Ah, the dreaded indie links. I feel your pain...thank God I only have to deal with wheeled vehicles in my project. The Bradley is really coming along nicely.

HI John, yes, the individual links....good times.

That said, they look pretty good even if a bit of a headache.

For today though, I'm calling the M6 about done. I need to repaint the duffle bags, I added camo where none should be, and am currently working on two crew members. Beyond that, you'll see it below - have a look:









From the above, you'll see the weathering was not over the top - in fact, looking at photos, there's plenty of dust on the top, and mud on the bottom, but typically not many areas that are really scraped up - so, there are a few places where you can see some chipping, like around the commander's hatch, and on the ramp, but for the most part, just dust and grime. You can also (maybe?) see the non-slip surface - which worked out reasonably well, as it seems to be to scale.



Above, you can see, the mud -



After I saw this pic, I realized I spaced a bit on the weathering on the back - so, now it's weathered. You can see the scrapes along the radius of the door latch movement





In addition to the Bradley, the two above clearly illustrate my beautiful, but wrong, painting of the duffel bags! they will be fixed tonight (thanks, Gino)



you get a pretty clear view above of the stinger and turret - I've since cleaned up some of the sloppy weathering



As some of you might recall this kit began life as the Academy OIF 2003 Bradley. While not a bad kit per se, it is very light on the detail, so for this version quite a bit has been modified and added.

As you all have figured out:

the D9 = The Big Push; and,
the M6 = the Big Punch.

When the Bradley is wrapped up, back to the dio! I still have another building to go, more debris and more soldiers, but this one is getting close!

thanks for having a look

Nick

HOLY CRAP Nick! At first, second, third glance ... I thought you were posting 1:1 reference images — tricked again! You've really got that outdoor photography thing down Bro! Great Monday update after a really dead weekend!

My rating: Five squashed traffic cones!!!

—mike

Very nice. The M6 came out great.

Stick-- that Bradley is so realistic looking, it is scary!
Well done
DJ

holy smokes that's nice!! Just the right amount of weathering IMHO,
J

Hi guys,

I'm glad this kit passes the test! Thanks for the positive words to each of you

Mike, yes, the great outdoors - makes a real difference for photos.

Gino, thanks again for your helpful advice - I think it really contributed to this build

Tonight, back to painting -

Cheers
Nick

I'm with the rest of the peanut gallery on this one Stick! Looks soooo real, great work again.

Daylight's great, but there's something about that California sunshine that really sets your outdoor shots above the rest... I really need to get a park with a concrete bench in my neighbourhood...

BTW, did some real modelling last night, in my secret lab. Gonna find time tomorrow too...

Need the bowing down guy here......... That's outstanding!!!

I think my secret lab is starting to have abandonment issues as I haven't managed to find any time in the last few weeks.... but on a side note I have an order from Shapeways coming in later this week so I should be able to finally find some!!!

Hey guys - - well, the Bradley was a lot of work - so much so that this week, I didn't do much of anything regarding this build.

But, I did do a few things: repainted the duffle bags on the Bradley, modified, assembled and painted the M6 crew, and began work on some more "local" real estate - as the saying goes, it's all about "location, location, location!"

please have a look:



You can see a few of the mods to the Bradley - and, what we in the development world would call an "opportunity site", otherwise known, as a vacant lot!








And there you have it - as of today. The new building was going to be three stories - which is fine, but it looked a bit overwhelming relative to the rest of the scene, so, its now a two story - two passes with an xacto and that was that.....

Next, on to the fun of converting those two sheets of foam into a decent looking building!

thanks for checking it out -

Nick

Your usual spectacular amount of excellent work I see. Holy cow man.
J

Hey Jerry - thanks a lot! The builds are the alternative to the job. I can do what I think is right - No forms, no approvals, no politics, no BS!

And if I screw it up, no forms either - Just tear it out and rebuild it! No worries! Ok - yes, a bit beer infused....long week....

Have a better one, and thanks for dropping by!


Nick

Very nice. It just keeps getting better.

nice buldozer!

Hey Nick! Your buildings are going up faster than a California Sub-division! Composition is looking good!

—mike

Hi Nick ,

outstanding job so far especially the vehicles and the tank are very well done . looking forward to see more....

Cheers
Kurt

Hey guys -

Thanks for having a look.

Gino, thanks - yes, it paid off taking your advice on the various mods to the Brad, and figures! - the whole group is beginning to look like it belongs together!

Xavier - thanks! I like heavy equipment, so that CAT was particularly fun to build -

Ha! Mike - nothing gets built quickly in CA!!! years and years of hearings and appeals!

Kurt, yes, this build has been fun on the technical side - I'd never built either the Bradley or CAT before, so lots of homework!

OK, on to this presentation - I'm into the building, more and more debris and all. I seem to have already forgotten how much work goes into my own debris! - its a lot! haha

Please take a look:














OK - there you have it! need to run

Thanks

Nick

Wow, Nick!

This diorama is looking really nice. I really like the figures and the way you have both a desert tan and a 3-color camo Humvee in the same scene. Nice dozer, too.

I really like this diorama and will be watching this closely from now on.

Cheers,
James

Haha!

Little boxes in the desert,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes in the desert,
Little boxes not the same.
There's a pink one and a tan one,
And a purple one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky,
And they all look not the same. …

Couldn't resist ... chuckle!

yep! You are a madman!!
J

Hi James, thanks! Yeah, I've enjoyed this build. Before I started I read several accounts of events which occurred during this period, and have looked at quite a few photos. The equipment selection comes from a series of accounts of small squad actions which took place in 2004. Prior to reading this, I didn't know of the M6 Linebacker, but learned that it, the CAT, and M1114s were used in conjunction.

Gino has been a great help in refining several details ranging from the uni camo to the M6 itself. I found a pic or two of the use of different color schemes on the up armored M1114s - so, they made it into the build.

Our friends Romain and Jerry were instrumental in pushing me to do the debris in a convincing way! Romain let me know more than once, I was almost, but not quite "there"!!! That said, I've followed his recommendations, and so far so good!
Thanks again Romain! I'll keep at it!

Hi Mike haha!!! Now I'm doing many tiny nuggets-o-debris!!, oh, and more on that little "pink" house!

And, Jerry, many, many more, hopefully "randomly placed" tiny nuggets of debris!! You do realize, you're the guy who has emphasized the importance of both!!! Arggh!

Thanks for checking it out guys -

Nick

Yep. Debris... that crap gets everywhere.... Sometimes you wonder how such a small building made so much....

Wow, just wow. The building is looking great, coming along really well. I assume on time and on budget, unlike the building projects here in MA. How much of an interior are you going to show on them?

Glad to help Nick. The project as a whole is looking great. I can't wait to see it finished.

Hi Matt - I think it's easy to not have enough, not randomly placed debris - and you can tell. The result just doesn't look right....

Hi John - thanks! There won't be too much interior - you just can't see in all that well. The other bldg has some interior - and even with the missing windows (and walls) - you still can't see it. For this build I'll mostly skip it - will have something, but not too much.

As for schedule and budget - schedule is all mine, so, I'm right on it!! Budget is fine too - The bldgs and debris, nothing fancy - pink foam, evergreen, florist wire and balsa and bass wood....really just a trip to Home Depot. I just need to keep moving. I am lucky - the weather here is nothing like there, so it doesn't "get in the way" - but - we are running very low on water! Not good..

Hi Gino - yep, it's getting there...finishing the bldg and debris will take a while, and a few more figures - but, it's shaping up

Thanks for taking a look

Nick