I am so down for this project, Gino. You have my utmost attention.

FOLLOWING.

This should be good.... I remember those REFORGER 3rd ID Bradleys well...

I'm watching this one as well.  I have the same Tamiya kit (sitting in the stash for years - not really an armor guy but will build anything).  Should be fun.  BTW - for those in the know (Stik), how legitimate was the move Pentagon Wars re: the Bradley

My unit, 2/30 Inf, 3rd ID had 100% forest green M2A0s. I was a M2 drive/gunner from 84-87. Best time of my life!! That M2 was great to drive an deasy to work on. 

M2 Bradley at Dawn 1985 by Chris B, on Flickr

Pentagon Wars was a satire, not historic.  Except for the futility of red tape which was pretty accurate. I would not use that movie as a reference. 

Thanks guys.  I hope to get some more work done on it soon.  I have been busy with work and chores lately.

As to "Pentagon Wars", don't use it as any form of reference on reality.  It was a total joke.  Bradley development was a methodical process and the requirements changed in response to lessons learned from experiences on Middle East battlefields from Israel and to a changing threat from developing Soviet equipment.

Cool! Looks like a pile of work but still it will be nice to have a accurate replica. Looking forward to more. 

This very M2 Bradley is one of the last models I worked on before entering active duty the summer of 1987.

I left it at my parents home in my bedroom closet. I retrieved it around 2004 when they were downsizing and preparing to move to Florida.

I've never finished it, I see it as a throwback to my early days.

keavdog

I'm watching this one as well.  I have the same Tamiya kit (sitting in the stash for years - not really an armor guy but will build anything).  Should be fun.  BTW - for those in the know (Stik), how legitimate was the move Pentagon Wars re: the Bradley

 

 

Ive never seen the movie. So I can’t comment in one way or another.  As for Bradley’s, I never crewed them nor served in a Bradley equipped unit. I only crossed paths with them on occasion. 

Hello!

Gino - nice project, I'll be watching, I believe it's going to be nice!

As for the Pentagon Wars - the movie was fun, but I've also read the book - and it sounds very true. It also explains why the US Military usually goes to a new war without the right tools for it. It's a book that's funny and very sad at the same time.

Have a nice day

Paweł

HeavyArty

Thanks guys.  I hope to get some more work done on it soon.  I have been busy with work and chores lately.

As to "Pentagon Wars", don't use it as any form of reference on reality.  It was a total joke.  Bradley development was a methodical process and the requirements changed in response to lessons learned from experiences on Middle East battlefields from Israel and to a changing threat from developing Soviet equipment.

The vehicles in the movie are vizmods and not really Bradleys, so it is not even close to being a reference. It's not a real Bradley.

 

Watching The Pentagon Wars was part of the Logistics Executive Development Course at the Army Logistics Management College at Fort Lee, Virginia. While it is a satiric comedy, there were parts that were based on truths. They dissected the movie quite well.

Wow, the word "REFORGER" just takes me back.

Living, as I did, then, right at half-way between Hood and Houston, if it wasn't someone I knew busy in working up to go, it was seeing equipment rolling by on the railroad mainline heading one way or the other.

Looking forward to seeing this build.

CapnMac82

Wow, the word "REFORGER" just takes me back.

Living, as I did, then, right at half-way between Hood and Houston, if it wasn't someone I knew busy in working up to go, it was seeing equipment rolling by on the railroad mainline heading one way or the other.

 

Beaumont/Port Arthur.... 

stikpusher

 

 

CapnMac82

Wow, the word "REFORGER" just takes me back.

Living, as I did, then, right at half-way between Hood and Houston, if it wasn't someone I knew busy in working up to go, it was seeing equipment rolling by on the railroad mainline heading one way or the other.

 

 

 

 

Beaumont/Port Arthur.... 

 

Work continues.  I have completed most of the interior work.  I added the weapons mounts from the Eduard set on the interior and a few other pieces.  Most of the Eduard parts  have been eclipsed by the better Meng parts.  I also used the inside periscopes from the Eduard set.  I will use the seat belts and some other small parts as I finish it up.

