28mm Gribeauval 8pdr Guns - any good?

 Hello,

I'd like to print a typical 8-pounder Gribeauval cannon for the Kozak Miniatures Revolutionary Artillerymen.

I don't like the files that come with the figures. The gun is far too softly sculpted for my taste. It might be usable in 1/72 scale, but it's not really suitable for enlarging.

No problem, I've collected enough different files of Gribeauval guns by now—or so I thought!

There was a Kickstarter from "regimentosdeamerica" ​​(Fernando Pedrazzoli) that offered various French guns. I backed it, but unfortunately, I then had problems downloading the files (that was probably my fault, not the provider's!), and eventually, I gave up. So, no luck, no 8-pounder to print!

On to the next Kickstarter files! This time from "Napoleonic STL files" (David Vaquez Fernandez). This one once offered a whole set of French artillery. But somehow the cannon looks odd... Luckily, I remember another Kickstarter project from which I already have the files, this time from Piano Wargames (Lucas Luber) – the 8-pounder looks better, but comparing the cannons to each other, they have completely different dimensions!

So instead of printing a 8pdr I have to do some research. Dawson/Summerfield's book on Napoleonic artillery will have to do, along with a few articles by Summerfield where he measured cannon barrels.

The facts about the Gribeauval 8-pounder:

Wheel diameter: 1462 mm

Carriage length: 2850 mm

Overall gun barrel length: 1840 mm or 2010 mm (various barrel lengths exist)

Axle width: 2090 mm

Rear carriage width: approx. 545 mm

Converted to 1/56 scale:

Wheel diameter: 26.10 mm

Carriage length: 50.89 mm

Long gun barrel length: 35.89 mm

Short gun barrel length: 32.85 mm

Axle width: 37.32 mm

Rear carriage width: approx. 9.73 mm

Napoleonic STL Files

Original / Napoleonic STL files (David Vazquez Fernandez):

Wheel diameter: 26.10 mm / 28 mm

Carriage length: 50.89 mm / 43.15 mm

Gun barrel length (long): 35.89 mm / 38.5 mm

Gun barrel length (short): 32.85 mm

Axle width: 37.32 mm / 36.10 mm

Rear carriage width: approx. 9.73 mm / 12.7 mm

Piano Wargames

Original / Piano Wargames (Lucas Luber):

Wheel diameter: 26.10 mm / 25.5 mm

Carriage length: 50.89 mm / 52.3 mm

Gun barrel length (long): 35.89 mm / 36.45 mm

Gun barrel length (short): 32.85 mm

Axle width: 37.32 mm / 37.75 mm

Rear carriage width: approx. 9.73 mm / 10.9 mm

Conclusion: Lucas Luber's cannon is definitely the better one. Because scaling it up to 1/30th scale magnifies the incorrect dimensions, I'll adjust some of them slightly (e.g., make the wheel diameter slightly larger, and the carriage and barrel a bit shorter). I'll post pictures of this in a few days once the cannon is printed.

Best regards,

Andreas