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M35 Mess Truck

thathaway3

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Michigan
Now that I've found the correct spot, I'll re-post this.

Previously I had asked some questions about M105 1 1/2 ton trailers for a model project I'm planning to do in a few months, and that led to a request to post some photos of some models I'd already done, which I put in the wrong place.

So based on that request, I've moved the thread to where it should have been.

My first unit was 1st Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery, 8th Infantry Division in Baumholder, Germany where I was assigned from October 1972 until August 1975. I've been building vehicles from that unit with a goal of ultimately having at least one of each type vehicle on the TO&E. There will be a couple that I won't do, but I will have a fair representation of the kinds of vehicles we had.

This particular build is our Battery Mess Truck. Unlike Tank and Mech Infantry units, the vast majority of the Battery in a Field Artillery unit remains co-located with the "company trains" for most of the time, and so practice at that time was for the Mess Section to cook and serve Breakfast and Supper as hot "A" ration meals. To facilitate things but to remain able to move on short notice the section's cooking equipment was mounted in a unit made shelter mounted in the bed of the sections M35. Meals were cooked and served off of the truck. This was common for pretty much most units that I observed at that time.

So this first set of photos are the initial construction of the shelter prior to mounting it in the truck bed.DSCN8110.JPGDSCN8111.JPGDSCN8112.JPGDSCN8113.JPGDSCN8114.JPG
 

m1010plowboy

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That's beautiful. I missed the other post so whoever finds the link first should add it here. My questions might already be answered over there so I wouldn't be doing this next bit...... but here goes.

This idea is over the top because it's not just a photo of a truck/ unit that will be lost on the internet one day.....because surge protectors don't always work and some idiot leaves his computer plugged in during a lightning storm....and all the pictures of the 70's nuclear age are gone. I digress.

What is that made of?
The detail is tight even with these new fangled cameras and photos a guy can't be sure if it's scale or real. just wow.

72 to 75 was an interesting time. I'm a cold war fella so can I ask what the nuclear relation to the models might be?

Thanks for sharing this. You're kinda new around here so welcome aboard. I'll build a fire and hang around right after I hide all the models I built.
 

thathaway3

Member
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70
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Location
Michigan
This is all scratch built from sheet styrene. I do a lot of scratch building so I have a lot of it in various thicknesses and widths so I have whatever I need on hand. And as far as the nuclear relation, we DID have "special weapons" and in fact one of our M35s was designated as our special weapons truck. It's job was to go to the SASP if required and bring back any nuclear rounds if required. We'd have an annual "Technical Proficiency Inspection" to retain our certification and part of it was inspection that truck. It had to be PERFECT, so we NEVER used it for anything or drove it for anything except once a year. How dumb was THAT!

So here are some additional pictures as I completed the kitchen.

DSCN8132.JPGDSCN8133.JPGDSCN8132.JPGDSCN8133.JPGDSCN8134.JPGDSCN8136.JPGDSCN8137.JPGDSCN8138.JPGDSCN8139.JPGDSCN8140.JPGDSCN8141.JPGDSCN8142.JPG
 

Mullaney

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Now that I've found the correct spot, I'll re-post this.

Previously I had asked some questions about M105 1 1/2 ton trailers for a model project I'm planning to do in a few months, and that led to a request to post some photos of some models I'd already done, which I put in the wrong place.

So based on that request, I've moved the thread to where it should have been.

My first unit was 1st Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery, 8th Infantry Division in Baumholder, Germany where I was assigned from October 1972 until August 1975. I've been building vehicles from that unit with a goal of ultimately having at least one of each type vehicle on the TO&E. There will be a couple that I won't do, but I will have a fair representation of the kinds of vehicles we had.

This particular build is our Battery Mess Truck. Unlike Tank and Mech Infantry units, the vast majority of the Battery in a Field Artillery unit remains co-located with the "company trains" for most of the time, and so practice at that time was for the Mess Section to cook and serve Breakfast and Supper as hot "A" ration meals. To facilitate things but to remain able to move on short notice the section's cooking equipment was mounted in a unit made shelter mounted in the bed of the sections M35. Meals were cooked and served off of the truck. This was common for pretty much most units that I observed at that time.

So this first set of photos are the initial construction of the shelter prior to mounting it in the truck bed.View attachment 824593View attachment 824594View attachment 824595View attachment 824596View attachment 824597

Wow... Okay, so I agree with m1010plowboy except that while he built a fire and hid his models, I didn't have any models. I was just sitting in the dark and won't admit to having built any models at all :cool:

That is another AMAZING creation thathaway3 ! That is so cool...

.
 

M35fan

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Agreed. That is VERY nice work, Sir. Thank you for sharing. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your projects, when you have time.
 

thathaway3

Member
17
70
13
Location
Michigan
And finally some of the completed vehicle. Just a quick note. All of these photos were actually taken just after I completed the build, which I was just shocked to realize, was in 2007! Since I took these I have done quite a bit of work not only weathering the truck so it looks less like a model, but I've also completed the M105 Trailer as well as a ton of additional items such as a couple of immersion heaters, a table and some chairs, boxes with additional mermite cans and some pallets of C-Rations to complete the diorama. I'll try to set some things up and take some more recent photos of the set-up.DSCN8177.JPGDSCN8178.JPGDSCN8179.JPGDSCN8180.JPGDSCN8181.JPGDSCN8182.JPGDSCN8183.JPGDSCN8184.JPG
 
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thathaway3

Member
17
70
13
Location
Michigan
WWII type (M-37) ranges, not M-59. Fantastic detail!
Yeah, I am pretty sure that our Mess Truck did NOT have M-37 ranges as they surely would have been replaced with the M-59 by the early 1970's but they are certainly close enough and would have been a pain to modify. They were hard enough to build as it is!!! Not sure where I found this set, but I 'm guessing that they are no longer available.
 

thathaway3

Member
17
70
13
Location
Michigan
I finally got finished setting up and photographing the Mess Truck. It had been a while since I completed it and the glue joint holding on some of the more delicate parts like hinges had gotten loose and I had to make a few repairs.

So attached are the photos of the entire set up. I think I'm limited to 10 photos per post so it will probably take a couple.IMG_3737.JPGIMG_3738.JPGIMG_3739.JPGIMG_3740.JPGIMG_3741.JPGIMG_3742.JPGIMG_3743.JPGIMG_3744.JPGIMG_3745.JPG
 

thathaway3

Member
17
70
13
Location
Michigan
And the last of them. Thanks for letting me post these and I hope you enjoy them. My next project is to build the Battery Maintenance Truck, which is also an M35 with a unit built shelter towing an M105 trailer. Hopefully it'll be easier than this one since there's no opening and platform for serving to build!

IMG_3764.JPGIMG_3765.JPGIMG_3766.JPGIMG_3767.JPGIMG_3768.JPGIMG_3769.JPGIMG_3770.JPG
 

Mullaney

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And the last of them. Thanks for letting me post these and I hope you enjoy them. My next project is to build the Battery Maintenance Truck, which is also an M35 with a unit built shelter towing an M105 trailer. Hopefully it'll be easier than this one since there's no opening and platform for serving to build!

View attachment 825051View attachment 825052View attachment 825053View attachment 825054View attachment 825055View attachment 825056View attachment 825057
AMAZING detail. Really neat. Those small pieces... Cooking pans and warmer pans and all kinds of really cool stuff. Skills. You definitely have those!

Tim
 
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