The first Bronco kit in my long history of Tamiya HMMWV build has just arrived.

It is the Up-Armored HA version with frag 5 doors.

For my model I want to build from scratch an MCTAGS turret.
I have already found here in Armorama good pictures of this turret, but the exact measures would really help a lot: does anyone has them ?

I also have a few questions about what make sense to add to the basic onfiguration:

- is the IbisTek front bumper likely to be present in the version I'm going to build ?

- if I add a Chameleon anti-ied system (Voyager kit PEA254 "Modern US HUMVEE ECM Antenna set"), is the Rhino supposed to be used as well ?

- I know the Bronco kit miss the BFT antenna; does every M1114 mount the BFT system ?

Thanks in advance for giving your advice.
EG

Hi Ettore

Sorry I can't really help you with your questions, but I would suggest you to find a picture that you could use as reference for your project, as many configurations can be found...Talking about the Chameleon and the Rhino, I've yet to see pics showing them both fitted to the same Humvee

Frenchy

Hey Ettore,
good question, I had the same some time back, after three or four weeks of searching the net I came up with (only) one pic of a usmc hmmwv with the chameleon and the rhino system attatched simultaneously ... as that's the only pic showing the rhino and chameleon systems used together I wouldn't use the ibis tek and mctags... (btw. I have not yet seen a single frag5 hmmwvv with the mctags attatched...)



hoping this helps,
Cheers, Max

I want a 1/35 kit of the boat! Great pic....

You can have the boat, I want the truck.

Nice find Max , you're more patient than me I remember coming across this picture some time ago but I didn't pay enough attention to the Humvees in the background...




Here's one :



Frenchy

Just to note, the MCTAGS was deemed by the US Army to be a suitable "interim" substitute for the planned OGPK (likely referred to somewhere as an IGPK). Its likely that the use of these turrets was relatively limited, just like that of the Interim Frag Kit 5 doors. As Frenchy has already shown, however, its possible to find pictures of almost any HMMWV configuration if you look hard enough hehe.

Thank you all for yor suggestions.

Max, wonderful photo, the boat in 1/35 would be a must have kit.

I believe I will not use the Rhino, still thinking about the IbisTek.

Ettore

If you're not on a budget, you can get a resin E.T.R.A.CO Semi rigid inflatable Commando Craft used by Modern French Navy Commandos :
Propaganda Kompany 1/35 kit

Frenchy

Those two systems work to defeat IEDs in entirely different ways, which is why both can be used. One of our M1114s had no BFT. Since it never rolled alone, it wasn't an issue.

I'm back to modeling work and I have a new question.

For the M1114 I'm building, which is the most appropriate radio rack to be used among the two in the following pictures ?





Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Just to add my two cents on the Rhino/Chamelion topic, I have NEVER seen a vehicle WITHOUT a Rhino that was going outside the wire. They are inexpensive and simple solutions to one kind of IED initiation device. The Chamelion bubbles are almost exclusively Marine Corps fielded. The Duke antenna ( the tall pole like thing) was fielded on every vehicle we had that went outside the wire designated for Convoy Security. As I was leaving Iraq in 2010, they were even fitting Dukes to the logistics vehicles themselves ( I even saw them on front end loaders!). I dont think you can go wrong putting any of the above on current or recently utilized vehicles.

What is true in Iraq is not always true in Afghanistan.

Just my two cents from my time in Iraq. I cant speak on Afghanistan, havent been there yet.

Sorry if that came off wrong, I wasn't really targeting that at you specifically. A lot of people do not realize the difference in the fights in these two countries and assume because something is done in Iraq, it's also done in Afghanistan. While that is sometimes true it's often not the case.

My team had two M1114s. Both of your diagrams above were used for each as they were different. I have not seen a PE set for the first setup, but want to do one of mine like that. The big metal panels you see in the front were great for standing on, as we dispensed with the elevating platform. They were fairly haevy gauge steel. Thos of you who have my CD can compare - sometimes you don;t notice it until you look.

As for the statement about no vehicles going outside the wire without a Rhino - none of our vehicles (2 M1114s and 2 M1151s) had them. They were useless to us in more ways than one.

I'm saving the Rhinos and Dukes from my Bronco M1114s for other kits that might need them. The Duke is definitely going on my uparmored 5 ton.

I was there in 09, so the lessons of the past were in the process of being addressed while I was there. 1114s and 1151s didnt even GO outside the wire alot because they were suseptible to a particular form of EFP that the insurgent groups were fielding at the time. Most of the IED deaths in my AO were on 1151s because they were (at the time) the only vehicles that EFPs could still punch through and do real internal damage. The first IED strike we had on a vehicle (NOT A HUMVEE, a Maxx Pro) was initiated by the vehicles Rhino and resulted in no serious injuries. If you are looking for a later model Iraq war vehicle, I would say put the Rhino on it. BUT, as others have stated here, there is no right or wrong answer with respect to the options. Different AOs had different threats. Some places had a broader range of threats, while others were more EFP or VBIED specific. The initiation devices of choice make a difference too. If the insurgents there are using telephones, crush wire, or washing machine timers, then the rhino is as stated a waste of time and space. IF the threat was EFP or VBIEDs with IR triggers, the Rhino is the only defeat option. FWIW, I always thought it was a small comfort to have it out there. ( Thank you TF Ironclaw Academy... good 40 hour class )

I dont remember what was attached to it, but there is also another antenna to consider... its a x shaped blade antenna about 6 inches up. I THINK it had to do with the BFT system. I THINK the daggers GPS reciever was that box with the round piece in it. Not sure what the Harris Radio sets antenna looked like either.

PM me your .mil address and I'll tell you the main reason it was useless. Not appropriate for the forum, but good to know info.

Robert,
you called for it: Voyager has announced the release of a PE set with the first radio setup "PEA259 US ARMY HUMVEE Blue Force Tracker & SincGar Unit".

See the news here https://armorama.kitmaker.net/news/9742

From the pictures the kit seems complete and accurate enough;
I have some doubts about the PLGR support and, if I don't see it wrong, the drawer is missing.