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I got a chance to talk to Devon Dickinson at one point a few years ago. He may not be too well known in the UK, but he's made a couple 36" shells here in the US. He showed us a nice video that shows all the processes and all that fun stuff. They're made and lifted like most any normal shell, just with some proportional modifications. Yes, a hole is cut in the top, and this is how the shells are loaded. I've seen similar small scale casings sold by Plasticos Gamon for multi-petal shells. By proportional modifications I mean stuff like bed sheets in place of tissue paper to separate the burst from the star/shells. A sledge hammer to "tap" the shell and settle the burst. A beach ball as the hemi-former.
I have a hard time believing that 1lb of powder is all that is needed to lift a 48" shell. I could see this for a perfectly machined projectile perhaps, but not a lumpy paper shell. Devon joked that Goex made pre-weighed lift bags for him. IE a 25lb bag of 1FA or 2FA. Most of these big shells use a standoff as well at the bottom to take some of the stress off the shell.
I've seen the mortar too. One guy swore it was a bear trap, and that I didn't know any better.
Yeah I recall 24" shells using atleast 9-10lbs of lift. Also remember reading on the Grucci website about 24"-ers that were used at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
With the meticulous way the Japanese manafacture I'm sure their shells over 12" are definitely not a disappointment in performance. I recall seeing videos somewhere on youtube of a couple Japanese 24" shells being fired, and they were absolutely amazing. How I stumbled across the videos I have no idea.
