WIP - VIP Protective Detail Iraq

kon15

i actually seen 3 vehicles just like this one at the Armory on Ali Al Salem, Air Base in Kuwait the other day except they had brush guards and a roof rack with spare tire and comm equipment

Yup, I saw lots of these type of armored Suburbans in Iraq too.  I rode in a few with the CG as well.  Thanks for looking in on it.

i actually seen 3 vehicles just like this one at the Armory on Ali Al Salem, Air Base in Kuwait the other day except they had brush guards and a roof rack with spare tire and comm equipment

Thanks for the compliments.  It was fun totally reworking the Suburban and making it look thrashed.

Did you make those Jersey barriers or is that a resin product?

I made them myself out of plastic, then made rubber molds and cast the multiples.

looks like a winner gino!

Very nice work! You really put that shiny new Chevy through the wringer, and it came out very convincing: crunched, bomb-blasted and shrapnel riddled! I only wish I could see steam pouring out from under the hood.

Did you make those Jersey barriers or is that a resin product?

I totally agree with your take on the VIP Gino- the way he's clutching onto that briefcase makes me think he's totally shaken up- standing there like a deer in the headlights. High contrast to the protection detail who rolled out of every side and quickly put up a perimeter. Of course they're out in the open, they’re in the middle of the street and their ride just got disabled- the trick I would imagine would be to quickly get on the move, assess any and all threats and handle them appropriately and continue to stay mobile while they coordinate an extraction- to hunker down and get behind cover would be a mistake as they'd lose any slight advantage they may have- especially as a secondary blast is highly likely if this was a planned ambush sight.

As for the figures- I recant all my previous bashing of Trumps modern line. While their infantry looked a little odd I think the freedom of equipment and outfits in the PMC world worked to their advantage- these guys look right and while the molds may not be top of the line resin etc, for a plastic kit, they're very much on par with other molds and with a great subject like this- who could complain! This is the kind of figure set that's so specific you’d think it a one off or a conversion. Speaking of which- very very nice work on the uparmored Chevy. The best part IMO is that tire, nicely done.

It's cool Gino-- I like it. This picture really(drives)home the realism

as for the figures..........they all look pretty easy to pick-off from here 

Thanks for checking it out.  To me, the VIP is just kind of standing there in shock at the whole situation, unable to process what just happened as the security guys jump into action and take care of business. 

i dont mean to sound picky but it feels like the civi needs to be crouched down or something. he looks a tad...statuey...maybe cos hes a statue, um yeah just my 2 cents, either that or like hes falling over or something like hes been flung out of the truck while they try to protect him. otherwise it looks really great. im impressed. The posters on the barriers look good, nice touch. maybe some grafiti? (listen to me im handing out advice yet my skills arent up to this yet lol)

It was suggested by another modeler that I add some skid marks.  It sounded good to me.

Skid marks added.

The dio is complete.  I made a base out of a wooden plaque from the craft store, stained and sealed.  I did the road out of spackling compound and painted it black.  I added the lines with white paint.  I weathered it all with a few different shades of sand and dirt in craft acrylics.  I added some debris around the wall and barriers in the form of some Arab newspapers, a water bottle box, and a couple empty water bottles.  I also added some Iraqi posters and a traffic sign to the T-wall as well.  I damaged the wall where the truck impacted and added some concrete debris around the bottom too.

Here is is:
 

From ground level:

Some close-ups:

You can see the debris well here:

And the damaged wall:

A few more pics here.

As always, all comments are welcomed.

Thanks for looking.

Its been a while since I have had a chance to make any progress on this one.  After finishing a couple other projects, I have started to hit this one hard.  I have finished up the figures and am currently working on a base.  I built the Trumpeter Private Military Contractors (PMCs) VIP Protection Detail figures pretty much straight from the box.

They went together pretty well and I had no issues with them.  I have heard all sorts of stories about how bad they were supposed to be, but to me they look pretty good.  They do have some large feet, but they don't look too bad to me.  They may be a little short too, but we'll just chalk them up to being short guys.  The weapons are really nice and they come with lots of different scopes, laser pointers, flashlights, etc. to add to them.  They also come with a bunch of extra gear to put on the figures.  I think I only used about half of the gear and weapons add-ons.

Here they are.

A couple close ups.

I am also working on some T-walls and K-rail road barriers that will be used in the dio.

That's it for now.  Let me know what you think so far.  I'll keep you posted on further progress.

Thanks Indy, its been fun so far.  Right now, the plan is for the team and VIP to be out of the truck seeking shelter until they can be extracted.  I haven't decided on exactly how/where they will be yet, or on any other elements.  I do have some Middle Eastern civilians and a Ford F250 crew cab that could become a guntruck coming to the rescue.  Hhhmmmm.  We shall see.

~~Impresssive vehicle conversion in progress there Gino !  Very good work. So I wonder will the Dio focus on the team extracting themselves from that wreck ? Seems like they might be a little messed-up themslves maybe. Also, any other figures you're thinking about including--I know you'll want to add some kind of local flavor to set the scene. Anyways, interested to see where it goes.....

ATB

Progress continues.  I have completed the rebuild of the Suburban.  I added a few knobs and dials to the dash, then painted the interior parts with gunship gray and primer gray.  I detail painted the interior to match my 1:1 Tahoe color scheme as well.   Next I added some gear inside: an ammo can, MRE box, and some magazines in the rear gunner's area; a water bottle box, 12 pack of Coke, and a couple bedrolls to the rear seats; and a few details on the dash up front. I repainted w/ a GM touch-up spray can of Seattle Silver.  I made LT, Suburban, and a Chevrolet decals on my home computer for the external badges to complete it.  For the damage, I scraped away the paint in the blast area and on the right front corner.  Then I dirtied it up a bit w/ a sandy wash and black pastel chalk rubbed on the blast area. 

Here she is:

More pics here.

Next I will start the figures.  I'll keep you posted.

Wow! You made that SUV look beat up. Nice job.

The abuse you put that Escalade through reminds me of some of the drastic conversions on Discovery's Monster Garage with Jesse James. 

I was thinking the same thing as I was doing it.  It reminds me of an Escalade side-loading garbage truck conversion he did.

The abuse you put that Escalade through reminds me of some of the drastic conversions on Discovery's Monster Garage with Jesse James.  Great idea modifying  the die-cast. Should be fun to follow the progress on this one!

Wow, that's actually really cool! Can't wait to see it finished.

Josh