After a 15 year break, I recently got back into building armor / dioramas again... and here's the result. My entry into the Medics Campaign.


It's the 1/35 scale M577 Tamiya kit converted into an tracked ambulance with the 3rd Infantry Division serving in OIF.


The figures and equipment are a mix of Verlinden, Dragon, Tamiya and my spares box.







Comments and critiques most definately welcome.

Jerry

***Thanks to BeachBum for the help with the title and everyone at Armorama for the inspiration!

certainly no skill lost over time!!

It looks fantastic in sunlight!

one question for you though, where does one go about getting a 1:35 set of golf clubs?!?!

After a 15year break?? No kidding.! It looks awesome! Everything looks prefect.. the groundwork too!! You might want to add more dirt to the tracks...

Hmm... Maybe I'll take a 15year break and come back with (hopefully) models as good as yours..

Thanks for sharing Jerry... and welcome to Armorama.

Thanks for the kind words!



BigJon- The golf clubs were scratch built using stretched sprue and the golf bag was made from a US duffle bag and putty.



Umustb- I think your right... I shall fix that, thanks!.

-Jerry

I really like this dio! There hasnt been alot of OIF type dios of late so its certainly quite refreshing to see one now.

Correct me if im wrong though but are there palm trees in Iraq or Afghanistan?

As for the tracks, after looking at all the reference photos of the M113s in Iraq, they all look really clean to be honest. Relatively clean that is...just mainly dust but not caked up with mud. If anything i would just add a bit more dust onto it.

Details aside, i really like what you've done.

the old 577 kit came out looking great but the thing thats plays lead role in your diorama is the story it tells.

I like it, cheers!

One of the best models I've seen on armorama. The detail, composition and story are all brilliant

Wonderfull... the attention to detail is just great! How did you make water bottles?

One of the nicest dios I've seen in a long time.

Well done,
Mario.

Excellent dio with a great story about "life," not just "war."

Have fun!

Wonderful, I love the scratched golfclubs and the set up.

Great job.


Cheers
Henk

Fantastic detail, and excallent execution.

This has Content submission written all over it. Would you want to submitt this as a feature?

An amazing dio Jerry. Great composition and briliantly executed. Vehicle, ground work, figures, gettoblaster and gulf clubs all looks fantastic.

Don't take another 15 year brake, ya hear.

I can only echo what everyone else has said. I'm a little blown away at how nice the clubs and the bag came out. I love the story line and composition. I forsee good things for you to come at model shows if you attend. I can even see a nice little article in a few magazines. I'm just coming back from a 15 year break myself, but it looks like I'm painting with a crayon and not even staying in the lines.

Looks great and a great idea. Good use of the old M577 kit. Yes, there are palm trees in Iraq, lots of them. Some river valley areas look like Vietnam jungle in spots that are so thick.

A very nice dio. I'm impressed and motivated to start building my M-577 which will be converted to a NM-198.

Cheers
Erik

Jerry,
Welcome to Armorama.
From one Medic to another, that is one awsome diorama! I have been looking at it for the last 5 minutes, and I'm still discovering small details add to the "story".
Very nice work.

Chuck

Well, now that everyone has praised this dio, it's time for the critique you asked for-
Definitely not enough photos! I'd love to see some of the back side, and a few more close-ups, if you could. And yes, a feature would be great.
Any thoughts on marketing your golf bag? That is an awesome piece of work.
This brought back instant memories of our base commander at Firebase Harriman, who would run around with his golf club hitting a whiffle golf ball into certain points. Apparently speed was part of his game as he was always running to be his record. I HAVE to email him and direct him here.
And Jazza, even though this depicts OIF, the are palms in Afghanistan as well, down in the lower elevations like Jalalabad. Much different than the mountainous Paki border area.

Jerry -

VERY nicely done. I foresee a Tamiya-Con entry next April....

A bit more dust and that's should do it. Thanks for sharing.

Very Very Nice. My only critique would be where is the condensation on the water bottle, and where is the beer? :-)

Click on his "My Photos" tab. There are more close up pics there. Some pics that show some relly nice details and from different angles. There are all sorts of small details hiding behind the M577A2 too. Great stuff.

Ah yes. I'm liking this better all the time. One very small critique:
While it is certainly possible for the track to sag like that, it would normally be enough to deadline that vehicle. The track should ideally first touch the third road wheel, and barely clear the second one. I used to know the exact measurement, but that was in a former life.
The op-tempo in OIF currently allows for excellent maintenance of our vehicles.
Still, a very impressive piece.

Thank you everyone for the extremely kind words! I had a lot of fun building it.

The wife isn't as enthusiastic though. "Does that mean you're going to spend MORE time in the garage?" and "How much are you going to spend THIS time?" Anyone know a local flower shop selling roses cheap?

O'well, back to topic....


Hey Sticky - I'll get right on that condensation. :-)


18Bravo - Here ya go.







Thanks again for looking and like always, comments and critiques welcome.

Jerry

Hey 18Bravo,
I was wondering if anyone was going to catch that incorrect track sag... I forgot to fix that before securing it onto the base. It will be fixed soon.
Jerry

Jerry,

you showed us some excellent detail in there ! Like said before, you haven't lost your skills over time.

One little nitpick is that I would have expected a bit more dust on the individual items like the golf cart and the stretchers. But besides that : Top Notch !!

Learn something new everyday. I guess the news dont seem to show enough of it or i just dont observe well enough that there are palm trees in desert like areas in Iraq and Afghanistan.