1/35 Acad M2 (Conversion Project) M3A3 OIF Bradley/w lost of scratchbuilding.

Some of the stuff I'll be using:

Thats a lot of after market goodies you are going to add. Should be interesting to follow. Good luck with all the Eduard PE

Julian

do they even make an m3a3 model? i mean i know there is an m2a3 version.

not the first time a box would be wrong but whatever...! that said, i like it especially all the details!! will be watching!! edit** i see the box saya m2a2 which is ok...not sure though about your m3a3 in the title. not that im being picky!!

I think according to my minimal wiki research, the A3 variants hit the M2 and M3 in 2000, the M2A3 and M3A3 are now totally digital and the armor upgraded.

That being said, the box top does say M2A2, White_R34, are you going to attempt to convert the M2A2 to an M3A3? Just wondering.

Beside the point though- this build looks great so far, nice detail and scratchbuilding. I’ll be making an M3A2 in 1/72 so I’ll definitely be following along. Most of the differences between M2/M3 variants are lost to me, probably because I don’t know what much of the arrays and systems do and where they’re located. All I know is mine has the reactive armor.

Thought it was a conversion project, thanks a lot for the info on the variants Gino, thought you might be stopping by at some point. I'll do more research and make sure my M3A2 has the accurate rear area incase Dragon cut corners with an M2 kit. It'll be in service with the 1st Cav.

Looking forward to following this one!

No need for an apology at all, on my part it was more lack of knowledge about the subject than anything you might have done wrong. I’m sure if I knew the differences between the M2 and M3A3s I would have quickly IDed it as a conversion project as Gino did.

If you’re not too pressed for time could you let us know what you’re using reference wise? Also, it looks like you’re scratching with sheet styrene- but you’re managing to save/add the rivet detail, are those after market rivets? Or also scratched? Sorry I can’t really tell all your after market products from the pictures. Great work, with all the putty and scratch work so far, it looks like you’re really taking the time- the whole interior from the ground up is amazing! Did you curl flat styrene into the tube shape of the turret interior or was this preformed?

psstoff995 wrote:

No need for an apology at all, on my part it was more lack of knowledge about the subject than anything you might have done wrong. I’m sure if I knew the differences between the M2 and M3A3s I would have quickly I-Ded it as a conversion project as Gino did. If you’re not too pressed for time could you let us know what you’re using reference wise? Also, it looks like you’re scratching with sheet styrene- but you’re managing to save/add the rivet detail, are those after market rivets? Or also scratched? Sorry I can’t really tell all your after market products from the pictures. Great work, with all the putty and scratch work so far, it looks like you’re really taking the time- the whole interior from the ground up is amazing! Did you curl flat styrene into the tube shape of the turret interior or was this preformed?

Ok psstoff995 where to start where to start? Ok first I need to give credit where credit is due to HeavyArty for giving me that right kick in the addnodes that gave me the drive to build my and that's this build one more time., to make up for all my goofs on the first one. Ok with that said the next credit is due to the ((Amazing)) scratchbuilder Mr. Kim Hyoung-Min AKA khm1best for his help in what and where to place parts and all his scratch-photos.

Now on to all the rivits and bolt heads. I use Laytex rubber over othere armor models so I can make as mini bolt/rivits as I need. Now for the realy small ones I just use thinly pulled sprue and new sharp blade.

Now as for reference photos I have bean giving a lot of photos once guys have seen that I realy want to do the best version of this particular Bradley. So if you need some photos and info on the differences between the M2 and the M3 bradley variants. You can start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M2/M3_Bradley_Fighting_Vehicle

One thing I have noticed in conveting my M2 is there as armor plates added and some new items added. I'll start posting some of my ref. photos and if you ask HeavyArty he can point you in the right direction. He also can tell you what parts and items are called and if he want's to he'll tell you what there used for.

Now your answer to and I quote: Did you curl flat styrene into the tube shape of the turret interior or was this preformed? Yes as I look at PVC and it was to thick to use so I did what I always do, I did it all my self. Next I'll post some of my old progress photos, way back to the start.

The M3A2/A3 loaders hatch:

This is a new items to you but I think it's a year or two old. Hay heavy how old is this hatch design?

An the drivers hatch and some othere parts.

Hay you know I didn't even know what shot trap armor was till I realy got in to this build. You can see it on my first photos. Here's a photo of the real thing.

An how about all these weard named plate parts like Up-armor, ERA armor well that one self ex explosive reactive armour any way theres a lot to learn in the building of these types of projects. An that over any thing othere type of model is one of the resons I have a strong love for building Military Models.That and I love to scratchbuild. So if you need any thing just feel free to ask no mater what. I still have to ask about things my self.

Here's some old progress photos.

Dont put this part on as the directional sheet tell's you. If you do you will have to fix it later as I had to. Front drive gear-wheel linkage cover:

I cut off the shaded part and fliped it over, and glued it in the right place.

At this time I don't have any new photos of this fix, so I'll take some of the sand putty fix. Also I'll take some photo of my self making resin rivets' and bolt heads' from a laytex rubber mold.

Thank you very very much- I know I can get pretty long winded with my posts and I really appreciate you taking the time to go into my questions and answer them all beyond expectation.

That’s a great way to have a lot of rivets on hand, and probably cheaper in the long run than rivet kits.

Thanks for the reference photos and the early stage progress shots. This will really come in handy for my build. Unfortunately in 1/72 most of the detail is already lost in scale... maybe I’ll have to invest in a 1/35 kit.

I hear you about all the different modern upgrades and armor kits. Personally I enjoy them as they really keep one on their toes- that being said I think I prefer the reactive armor look the best on the Bradley series.

you want to see some nice bradley scratch work, check this out...

http://www.hobbyli.com/Default.aspx?tabid=55&g=posts&t=709

Hay Camo J you think that is detailed "HA" Take a look at the "Master" that is instructing me with my build. Feast your eyes on Sensei Master Hyoung-Min's Blog.

 http://blog.naver.com/khm1best

Hay guys sorry for not getting back to work on the beast of work yet, as I have put all my hart and time in to completing my Merkava project an I put this project on hold. So I will be back to work on ithis project after march.