Hi guys,

Question.I'm near the end of my Ranger Special operations Landrover from Hobby Boss.
Their paint guide has all the ammo boxes painted the same dark grey.Is that possible ????

tOM

Sort of. Everything permananetly attached to the vehicle is painted flat black. It fades quickly and takes on a dark gray hue, but is still flat black. If they are ammo cans that are for the guns, they should be dark green.

They were also painted in a sand colour in 1993.

https://vimeo.com/60259882

Seats are the wrong type for a US vehicle, you have to replace them. Blackdog make an update set with new seats.

Blackdog set



Little walkarounds
http://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=101230

http://www.milweb.net/webvert/75186

I think I missed something, but when did the US start using Landrovers? I thought they only used Humvees.
Interesting subject.

Not sure when they began, but they've been withdrawn from service.

They were in service from the mid '90s to the mid '2000s and only in the 75th Ranger Regiment. The idea was a larger Fast Attack Vehicle concept as they replaced the M151 FAVs the Rangers had been using. They were not very successful and later were replaced by HMMWVs.

The old "Rangers : the U.S. Army 75th Ranger" by Joel B. Paskauskas (Concord Publications, 2001) includes pics of the various RSOV variants in service at that time.

H.P.

A somewhat related question, if I may... are there any Ranger figures around that can be used with this vehicle?

Hisham

The Dragon Delta Force Somalia figures are good for Rangers as well. Just change out the headgear for Kevlar hemets and you are good. You may also want to change out the weapons for M4s or M16s as well.



You can also use just about any modern figures w/IBAS body armor since it is very close to RBA (Ranger Body Armor). Rangers don't really wear any special uniform items to identify them as Rangers. They are basically specialized light infantry.

Black Hawk Down is a pretty good referance for what Rangers carry and wear. It is a pretty realistic movie.

Thanks for the info, Gino

What about these guys? Would they fit in, or does the uniform change with different missions?



Hisham

They would work as well. Again, I would put Kevlars on them. The M249 SAW is dated with the skeletal buttstock, depending on when you want them to represent. The gear is late '80s to late '90s, maybe early 2000s. Also, they do not have body armor on. Most times the Rangers go into combat, they wear body armor (especially in more recent years, everyone wears body armor). They would represent troops in training well, especially with the soft caps.

As to the uniform, they do change depending on the terrain you will be in. The old Woodland BDUs and later desert DCUs, as in the other set, (and ODS-era Chocolate Chip DCUs) were cut the same though. You can paint either as Woodland or Desert and be fine.

In the below pic from '01, they are wearing BDUs, kevlar helmets, and have on IBAS body armor.

Yes and no.
Though Rangers do usually wear the same unis as regular Army units (whether Woodland BDUs, then Arpat/Acupat, and eventually Multicam), their gear is pretty much specific, and became very specific over the last decades.
Back in the 90s, yes, only the RBA (and a few other details) would give away a Ranger.
But then, throw in the modified BDU shirts and later the introduction of the RLCS and its specific Ranger Green color (with an interesting transition period with woodland SPEAR BALCS Ranger cut fitted with RLCS pouches).
Nowadays, I lost track I must admit. The changes are impossible to follow unless you're really into it, especially since SOF units gear evolves quite fast.

Bit of nitpicking here.

Agreed, but in the timeframe the RSOV was in use (early '90s to early 2000s), they were still pretty similar w/the addition of RBA and/or IBAs. The rest was pretty much standard uniforms and gear.

I found out that Blackdog do the same set shown above but with figures.. so I guess those would be the best.. but could the other Dragon figures work with these ones with some modifications?



Hisham

The Black Dog ones look good. The Dragon ones with mods would work fine too. If you look at the BD ones, they are wearing IBA vests with Kevlars, nothing else that would make them specifically Rangers. Like I said, pretty much any standard US figure from the '90s to early 2000s will do.

Thanks, Gino.. I guess I'll get the Black Dog set for my Ranger Landy

And I hope you don't mind me imposing on your thread, Tom

Hisham

Not sure whether the Bkack Dog figures would be correct with the 'ACH cut'? I was under the impression that the ACH was fielded after the Landrover was withdrawn.

Looks to me like they are wearing old BDU/DCU uniforms and PASGT Kevlar helmets.

Gino, agree with the BDU, but there doesn't seem to be a brim on the helmets.

I would love to build that kit with the black dog figures. Already did the british version:

As Gino noted the Landies were chosen to replace the existing M151 FAVs and gun jeeps. We're talking maybe 100(?) vehicles in total so it wasn't a significant number in the context of the US Army's vehicle fleet.

The Rangers picked them in part because they could be carried as an intenal load in a Ch-47 and were therefore more easily deployable. The Humvee is too large and can only be carried as a slung load, which restricts the speed and performance of the helicopter.

The nature of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan meant that the greater carrying capacity and ability to tie in with the mainstream logistics chain for maintenance made the Humvee a much better option for them (plus the proliferation of smaller ATVs probably broadened the Rangers' flexibility to deploy by helicopter). The RSOVs were withdrawn in 2004/5-ish).

The US military do use Landrovers in small numbers in the UK for example, but generally the station wagon variety and only as second-line vehicles.

The USMC special ops teams picked up Mercedes G-Wagons for very similar air-transportable reasons and used them for roughly the same time period.

Regards,
John

The HMMWV can be loaded internally into a CH-47, they are just a little tight and can take a while to load/unload because of this.





The RSOVs are able to drive on/off rather easily with space to spare.

Looks like you're right. Thought they were PASGT, but went to the Black Dog website and it does look like the helmets have the chinstrap of the ACH as well.

Oh well, its easy to swap them out w/PASGT Kevlar hemets.