Well, here is the beginning of my new project. Others here have posted their progress of the group build we are doing on the subject of the thunder run of April 5, 2003 where Task Force 1-64, 3rd ID tested the defenses of the city. We are doing this for the 3rd ID Museum in Georgia. There will be about 30 models in this diorama. There were close to 70 AFVs in the actual thunder run.

My model will be the third vehicle in the column - Sgt Booker's M1A1. He was KIA as he was firing his M4 from the TC hatch during the thunder run. I will be depicting the tank right before Sgt Booker was hit. I have not decided which crew figures I will use yet, but I think I need to go with figures using the smaller spall vest rather than the larger IBA vest. Both were used, but I am pretty sure this crew used the spall vest.

I have started the roadwheels and tracks. Cleanup is boring since knockout marks need to be sanded smooth on the inside surface of each track link. I tried to give an idea with the photos below. First is the uncleaned track. Next is the flip side in its pure state. Next is the inside face cleaned up. Last is the track all beat up from wear. I used a needle tipped soldering iron to do the wear. Then I sanded the raised plastic from the heating effect. I like the way it turned out. Much quicker than using an x-acto blade, and easier.

Nice work. Looking good. With the 10th anniversary coming up I can see a lot more of this theme.

Hopefully the movie will do it justice.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2097338/

I decided my first attempt at showing wear on the tracks could be better. I attached a flat xacto blade to my soldering iron by wrapping wire tightly around the blade. Then I picked at the leading and trailing edges with the blade. This gave me the delaminated look of the real thing. When cooled, I used a regular xacto blade to remove the raised plastic from the heating process, and then sanded the edges smooth/rounded.

The above only need to be for the four corners of the track lengths. That amounts to about 44 links give or take a few links. The rest can be left alone as they will be unseen on the ground or hidden by the skirts.

Looks really awesome can't wait to see progress

Great start, nice idea/work on damaging those treads. I just finished reading Heavy Metal about Charlie Company of Task Force 64. If you haven't read it I highly recommend. It gave me inspiration for a future project, it's going to be slow because I bought the old Dragon m1a1 ha kit and will be doing a lot of scratch fixing. Can you tell me more about the build for the museum? I'll be following this build, looks like you've done your homework and have some good ref pics. I'll be needing as much as I can get considering the base kit limits.

Yes, that is a good book. Thunder Run by Zuchino is probably the best on the subject. They are using that book as the basis for the movie that will hopefully come out next year. The movie was originally going to be CG but now is going to be live action. It has run into some roadblocks with that change, so I hope they don't screw it up with shortcuts. There have already been rumblings with vets on how they have "Hollywooded" the script. But some of the people associated with Blackhawk Down are doing this movie, so maybe it will be good.

The 3rd ID Museum wanted to commemorate the thunder runs with a display and I know the curator so I volunteered us modelers to make as many of the 60+ models for the April 5 thunder run as we could make. I have collected many images over the years (see my Concord book about the 3rd ID in Iraq)and I have interviewed many vets over the years. I have a pretty good idea of the details of that day so I think between the research and the talent involved in this project it will turn out to be something special. Our intent, where possible, is to show the vehicles exactly how they looked that day, right before Sgt Booker was hit.

I could even use a couple of more Abrams or M113s (looking for intermediate to advanced modelers) for this. In the end the display will be over 40 feet long - which will not even fit all of the models for the column, so for the vehicles towards the rear the museum will display them on the wall as a supplement.

Bob

nice attention to detail on those tracks,should be a great project.

Thanks for the tips, and the book info - I'll check out your book. As far the build: what's the time frame? What base kits are you using, and are you building OOB and doing good detail work (such as your tracks) or are you going all-out with aftermarket stuff? I'd like to help out, but don't want to over-commit.

Bill, we are using kit 3535 which is a very detailed kit out of the box. Nothing really needs added except a few things:

-They only provide one jerrycan rack where there should be two. It is very easy to make a second rack from evergreen stock.
-No crew is supplied and so a correct TC and a loader would be needed.
- Soon to be released from Live Resin spent links and shells for the.50 cal MG would be needed.
- We have a volunteer making markings that would be unique to a particular vehicle (barrel name for example) but the Echelon decal sheets provide almost everything needed.

We also have our own AMPS meeting here in NJ every month if you are interested in coming. It is always a fun meeting. A litte show and tell, but mostly BSing about all kinds of subject matter. Our next meeting is at my house here in central NJ this Saturday at 2. You should come. Many of the folks at the meeting are in the thunder run project.

Bob

Looking forward to this. I have Mr Burik's book, and I love it! And I hope they get the upcoming movie right.

Bob, private message sent.

great work Robert love the tracks can not wait to see more on a side note i was considering joining AMPS but there is no chapter in Phoenix well one person is not a chapter in my book can you fill me in a little on AMPS thanks

Ronnie, you might want to check AMPS' website to see if it would be a good fit for your. There is a newsletter that is published in magazine form. Articles can be helpful. Our meetings here in NJ are very informal. Maybe you want to start something up where you are.

Some years back the IPMS chapter there put on a nice national show, so there are plenty of modelers in Phoenix.

Bob

Thanks for posting your work an I'm going to try your track trik on my next M1 ABV project.

Progress. I have been working on the suspension with the idea I will paint and weather it and then put the skirts on. It will be more fun this way too since I can get some painting in after some building, then back to building the upper hull and turret later.

Many of the roadwheels were replaced by the time they got to Baghdad. Also, one was missing on this day due to roadwheel shear. I don't know yet how I will depict the secured roadwheel arm yet. The return roller is in the way to flip it forward, and the #1 roadwheel mechanism is in the way for placing the traditional tanker bar across three roadwheel torsion bar connections.

Looking great Bob. For the roadwheel arm, it can be tied up w/a ratchet strap around the arm, then up to and around the return roller. I suspect that is how they did it in actuality. I have seen it done this way in the past.

Looking good!!!!!

Back at it. Tracks and roadwheels just about done. Soon I will mount it all up to the hull.

Lookin good

Hey Bob, fancy seeing you here I was going to send you an email telling... PLASTIC IS BEING GLUED! Thought I would do a search for "M1A1" and look who pops at the top of the list.

Those tracks are pretty darn Sierra Hotel.

I will be starting my own blog, eventually, here for "Huckleberry"

The hull is now just about finished. Only the sideskirts to do. The instructions have the PE on the back deck mislabeled on a couple. MA15 should be MA5 and visa versa.

Maybe a (or THE) dumb question, but why the two different colours?

I got out of hand when I was painting the lower hull. I had the paint out and in some areas I kept painting. Others I just primed. So, when it is time to paint the primed parts I might have to mask with some hand held cards or something. No big deal.

So the grey parts are primer or is that the dragon plastic?

The grey is primer.

This tank had a number of replaced roadwheels. It was involved in two road accidents during the thunder run. One, another tank backed up into it and so you see the bent fender and missing light guard. The sideskirt will show scratches too when it is time. The second accident involved turrets of two tanks getting hooked up and when they pulled apart the extended bustle rack was pulled apart, so when I get to that I will only be building half of it, and I will show some gear spilled on the engine deck.

A roadwheel was also missing during the thunder run. The crew had tied up the loose arm so it would not bounce around.