the build. Also included are two "atomic" rounds (which are a bit bigger around than the muzzle) with associated wheeled carts, and "men" in the form of two drivers in poses leaning out the window, two standing GI's to be talking to the drivers, a couple of other generic figures, and two figures bent in the "pulling the ammunition" pose for the ammo carts. All figures have the obligatory sink marks in the small of the back. Facial expressions are non-descript; not as good as those in the companion Renwal "Ontos" kit in the series (Yep, I built that kit S.O.B, too, a while back)

I had four parts missing; a travel barrel retaining pin, a ratchet lever, one small tow eyelet, and the one part I needed the most… that being one of the barrel elevation gears. I opted to make a single-side mold in clay, using the existing gear as a master. Gently prying the gear out of the clay after push-molding, I made sure the mold was deep enough to capture the gear tooth sequence, and poured in the casting material. I left it overnight to ensure a hard copy; removed it from the clay, cleaned up the teeth, and used a sanding block to even out the gear backside. Drill through the center hole, and pray it works… IT DID! Face it, after all these years, only missing a couple of parts in an open box is quite an achievement. The instructions have you build the cannon and carriage first and then move on to the transport tractors. The barrel is split, has a necked down portion then has the muzzle assembly itself. The whole thing is designed to recoil AND totally disengage at the breech end, to be slid back for transport position. Work platforms snap into place on the side, and if you are careful can be dropped down for a "ready to fire" diorama setting with the cannon extended and elevated. Two transport yokes are included to allow the tractors to carry the whole thing. Mine were slightly warped, but stand up well enough after hot water treatment and spreading to convincingly hold the carriage.

The tractors have some undercarriage detail, with universal shafts for the four-wheel drive system, and (on the rear tractor) a shaft going to a coolant radiator. I painted the interior of the cabins flat black, installed the steering wheels, gear shift lever, and drivers (after basic painting… some wash shadow effect, I was going for the 1950's look), and the cabins were glued into place. Both tractors have self-defense Ma-Deuce .50's, rings mounted on the cabin tops without ammo boxes (with no hatches either…"How to get to them?"). These had pretty good detail for their age. I did not attempt to replace the screen on the engine sides; nor did I attempt to install wiring, hydraulic manifolds, or engines. As I remember this kit, I hated the tire assembly the most. You know, 13 tires, two halves each, painted by a ¼" brush; took all afternoon for the job even with fast-drying flat Testors black paint in the small bottle. Ah, the joys of enamels… The tires fit together quite nicely with liquid cement. They were keyed internally to ensure the tread was properly aligned. Spray with Krylon flat black after you sand the seam, and insert the pre-painted wheels. Stick on the axles with a touch of glue. The tractors looked cool even without windows and the cannon.

Overall paint was Testor's spray can Olive Drab, with Tamiya silver leaf from a rattle can for the gun barrel chromed area (for hardness). The decals were not in the box, and I have not found suitable stars to replace them yet. I painted the bumpers camel yellow, masked and sprayed with black stripes, and finished up the kit. Sitting back and admiring, in the end I have a pretty good replica of what was a stunning weapon for the day. Of course, for photography I opted to do the "young guy " pix outside on the concrete photo shoot for this review; it's too big to capture the image otherwise, and kind of (to my mind) adds to the time warp. I did try to do a bit of "paint" bitmap work on one photo; don't know if that will come out or not.

Collecting is fun, but don't forget to build. The old kits come from (at the time) newer molds, and there tends to be less flashing and mold wear marks. I seek out older kits for that reason; I can then do what I want with the skills I've developed over the years (such as decent paint jobs, seam filling, etc.). And where else will you find a model like this? (If it were developed by a certain company today, it would probably cost as much as the e-bay Renwal original on the higher end of the scale… )

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