Wow great site! I just found it yesterday. Well I probably haven't built a model in 20 years,and even then it wasnt very detailed.So the project I've set for myself seems rather large. A dio of the 3rd I.D. in Bagdad!
What I really need to know right now is are these the correct vehicles for the 3rd I.D.;M1A2 abrahms,M2A2 bradley IFV, M988 hummer, AH64D Apache Longbow? And if these are correct what are the best manufacturers for each model?
I appreciate all your input and am sure I'll have a million more questions before it's done.
thanks
Oh Yeah, how do you get rank?
mark

M1A2 abrahms I think you mean M1A1HA Abrams, this is the current tank in use by the 3ID in theater. Trumpeter is the best/cheapest M1A1HA (or A2) out-of-box.
M2A2 bradley IFV Tamiya's M2A2 is the only choice and is good enough for the casual observer
M988 hummer If you are talking about the standard 2- or 4-door soft top HMMWVs, then Academy for the 2-door and the Italeri "Commando Hum-V" for the 4-door are the real M998s despite what kit boxes say. If you mean the armored hard tops with the turret on top, then Academy's M966 TOW Carrier or M1025 Armament Carrier. Italeri also makes an acceptable M1036 (M966 with winch) that may be easier to find.
AH64D Apache Longbow? Slim picking in large scale, Revell makes an AH-64A in 1/32, Imex and/or Kangam makes the Longbow in 1/35.

Go to the bottom of the page under Forum help/Rank Info for more info on rank. More posts, more rank.

Okay, Sabot, you just confused me. Is there a difference between the Abrahms that the 3ID, 4ID and Marines are using? Just when I thought I had this down. Help

Not the expert that Sabot is, but the Marine and Army M1A1-HA's are very similar, most of the external differences are in the add-on equipment, the most visible to me being the smoke grenade launchers. I saw on some of the USMC ones what appeared to be an added plate behind the exhaust grills, not to mention the device mounted on the "manhole cover" on some other others.

The 4ID never got into the fray, but they are equipt with M1A2-SEP's, the biggest visible differences being the CITV (Commander's Independant Thermal Viewer) and the new commander's cupola including the new cal .50 mount (I forget the acronym)

Dave

hey sabot what about the academy m2a2?

mrk1963us, let me answer your question: there is no Academy M2A2. Academy only makes M2 and M3 models and these are exact copies of old Tamiya models. They are no good for any version currently in use.

The only M2A2 model is the Tamiya one (and the very poor copy of it by Lee). Still it requires some work to make it a good M2A2, as it is just old Tamiya M2 model with some extra armor parts added.

I think Sabot would concur...run away screaming. Get the Tamiya kit as the Academy Brads are bad knock-offs.