Hello, i am new to diaromas since i was injured itskeeping me sane and getting my hand back on line. I want to recreate the insertion at the bakara market in somalia. I plan on having two black hawks, and two little birds. In addition i want to simulate fast ropping the two chalk elements, and two delta squads. I would like to have at least one figure fast ropping. Anyone have any ideas on how i can achieve this? I also would like to know if there are any kits of modern us army that have their guns down range and not at rest. thanks everyone for the awesome ideas.

Welcome to Armorama, Kevin. DML has some modern US Army kits with shooters but the only one I can name straight off is the Delta Force kit from the Mogadishu era. Not sure whether the other kits have compatible gear.

I believe only the Rangers roped in. Delta was inserted directly onto the street and rooftops from the Little Birds.

thanks for the repy..yeah i am going to have one element of delta in the little bird ( i hope) and the other already inserted. the two chalk elements of rangers, i want a few on the ground covering the last ropper....I orderd the delta set..and have tamiya's moder us and some others i orderd. I am thinking i am just going to have mix and match to make up a squad. thanks for the reply

G'day mate
i am also planning a diorama of the same thing.
One thing youll have to take into consideration is that the 4 black hawks that were carrying one ranger chalk each (12 men) were possitioned at the 4 corners of the target building. One hawk n' chalk went too far north however.
So if you plan on using two hawks, it will have to be a huge diorama to fit the entire building side in.
Also, as the rangers roped down they had 1 rope coming down from either side of the bird, and at least 2 men on a rope at a time, so youll need to consider this, instead of just having 1 fast roper.
The Delta's were dropped in the street , and target building rooftop, just before the rangers came in.
Hope this info helps.
Cheers

awsome...maybe we can exchange ideas as work in progress
yeah i plan on making it on the fron side....two chalk elements, two blackhawks. I'll have two ropes but one guy ropping...

how areyou going to build the target building?

sounds like you have some good resource on tactics.
One big question comes to mind - what scale are you looking to build this in? Even in 1/48 that is going to be a very large diorama. Not a negative thing, just something to plan for, as far as scope, quantities and time...

The smaller your scale the easier it will be to suspend the helo's on the 'fast ropes'.

here is a feature that will help

https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/424

This is what I would do to suspend the 'hawks:
Go to the local hardware store and buy monofilament 12 or 14 gauge wire; cut a length that suits your needs but cut the wire with much more than what you need (can't stress this enough); build the fast rope assembly that is on the ceiling of the Blackhawk's interior compartment using plastic sheet and metal rods making sure the rods are in the extended position; epoxy the wire to the end of the metal rod and wait to dry (suspending the helo so that NO stress is on the wire-rod connection); when this is done, curl and loop the wire at the bottom so that it appears like a bundle of rope thrown out of a helicopter (hehe); step back and enjoy!
On another topic, the DML Delta Force figures would work for Rangers but all you would need to do is replace the Protec "hockey helmets" with PAGST helmets (can be found in the Tamiya Modern Accessories Set). I also remember someone saying that all D-Force wore the Protec helmets and none wore boonie hats or bandanas, so keep that in mind when you are building the Delta Operators. Hope this helps. If you need any clarification or any other help, feel free to ask.
Kyle

hey, thanks for your reply. I am planning on 1/35 going to use a plywood base and basically take up a room to build the dio.
thanks for the link also that was awesome