Thanks for the nice compliments guys.

Phil, you have a great eye for detail, and an obvious knowledge of the subject matter! You are exactly right, those are Academy treads. I had an unfinished Academy kit that I cannibalized on the frequent occasions when I goofed up a Tamiya part. I didn't intended to use the Academy tracks, but they got mixed up and to my uneducated eye they looked the same. It's funny because I was double-checking, making sure the pads pointed the right way, all the while having no idea that the fine folks at Academy had screwed me anyway! LOL!

Hey Bob, I ended up with Reforger by default. It was hard to find any combat theater that would match an M2A0 , and most of my photo references for the A0 came from Germany anyway. And I got to use the war-games placard on the sides, the pretty flags, and that nifty gunfire simulator that comes in a Tamiya accessory kit which I could never use otherwise.

The lights were a blessing and a curse. It really was a heartbreaker, after all I put into building this beast, to lose the two rearmost lights. I had to replace the 9V battery while shooting pix, and when I put the new one in those two lights failed for some reason (power surge?). No fixing it now that all is glued shut. I will still use LED's again though. Secondly, they are TINY to work on. The LED is on the right, and the resistor on the left:

WOW!

Definately (recurring) from me!

When I get a lot better I'd like to do something similar-perhaps on a slightly bigger scale, 1/24 for example.

I'm loving the LED's, they are a superb touch. Without them all that amazing detail would be lost.  

Keep us posted CG!

ATVB

Ben

Nice job. I really like the interior detail. I like how you put a light in there.

LOL REFORGER 88... I was there in 84 and 88.  Sweet build.

Bob

Absolutely stunning job. The lighting really adds another dimension to the finished result.

The only thing I can see that may be an issue is the tracks. The "broad" end of the track shoes should lead, but the rubber track pad is oriented correctly. Did you per chance use Academy tracks? If so, the Academy tracks are incorrectly moulded with the track pads oriented in reverse and there's no way to win .

WOW, absolutly beautiful Job G

Bob

It looks really great.  The lights make it really show up.  Excellent job.

It's taken a looooong time but I think I am about finished. I had hoped to post more photos as the work progressed, but in the end I just wanted to git er done! All that's left is to make the two crew mmember figs to pose at the front of the vehicle, and maybe add some MRE boxes and personal gear. Should be fun - I've never painted figures yet. First time for everything!

I learned a lot on this build, as it was the most complicated thing I've tried so far. Had a lot of problems and made a lot of mistakes (a LOT!) but was able to keep my cool and work through most of them. I'm happy with how it turned out  (though not happy with the last problem: two of the LED's in the troop compartment died soon after I took the pictures. No fixing that - oh well..)

Hope you all enjoy the photos, and I would love to hear any comments or suggestions for making the next build even better.

George

that is OUTSTANDING work! the interior is just CRAZY! i love it. i cant wait to see it finished and all weathered. very good job!

WOW!, incredable my friend................stunnung work.

Bob

Holy s*** dude, this thing is freakin amazing!!!!!  You get from me!

Brian

I billed this as a Work In Progress, so I guess I should post some progress! With the interior finsihed, I moved on to the exterior of the hull and turret. There were a lot of PE bits to fold and glue in place, as well as some scratchbuilt details I picked up on in research photos.

I made the antenna with some guitar string wrapped at the base with fine wire. Now I know that the spring should have a bulge in the middle, shaped kinda like a Coke bottle...next time. I made little paper screens with pull tabs to keep the paint out of the turret interior.

The tie-down straps for the tools are a bit fussy, but not near as bad as the Aber PE tiedowns from German armor.

The TOW launcher benefited from the addition of some photoetched, as well as a little styrene rod, Grandt Line bolt heads, and tubes made from a Starbucks straw. I used plastic straws for the rubber cover over the swim barrier at the front of the hull as well, and won't do it again. That plastic is darn near impossible to keep paint on, even with primer.

Primed and ready for the base color. I painted a liquid mask on to the sighting optics in the "doghouse", as there are transparent-painted "lenses" in there. With the primer on you can start to see the effect of the Terra Cotta paint used to create the no-slip texture on the hull.

With the base OD coat. (I went back and painted that black swim barrier cover OD green after reading a helpful post by Mr. Gronovius - thanks Rob!) I took some time to hollow out the flash supressor and I think it came out nice.

Finally, a shot of the interior with the top of the hull in place. Will post more like this once I have the LED lighting all wired up.

By now, I have the decals on and and have started on the weathering. Will get those photos uploaded soon. Stay tuned - more to follow! As always, any and all criticism is welcome.

Wow, now that's sharp! I like the idea of using LEDs. After putting all that detail in there it'll be great to be able to see with without a flashlight!

Looking way cool

Love the interior work and the l.e.d.s should make it outstanding!

tread

How did you like that Rustoleum surfacer White R34? I used that on my first Bradley, but since I didn't finish it I've not seen what it looks like under paint. My impression was that the scale might be too grainy for 1/35 as compared to the terra cotta, then again sometimes things look better when exaggerated a little.

