I thought I'd start a build log of the M3A3 Bradley with all of the most current upgrades. I decided to go with Academy's M2A2 Bradley OIF, and ordered it.

I like to start project like this by doing the major surgery first, so that there's no turning back. I began by removing the protrusions from the upper portion of the rear hull plate. This is one of the most noticable errors in the kit-there should be two layers of spaced armor here onto which the rear hull stowage boxes are mounted. (not pictured)

I then moved on to the upper hull, removing the water barrier housing from the rear, the periscopes, and the armor plating around the driver's hatch. I slightly rounded the left side armor plate, and added bolt heads to the inboard side of the left and right side armor plates. They are simply shaved off of unused kit pieces.
The remaining water barrier housing on the hull would be a monumental task to remove, so I left it. It will be hidden for the most part by tools, stowage, etc.

Step 1:

Looks like a good start. Keep us posted.

I will be following this one.

Lars

il be following your build as i was planing on geting academy's bradley
this would be my first modern armour so need all help can get


keep us posted

Tony

18 Bravo
Good to see you're modelling. I have a Bradley in my stash too and I've always wanted to make one very current so I'll be watching closely.
Regards
Bill

I will keep a keen eye on this, might even inspire me to finish my M2A2!

Well, fellas, pull out those kits, then. I post slowly enough that you ought to be caught up in no time.

The next thing I did was to remove three periscopes from the turret top . Two will be replaced, one will not:



The gunner's hatch unlocking lever was kept on at this point to allow for the correct shaping of the top armor plates. You can remove it at any time, or if you're happy with its appearance, just leave it on.
Now would also be a good time to fix the incorrectly molded TOW launcher lock, which was attached to the left turret armor piece. Cut it off and remount it as shown below. It should be parallel to the TOW launcher.

Now you can fabricate a new gunner's hatch, using the kit piece as a template. Be sure to flatten the left front to allow for the periscope.

The final step for today is adding the roof armor. If you make them oversized at first, you can always trim to fit later. Be sure to check references to see which ones overlap.



At this point I hadn't yet removed the doghouse, but it goes as well. You can remove it at any time.

Hopefully these posts are in small enough chunks.

The next step was to fabricate the DVE housing. As the armor plate underneath it slopes not only downward but to the left as well, getting the angles correct at the base is a tad tricky. The front should slope down and to the right as in this photo:



This view show the notch along the top of the rear plate:



I added the notch before attaching the top plate. The base was already cast in resin. The whole thing will be cast again for future builds.



Add four bolts to the top, and this portion is done.

Next up is the area around the driver's hatch, which needed a lot of work. First off, whether because of the new applique armor (which I doubt) or because it's just plain wrong, placement of a few parts needs to be modified. Part F24 is too long front to back. It needs about 1 mm removed from the front edge, right in front of the single bolt head on top. It should also be attached to part F13, with no gap, as it would have if it were simply attched to the hull using the holes provided. Lastly, it should be raised from the hull a tad. I used a scrap of .020 stryene to provide the proper standoff:



The next step is the applique armor. It's a fairly straightforward affair. The welds around the bullet splash armor are simply stretched sprue:



One small armor plate goes on the right side of the hull as well:



Lastly, the entire driver's hatch is incorrect as far as shape and the hinge area. More on that another time...

Continuing on with the applique armor, the next step is the shot trap armor. It comes in three pieces - two on the right, and one on the left. Roughed out rear deck plates are shown as well. Fabricate the new hatch (MIA at time of photo) first to pattern the plates around:



This photo shows how the shot trap armor slopes upward at a 45 degree angle:

18 Bravo
I'm watching this closely, kinda like a tutorial. It is a real treat to watch a skilled modeller and some one who knows the subject as well as you do, do these conversions. If I didn't have a M3A3 in my backyard I probably wouldn't even think of chopping up a perfectly good kit.
Thanks for doing this.
Bill

Really nice work, I didn't imagine there was that much work on the Academy kit.

Keep on posting, it's a pleasure to see your progress!

