Ok good luck tonight. Real life vieuwing is so much different than on pictures, so I really hope the praisals will be the same as in this community....

Well, Matt, I've been a long time lurker here, and always noticed this "Boomstick" popping up, so I had a look...
Boy-Oh-Boy, was it worth it, youv'e done an awesome job on this, mate!

Thank you Marek. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Well Erwin, I think they liked it in person too. Boom Stick even won a gold ribbon at the recent IPMS Winnipeg contest night.

Yesterday the weather here was fantastic. The temperature was +3'C and the sky was overcast which provided perfect light for the photo shoot. Dave Enns took the final pictures and I think they turned out great. Better then what I could have done with my camera. Thanks Dave.

One last question for you all. Have the pictures looked good so far or have they been too bright? I ask because it turns out my computer screen is very dark and I have been adjusting all of my pictures to show up on my screen. These last images have only been cropped and resized to fit. Are they bright enough? They look a little too dark on my monitor so I wasn't sure how they look to everyone else out there.

This one goes back almost a year.


Slap on some paint and a little elbow grease.






As you can see we used a couple of different backdrops. I had a tough time deciding which I prefer.



A close up of Saddam on the left side.




This guy's my favorite.


The locals.


Stampede!






The blown out seal.


All that remains of the Jeep. Not much. Bottom left hand corner.


A turret bigger then some entire tanks.








Stenciled on elephant head and Saddam once again.




















4-64th Armour. Otherwise known as the "Tuskers". A company. a.k.a. the "Assassins".


This one took a while to get right.


We pierce.


If you'd like to see it in person and are in the area. Boom Stick is on temporary display at Tiger Hobbies here in Winnipeg. Time to start that P-47 that I picked up today.

-Matt :-)--

This is simply AWESOME!!!!! in every sense of the word. I love those road wheels with the articulated suspension and the new green wheels towards the front. The tarps, stunning. If I tried to list everything I like about this monster I would be here all week

Des

pretty much amazing. Ive been watching this one form the beginning and I have to say that this is quite an impressive dio. nice work, good job.

Bravo, Matt!!! Your Abrams is a truly stunning piece of art!

I've followed this thread since the very beginning, and it just blows me away to go back and see the amount of work and detail that you lavished on this model--and all of that comes together extremely well in the dio.

And, now having seen it in person, I can safely say - the pics do not do it justice!

Amazing work, Matt!

Awesome! Everything's so perfect!

Beautiful work there Matt. The level of detail is just amazing. TWO BIG THUMBS UP!!! One of the best diorama's I have seen in a while.

Daniel

Matt,
Finally, the end, well you deserve a gold star for this, my friend!
The dio is just perfect!

Marek

one word - Brilliant.

Can't wait for the submission. Have you decided if you're going to do a build feature or just a Photo feature?

Thank you everyone for all of the support along the way. This thread made my longest build a lot of fun.

I decided to go with a simple photo feature and it has been sent off to Scott.

-Matt

Hi Matt. Was browsing through the site today and came upon this thread .... saw how many replies there were actually, and was wondering what all the fuss was about Now I know. Read through this from start to finish.
I never bothered looking earlier, as with limited time, I dont follow the modern builds so much ..... but as Bradley posted in the middle somewhere .... there is so much information ... regardless of the era ... that eveything in common. Many impressive techniques throughout .... scratches/chips, flags, water reeds, home made decals, attention to minute details, replicating details from research images etc ..... but the one thing that rally struck me was your willingness to do something so many times to get it right. I know I would live with the initial or scrap the idea that repeat processes, but seeing the finished model .... I must say ... it has definately paid off. Excellent blog and really excellent dio. You definately deserve all the applause ... drum roll ... and .. well whatever else is recieved.

I figured since the support from so many of you was so important to this build I'd take the time to thank each of you. Course I didn't realize there were so many.