Phil is right about the Big Ed set, must be the one that I got, because I have the wheel masks and I would never have purchased those separately. (I'm too cheap, just use a circle template instead). I will try them out though, might make a believer out of me.

Got grab handles and steps made today and attached the side skirts. On to the exterior turret tomorrow.

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CuriousG

I was looking at Eduard's website and the PE sets for the Bradley are no longer in production. When I got mine they were three separate sets, but like Mikeym says, there is an even older set that had all-in-one.

The individual sets were revised and the original releases are no longer available, but the newer ones are available, either individually or in combination in the "Big Ed" set.

Look for:

35584 M-2 Exterior
35583 M-2 Interior
35613 M-2 Turret Interior

BIG3509 M-2 1/35 (Contains the three sets above plus wheel mask set)

Like Heavy and othere's I used this same company to do my first anti-skid on a Merkava turret. and I must say it realy works. I maksed off spots with a liquid mask by the detailer.

I used the lighter colored can.

I must say you interior work fantastic.

Hats off to Gino! His anti-slip coating is exactly the technique I am using, with the American Accents Terra Cotta. You can see it here now that I have added the PE, tools and other bits to the hull. I used a drink straw for the water barrier cover on the front - the plastic kit part didn't cut it. There are also supposed to be round steel "sockets" on the hull that hold the supports for the water barrier. I couldn't really come up with anything in the right scale. I ended up stripping some plastic coating off of copper electrical wire and cutting it into slices. Still not the right scale, but you get the idea.

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Some interior decals for the troop compartment and driver's area come in the kit. I didn't use them though. Instead I downloaded art from online (try http://www.mysafetysign.com/) resized it and printed out on decal paper with an inkjet. My experience with that system is that the film is way too thick, but it's really the only option for a decal that you can't get any other way.

I was looking at Eduard's website and the PE sets for the Bradley are no longer in production. When I got mine they were three separate sets, but like Mikeym says, there is an even older set that had all-in-one.

Bob - not doing NATO or desert sand. I'm going waaaay back with this one, to a monotone olive drab from a Reforger exercise in West Germany in the early 80's. (If I had to do 3-tone camo I would NEVER get this thing off the bench!)

George...that some great work you've got going there. Wow. Is that one big comprehensive Eduard set, or is it several different parts?

Here is my easy method for anti-slip coating.  It works great every time.  I think most of those decals come with the Tamiya kit.  I have gone on the web and searched for plackards and warning labels, etc. for mine.  Copy, resize, and print them onto computer decal paper and you are set.

I actually have both the Academy and Tamiya M2 kits and the Eduard PE sets (The 3 set interior exterior and turret sets and the ancient Eduard interior and exterior set that came out in the late 90's). The Tamiya kit I have been working on and off for a while with the ancient Eduard sets and am getting along pretty well. As for the Academy kit I'll probably wait till I can figure out how to add nonslip surfaces to it before I start any assembly on it. And where did you get the turret decals?

Wow good to have the other kit handy.  Im keeping an eye on this one.  Are you going with standard NATO woodland camo of deset theme.

Bob

Thanks Bob. I started out with an Academy kit, built up the included interior, then found out that Eduard had all the upgrades available. Stopped that kit and started again with the Tamiya one. They look to be from the same molds, but I found the Tamiya was a little crisper in detail. Worked out well though - whenever I have lost /broke / botched a small part on the Tamiya (which happens with regular frequency) I was able to reach into the Academy box for a second go at it. Nice to have a hangar queen around.

George

WOW! Curious, beautiful work.  I love the detail.  Which kit is this???? Acadamy?

Bob

Thanks Gino. The PE for the turret worked well, but it took a lot of time to get right.

Pros: radio and the fire control computer come together well and have nice detail, all of the control panels from the front are accounted for, ammo bin for the MG looks good. All the parts provided actually seem accurate.

Cons: when you attach the "basket" to the lower portion of the kit turret, it sits too high. In other words, the step up into the turret from the crew compartment is way to big. Not a huge problem and eventually made up for it with a strip of styrene to cover the void. The seats do not sit against the back bulkhead the way they should, cannot fix that because of the ledge that runs around the turret just below the back rests (which is not present in the real thing).

Other: you will have to scratchbuild the extension that puts the gunsight over to the driver, and scratchbuild the intercom boxes as well. The backrests are provided in PE but the plastic looks better. Interior lights are provided but I had to build my own to accomodate the LED's.

The joysticks are provided in PE but are 2-dimensional. I made up for this by dipping them repeatedly in that liquid black vinyl stuff you use to put handles on to tools.

The interior look great.  How was the Eduard Turret set?  I have it and haven't used it yet.  Can't wait to see it all lit up and finished.  Great job so far.