The turret interior is built up too.  The Meng turret interior fits the Tamiya turret base and opening well.  I back-dated the turret front wall to the bareness of the original M2 with just an entry door into the coax compartment.  I also will add a breech for the 25mm Bushmaster that I had made from a previous Bradley project.  The breech was nto covered as it is on later marks of the Bradley.  I used the Eduard radio rack, with a wider shelf and I will use the Meng radios (cut off their shelf) here too.

Lastly, I added Eduard parts and a bit of scratch to detail the insides of the driver's and TOW reload hatch on the roof.

Next up will be some paint and more interior detailing.

As per usual, your attention to the details is amazing, Gino.

I'm looking forward to seeing the paint.

Nicely detailed Gino! I was wondering how the fit of the Meng parts were going to be with the Tamiya kit. 

Thanks guys.  It has been fun so far.  The Meng parts fit the Tamiya hull and turret pretty close.  A bit of sanding here and there to make things fit, but nothing too bad.  The Meng parts definitely are more detailed and look much better than the old Tamiya parts.  The Tamiya parts still hold up pretty well though.

It was a mystery to me as to why they did a fairly comprehensive troop compartment interior (at least for the 1980s), yet did not do anything for the turret, driver's hole or engine compartment.

That's looking good.

Now, to get that German amber Mars "Vorsicht, großes, sich bewegendes Metalltier" light spinning around on a railroad flat car  might be interesting

In 1990, the trains looked the same, only with about 1/3 of the vehicles in some ammount of tan-colored paint (and the same number of Mars lights still left on).

Thanks guys.  I don't know why they didn't do the turret interior either.  It wouldn't have been that much more work; maybe one more interior sprue.

CapnMac82

That's looking good.

Now, to get that German amber Mars "Vorsicht, großes, sich bewegendes Metalltier" light spinning around on a railroad flat car  might be interesting

In 1990, the trains looked the same, only with about 1/3 of the vehicles in some ammount of tan-colored paint (and the same number of Mars lights still left on).

 

Looks good! Nice to see how well the different kits fit together. 

I have been progressing pretty well.  I think the interior is pretty much done.  I painted it using Krylon Pistachio spray.  It is dead-on for interior seafoam green.  I added M16A1s, an M203, and an M60 to the weapons mounts.  Pretty much all of the decals are from the Tamiya kit, with a few from the Meng interior set.  

I added a 3D printed intercom control box and J-boxes to the interior as well.  The interior lights are from the Meng set,  wiring is fine solder and string. The hand holds are from the Eduard Interior PE set.

The IP is from the Eduard Interior set.  It looks really nice once painted and detailed.

Here is the Meng turret interior.  I added the radios from the Meng set, detailed and wired.  

The lower turret basket from Meng.  The ammo feed chutes are from the Eduard Turret Interior PE set as Meng missed them.

I still need to add a few detail pieces such as MRE boxes, a couple bags, maps, etc. to make it look a bit more lived in.  More to come later. 

It’s all looking the part. My only critique is the TOW rounds. You could have a blue dummy warhead on a brown live rocket motor stripes, for training rounds. But the yellow live warhead stripe wouldn’t be seen on a round with a dummy rocket motor blue stripe. 35 1/2 years later and I still remember way too much stuff from that school... lol!

I love all the wiring, the dome lights, dirt on the floorboards.... dead bang on target.

stikpusher

My only critique is the TOW rounds. You could have a blue dummy warhead on a brown live rocket motor stripes, for training rounds. But the yellow live warhead stripe wouldn’t be seen on a round with a dummy rocket motor blue stripe. 

Thanks stik.  Good catch.  That is what I get for following Tamiya's instructions without either thinking about it or checking.  That is an easy fix with some brown paint.

I fixed the markings on the TOWs.  Brown stripe for motor end.  I don't know how I screwed that up.  I know better.