Part 1,
Hey fellas, hows everyoen doin? Well my birthday is just around the corner, and my gorlfriend and family are starting to ask me what I want. Well only one things comes to mind, slacks? I think not. Nothing but models and a new shotgun. My family is pretty good to me as far as buying me pesents and thats why I love them . So anyways I've been planning on building 2 Dios this winter. Now that im nearing the end of 2 year, 17 hour a day, seemingly endless house rebuilding. I don't plan on doing a thing besides models and working out. So getting back to the point, one dio will be a modern military the other will be a german gun enplacement.

Dio 1: This dio will be of a modern U.S. military convoy. It will cosist of a bridge rolling into a decent sized village. The bridge will be modern design, and i will probally constuct it out of filtered concrete, and styrene. The buildings will be built using balsa or styrofoam for the walls getting a coating of wall spackle and I'll sculpt from there. The models I was planning on using were:
1. TAMIYA 1/35 U.S. Marine AAVP7A1 Amphibious APC
2. TAMIYA 1/35 U.S. M1025 Humvee Armament Carrier
3. TAMIYA 1/35 U.S. M1A2
4. ITALERI M-923
5.. TAMIYA 1/35 U.S. Humvee TOW Carrier
6. And i have a few dragon figure sets, marines and army.
7. HEKI tan grass mat.

Now the questions on this dio
1. I've noticed that tamiya's desert color is a little dark, what would you suggest
2. Do the vehicles sound right? What would you add?
3. Since Im using the AAVP should i make this strickly marine?
4. What problems do you forsee?
5. What emblems should go on theses?
6. It will be a desert theme, should i paint a hummvee camo to break it up?
7. I don't want a battle scence, any idea on figures?
8. I think its the little details that will help, what should the truck be carrying, what kind of gear should i have etc.

Any input will definetly be appreciated. plus only man can have only so many ideas, thats why I ask. The reason I'm writing all of this is because I'm starting a birthday list, so I'd like to get as much of it as I can ahead of time.

As far as the second dio, I will post the idea later since this one turned into such a long one.

Thanks Jay

Testors Model Master Sand FS #33531 is and exact match for modern CARC Sand, once weathered, it looks perfect. Check my Showcases III below for some examples.




Yes, you would not usually see USMC and US Army vehicles mixed as you have above. The M1A2 is really the only one that doesn't fit. If you build it as a USMC M1A1HC, it would work just fine.



The biggest problem I see is size. To get all those vehicles on one diorama, it will have to be huge. Big dios usually don't flow well and look staged/thrown together. It is too hard to have it all flow together and tell a story. There is usually too much open space that detracts from the vehicles and figures as well. It might be better idea to do several smaller dios with the vehicles that you have listed above.



A cammo vehicle mixed with sand vehicles is fine. I would try to get all the vehicles from either the same unit, or at least have the tank and support vehicles, or the AAVP and support vehicles from the same unit. Echelon has some great USMC OIF decals to choose from, 2 sets, one for camo tanks and the other for sand tanks. You could use the generic USMC decals from these or from the models if you get the right ones. Someone also does a set of rub-on transfers for the AAVP as well, just can't think of who it was.



You can use any of the DML/Dragon figures from ODS era and their current USMC figures. As long as you use the torsos from the modern USMC figures or the Trumpeter modern USMC and 101 ABN figures since they and are the only plastic ones with current IBA vests.




Truck would most likely be carrying extra tents, extra ammo, bags and any other gear that doesn't fit on the other vehicles. Think of it as a moving truck. Anything that the Marines would need to move and didn't fit on other vehicles would be on the truck.

Thanks for all the help, Im going to try the sand color. The dio is going to be pretty big I think that is part of the challenge. It'll be interesting to say the least. I am unfamilar to that M1A1 though. What are the differences?

Thanks Jay

Check out my M1 variants arcticle here at Armorama and look at my USMC M1A1HC in my Showcase III below.
M1 Variants article.

The Tamiya M1A2 OIF kit actually can be built as an Army M1A1, USMC M1A1HC, or an Army M1A2. The main differances are in the commander's cupola and the CITV, camera looking box on top of the turret on the M1A2.

The USMC version has a few different parts as well. It has different smoke launchers, a bracket for a snorkel on the exhaust grill, and usually a Missile Counter-measure Device (MCD) on the manhole cover, in place of the CITV. The Tamiya kit comes with all the above for a USMC M1A1HC.

To complicate things a little more, USMC M1A1HCs in OIF all had/have the Bustle Rack Extension (BRE,) as seen on my model, in OIF. The Tamiya kit does not come with this BRE. Eduard makes one in PE, or the "new" (its a rehash of thier old kit with an added sprue of new parts) Academy M1A1 Iraq 2003 kit has the correct BRE. Just about the rest of the Academy kit is trash though, with the exception of a few new items on the same new sprue as the BRE. Track is also not correct for a M1A1 in the initial invasion. It has old style T-156 chevron block track. This was replaced about the time of ODS ('90-'91) with T-158 square block "Bigfoot" track (as in the Tamiya kit). However, the T-156 track is again being seen on M1A1s in Iraq as of late since T-158 tracks are in short supply. The Academy tracks are still not a good representation of the T-156 track though. They are soft on detail and have the guide horns in the wrong place, centered on the track block as opposed to between the two blocks.

Academy M1A1 Iraq 2003 kit review.

How is that for some info? Is your head spinning yet?

Let me know if you need more assistance.

okay thats just funny!

http://armorama.com/forums/59762&page=1

I just posted my pics of that exact same kit that i Built. Thats why I wanted to go with the TAM kit. Alot of people tore that kit apart. It was my first tank, doing nothing but Revell models I thought at least the fit was great. I have to admit I did'nt know all that tech info. Thank you for your help

Jay

I know. I was one of the ones who gave "Constructive Criticism." We didn't tear it apart, just trying to give you some pointers to help you improve it or your next one.

I meant that you guys tore apart the kit itself. Not my modeling. I appreciate the help. I didnt know about all those things about that kit. I always want criticism, without it you will never improve.

Thanks
Jay