Olivier

Looking great so far. You should put this together as a feature article when done. I'll be watching it closely.

Olivier, there isn't that much work needed on the Academy kit to build a standard M2A2 ODS IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) in Iraq in the early days. He is converting it to a later model M3A3 CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle), so lots to be updated and changed on it.

18 Bravo-- great job. Can you tell us what size plastic you are using for the alterations, how you cut it, and what glue you apply?
thanks
DJ

Most of the armor plating is .030 styrene. Some of the angled pieces (like at the rear) are .020. As for cutting it, I just used a standard #11 blade, and a small file to finish the inside corners. Cement is plain ols Testor's applied with a small brush.

Bill, appreciate your comments, although they seem a bit odd coming from a guy who, the last time I checked, was scratchbuilding a whole vehicle. How's that coming anyway?

18 Bravo
Ah the Bushmaster, lets just say that it's put away until I can get better measurements. Like I said, if I had one parted outside of work it'd be done by now..;o) I just primed my ASLAV APC, a good feeling to build something in less than a year, I'm fond of all these Australian vehicles.
I've had a Bradley in my stash with all kinds of etch, resin and books but just never felt a connection to the vehicle but I must say I really like the looks of the M3A3, it has evolved. I agree with Gino that you should generate a feature article on this when it's done, and show us some of those hundreds of Bradley pictures that we all know you have too!
Good luck
Bill

Yes, I understand this kit is the best one to do the most accurate ODS. So my remark should be I didn't knwo there was taht much differences between a M2 and a M3 !
I agree with you about a Feature article. This is a must have!

Olivier

In another thread, Kim Hyoung-Min did a very nice crew hatch for his M3A2. You can do as he did and modify a kit hatch by adding A+B putty to widen it and give it the correct shape. As I had no A+B putty available to me, I did it the old fashioned way - by carving it out a chunk of styrene. For the first step I laminated styrene together until I had a block of suitable height, and carved it to shape. Final sanding was done with wet/dry paper.
Note how the new hatch is wider than the original. The font portion of the angled sides is also a little shorter than the rear portion:

Looks good 18Bravo
I hope to see more of your project

Cheers
Seb

Man, you got skills! looking good!

I appreciate your comments, but honestly, this project is basically an exercise in cutting sheet styrene. I'm hoping to show that with even my minimal skills, a knife and a file, anyone can tackle a project like this. I'm still posting a bit at a time as it seems less daunting that way. Plus I have several 1:1 scale projects that need my main attention.

Fortunately there are only four fairly complex parts - the DVE, CITV, the hatch, and the new doghouse, and they won't be that difficult. Speaking of which, here's the second step in the hatch. Cut out a shelf for the periscopes and round off all of the corners. The final step will be the applique armor and the milled areas for the hinges:



The side periscopes should actually be further back, but when I took the picture they were only there to see if the shelf was deep enough to accomodate them.

WOW!

Lars

Turning attention to the front, the armor plate needs correcting. Since I eventually decided to do away with the whole water barrier, a big gap in the upper corner needed to be filled, along with a smaller notch. Bolts were added to that area as they were missing completely.

Next, the area in front of the grill near the driver's hatch needed correction. There is a scribed line there that is incorrectly shaped and placed.

Fill it in, and rescribe. Add bolts as necessary:



Next, the two large grills need to be mounted on their own armor plates. The best way to accomplish this is by cutting them from another kit. Lift rings are taken from another kit as well. Bolt detail still needs to be added to the lower grill. The small pointed piece or armor is molded on to the hull, but it is too small. Remove it and replace.
The gray portion at thre rear of the grill is an angled piece of armor. Since it is more than 90 degrees, I used some spare MLRS pieces with the correct angle and spliced them together. Then the corners were milled down with a file:

Coming along great. Great job on the attention to detail. Keep us posted. I'm following this one closely.

Great M3A3 CFV is coming soon!!!
I really like this kind of vehicles!
I'm looking forward to seeing your finished M3A3!

Best regards.

Kim.