Thank you: Jeff, Scott, Keith, Gino, Mike P, Andrew, Thomas, Trevor, John C, Tim, Brent, Chris S, Steven, Lucas, Johannes, Pete, Alex, David C Jr, Joe, Boyd, Marlon, Yoni, Grant, Jerry, Erik, Lewis, Mike C, Yufkey, John L, Roel, Matthew Q, Patrick, T Lee, Dave E, Dave N, Gijs, Guy, Stuart, Mark G, Joe C, Bradley, Christian, Torbjorn, Rick L, Ian B, Daniel, Al, Vance, Jesper, Charles, Rene, Chris (tsitsosdera), Mike B, 18 Bravo, Neil, Ian S, Calvin, Matthew (airchalenged), Sinan, Ronnie, Russel, Jerry, Rob, Joseph, Frenchy, James, Erwin, Marek, Desmond, Ethan and Frank.

Phew.

Each of you had an impact on my model. Be it showing pictures for reference. Pointing out something was glued on backwards. Or by simply encouraging me to keep going.

Hi 18 Bravo. While I was going through this blog I finally saw the picture of your Merkava. For some reason before today it never showed up on my screen. But now I have seen it. She's a beaut. I like the technique for the anti-slip coat. It's fine yet uneven. Very realistic. Might try that on the next one.

Glad you decided to stop by and have a look Frank. So you noticed I can get a little picky with my models? Sometimes I'm just not satisfied until I get it looking right as I want it. And if I think I can do better. Well. I just keep redoing it. I think I spray more oven cleaner on my models then paint. Your kind words (and those from so many others) are more then enough accolades for me. It's been a pleasure.

-Matt

Hi Matt,
I'm trying to start a build similair to yours, I was planning to do mine at in inshop repair, tune up & reloading scenario. I have the following stuff to build from
1. Tamiya's M1A2 Abram OIF
2. Echelon 35013 M1A1HA US Army 3rd I D & 35004 USMC M1A1HA
3. Legend M1A1 Engine Set
4. VP M1A1 Detail set
5. VP M1A1 Stowage Set
6. VP M1A1 1200mm Ammo set
7. Accurate Armor 120mm Ammo set
8. Armor track M1A1 Track & Wheel set
9. Warriors M1A1 Tank crew set 1 & 2
I was wondering how & where you sourced all the info on your said tank? I'm not sure where to start on this one and hoped you could maybe set me of in the right direction. Could I possibly set my scenario of a field refit & repair in one go or would it be done in seperatre stages? Once you picked your specific tank and idea where did you start? If it helps, rather than taking up your build page as its finished feel free to email me.
Many thanks,
Kenny.
P.S. By the way I loved every step of your build and will try post mine as i go to pick up tips, corrections etc. I'd love to ask you more questions but will leave it at this at the moment as there's enough to start with.
Again,
Kenny.

I just wanted to add my congratulations on Boom Stick! What a fantastic build!!!! I've done 2 tours in Iraq and the attention to detail is amazing. That's how a combat loaded Abrams should look. I just got the Dragon M1A2 SEP and your article will go a long way towards inspiring me to get it "just right".
Thank you for the detailed build log.

It's always a an honor to hear from guys who have actually been there. Glad you're safe. I've never actually seen an Abrams in person so to hear from you that it looks right is a great compliment. Thanks Joe.

-Matt

I am SHOCKED,
R E S P E C T I wish I could do half the job in quality

Many thanks Eelco. And you can do better than half as good. Just take your time. But as long as you are enjoying the hobby that's all that really matters.

Matt

hi mat,

i must admit, this is actually the first topic about modern AFV's that gets my attention.
normally i just scroll over very quickly when the topic is about modern things. This time it's different. I laid back in my chair and took the time to look at this masterpiece!!

Great work!!

Greetings

Koen

And I thought everyone had forgotten about my little blog by now.

Thank you for taking the time to take a look Koen. I'm pretty proud of this one, but it's even better when other people enjoy looking at it as well. Makes all that effort worth it. And makes me want to do an even better job on the next one.


The "next one" is still in the planning stage at the moment for anyone who may be curious. This is a critical stage in the creation of any diorama / vignette. Something I have slowly learned over the years.

Thanks again.

Matt

Just incredible beautiful build..I take off the hat

Thanks Andrey.

Matt

WOW amazing Abrams its amzing i love the painting and the figures!

Martyn

yes i am bloody curious matt.
its been a few months now and still nothing from the sinclair workbench. so come on matt tell us whats up next.maybe your next build log well break the eleven page mark.
buy the way boom stick still looks great !
neil............