Nick
Who can't appreciate an "On Patrol" dio? And this one is very interesting, likin' the story. I'll be following.
Dave

Hi guys - time to call this one done! You'll see below, a patrol, along a levee, comes up on a bad coincidence - a broken down truck and a burned out truck - take a look and see how it works out:









so above are coming up from the rear - but not at the problem...



above - just for fun of the MATV....and one more:



back to the story:



Above- a truck not being driven away....same below...





together blocking the road....but you can see the soldier signaling...





The backhoe - clearing some roadway



and the local guys trying to fix that truck...







And above - keeping eyes open...





















and there you have it - a buffalo and a backhoe - plus a few other bits and pieces. Building the add-on armor for this project was not easy - but i do like the results - same for the other trucks - and, getting better with the figures -so, all in all, not a bad build!

thanks for checking it out -

Nick

Mercy sakes alive,we got a little convoy & ain’t she a beautiful sight. Looks like the pick-up crashed the gate doin’ 98...OK that’s enough CW McCall 10/4.

This is just beyond Beyond Nick – just one example - the photo 15th from the top, the wide view. It’s p-e-r-f-e-c-t and my new Desktop background.

Genius

Hi Nick!
The way the vehicles are stacking-up looks like something real bad could happen at any moment.

And that charred dirt under the pickup is CHOICE! — love that detail!

Nice finish! 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
—mike

Amazing Nick, thanks for showing your kits here.. It's always a pleasure to follow your builds

we need a bowing smiley...... OUTSTANDING.

This is signature "Nick" stuff here. You don't post for a little bit and all of a sudden BAM ! You hit one out of the park and into the next town.
Just one of these vehicles would take me a good year to build I think and every one of them here is outstanding in its' quality and detail,inside and out. The figs get better and better and then there is the usual very cool outside lighting pictures that always cap your work off.
Man o man this is a good way to start my morning and a very good motivator to get off my butt and start improving !
J

Wow!!!
Stickframe- What color did you use to painting multicam?

It came out looking great Nick. Excellent work on all the vehicles and figures. The only issue I have is the closeness of all the vehicles. As Mike "justsendit" Freeman said, "The way the vehicles are stacking-up looks like something real bad could happen at any moment."

Just for that reason, military vehicles are parked at a distance from each other, especially at a halt when conducting convoy ops, so they are not all destroyed by a single blast or attacker. Other than that, it looks awesome.

Hey Nick,

That looks awesome! It is hauntingly realistic especially since it looks like you photographed it outside so it gives the pictures the right look as if the pictures were taken by a Soldier participating in the event. I have to agree with Gino about the closeness of the US vehicles, but I can understand that space limitations might be the cause for the artistic license so you can get all of the vehicles on the base.

Again, it looks awesome! Great work, Nick.

Cheers,
James

Regarding my earlier comment about stacked vehicles: I’m no soldier, but I would imagine in real life, convoy ops don’t always go as flawlessly as one would like. 🤔 ...

Radio squawk: “We're all stacked up... Something feels wrong... Watch yer six, guys!” .. . . .

—mike

Nick,
WOW, you just blow my mind with your work. Talk about a distraction from wiring in blade runner. I'm sure you are ready to deal with wiring after that build. It will be easy after all that work you just did.
I have so many comment and thoughts since this is the first time I looked at this build. I'll get. Y head together and ask later but for now you nailed it. That a hit right out of the park. (Better then your Giants are doing this year). Lol

So I have to ask you. Now that this is done what is your plans for the dio? Will you display it on a shelve or sale it. Will it get lost in a pile of old builds? The way you pump these out you must have a lot of shelves or closet full of dusty builds. Lol

Great work my friend. Love seeing your master skilled executed.

Dave

Very cool plastic rendering of a very plausible roadside dilemma .
Vehicles are a-1 and the figs are very well done also , can only hope mine turn out so well .
Like the tiered bank effect too .

Although I agree about the vehicles being way to bunched up there is no way to show a proper combat interval in this scale unless you have a house big enough for an Olympic size swimming pool !
I could just hear me or other NCOs though. "SPREAD THE F--K OUT !!!!" "One grenade will kill all of ya" !
J

Hi guys, thanks for looking, and taking some time to leave comments - I really appreciate both! Work has been time consuming and stressful - sorry it took me a while to reply.

Tim - thanks very much - the "Convoy" sing along!! Haha! Glad you like the pic - as a fellow outdoor photographer you are well aware of the opportunities and challenges that come with it. The light can be great! The shadows of the camera and unintended background, less so..haha

Hi Mike - thanks. Yes - I was hoping to illustrate at least some of the tension created by this situation - "let's get that piece of s@#%t truck out of here and get moving! Now!"...and while building it, I thought about Jerry's comments some time ago about not letting marching soldiers get bunched up. The problem I have is scale and size - this build is 30" wide...perfect...I'll bet 42" would have been ideal, but man, that would be a BIG dio! Fun anyway - I added the sloping bank to try to force some perspective. This size would probably be ok with just Hmmwvs or, Matvs - but add the Buffalo - and broken down truck, forget it. They are too big! Thx for leaving a comment -

Hi Hakan, I appreciate your comments, thanks!

Hi Matt - always good to hear from you! I know you're up to a few "secret" projects! Am looking forward to a post or two!

Hi Jerry - thanks for dropping by. Figures...yes...as hard as it was to figure out and build the various types of armor - and tedious, the figures remain for me the most challenging. I do them too quickly. Looking back now, at the camo for example, the colors look right - but the patterns are too big and a bit sloppy. I know they can be done correctly. Just a fine point brush and more patience. Just that easy!! Haha! The outdoor pics - I really like them for good and bad - colors are strong, but errors - man, they seem to get amplified 5x! Shining, thin paint, thick paint, lost detail, overstroke with a brush....ha! On to the next build.

Hi Piotr, thanks very much for leaving a comment - appreciate it. The base color is Vallejo Cam Grey 71.118 - I think it's a good color - as noted above, if I slowed down some, the camo could be made to look right - included NATO black and brown, Ivory, and cam light green...I will try this again, but will take more time to do it right.

Hi Gino, thanks for looking and taking some time to comment. I'm pleased to read that the vehicles pass your test! They were among the toughest builds I've tried. I also appreciate your clear thoughts on the operational considerations - I might try another build that "looks" like real scale - aside from building at actual scale. Who knows? But there must be some way to view a convoy and make it look correct, but not building something 60" long...I have the M1070 & trailer stored away and waiting to get built - it might serve as a good test base for making the perspective of distance in a dio look correct.

Hi James - thanks! Between you and Jerry, among the master figure builders...at least I know what these guys are supposed to and can look like! I'll keep following your work and trying.

Mike #2...yes haha - I've discovered the limits of scale vs reality - as noted above, I might try again some time to force perspective etc to see if I can at least make it look "correct"...

Hi Dave - thanks! Yes, this build will join the others - in a space once used for my not-good model rr! I sold it so it's gone - now, just a good flat space for old builds...

Hi Cheyenne - you know, I'm glad you noticed the sloping bank - in addition to making the scene interesting, I hoped it could make the scale/distance look right...maybe next time!

Hi Jerry #2, you are right! As noted above, I thought about a comment of yours I read some time ago - about soldiers not getting bunched up...and that NCO yelling! He was yelling at me. I should have listened to him...haha...oh well - maybe next time! Thanks for taking some time to leave your thoughts.

Happy model building!
Cheers
Nick