Hi all,
Here are some photos of my latest WIP. A dio of a Marine force Recon Humvee in Iraq during the intial stages of the invasion. The inspiration for this dio comes from the book "Generation Kill".
The Humvee is Academys M998 with srcatch built MG mount with the MG from Academys Machine Gun set. The Figures are from DML's Modern US marines (more to come).
The base consists of layers of polystyrene built up and then carved to get the right shape then Sculptamold put over the top. The sand is a mixture of fine beach sand, dirt and pastel dust.
Still to do: Add sand bags around the foxhole, Find lots of stowage for the humvee and finish of the figures.
All comments are welcome

G'day mate
very nice, really like the groundwork, the Humvee is great!
Cheers

Generation Kill..what a good book
great diorama too, like how it is coming along, dont forget to pack that humvee full of gear

That's a great idea. Where did you get the Dragonov? I do have a question. Would the Marines really park their vehicle right over the hole they discovered? I mean it tunnels right under their truck and there could be a bomb.

Thanks David, we gotta catch up some time.

Thanks Shain,Yes Generation Kill is a great book (I am reading it for a second time now). I am hopefully going to the model shop tomorrow so I will see what I can find in the way of Stowage.

Alan, The Dragonov came with the Figures theres a whole selection of extra weapons, thats a good point about the hole, but at this stage in the war the enemy weren't planting roadside bombs. It mentions in the book that the Marines stopped and searched through the discarded gear.

Looks like it is coming along well. One thing you need to add to the HMMWV is the B piller, the bar that support the rear of the soft top behind the front seats. This is an integral part of all M998 HMMWVs and is actually structural. You can see it in this pic of an M998 going through ASK (Armor Survivability Kit) upgrade.


Might want to add some support bars to teh .50 cal mount bar as well, it looks like it is just hanging there in mid air.

Looking good. Keep us posted on your progress.

thats no dragunov, the Dragunov SVD was a sniper rifle, that there looks like some sort of FN Mag or something similar, certainly its a Machine gun, and not a sniper rifle.
Cheers

You'r right. That is a PKM machine gun.

Cheers
Erik

Hi Gino,
I thought about adding the B pillar, But the photos of Humvees in the book don't have it so I left it out.
I am sorry but I don't know what you mean by "support bars" for the .50 cal.

Dave, you and erik are right its PKM machine gun.

Being in the Army I found that book very very odd, but also being a scout I found it very enlightining as too the compounding problems of being in recon.

As for your dio Andy, I think all the necessary spots thaat need work have been spoken upon, but this is an early stage for you dio and I would love to see it when your finished!

Andy, I'm not up on modern stuff, so I will let the experts help you withthat. As for your ground work, I think its looking real good so far. Great job and keep posting your progress. cheers Kevin

Zach, I guess this is what makes all arms of the service unique LOL Thanks for the comments n the dio.

Kevin, Thanks for the compliment on the groundwork.

Andy, the dio looks great so far. Can't wait to see it when it's finished.
One correction on the .50 cal MG. The machine gun cradle (piece that goes under the MG and between the mount and MG) you used is a WWII style one and should be changed to the late type. The below is the same MG cradle you used, which is from a Sherman M4A1E8.

I'm surprised that Gino did not mention that the radio you have in the Humvee is an old type that was not used during OIF. You need the new SINCGARS radio from Pro Art models to be accurate.

P2G

Yup, I missed the radio. Needs a SINCGARS.

The Humvee looks great, Andrew. Inspiring book, isn't it? I read it on the flight to Germany last summer, and immediately bought Tamiya's Modern US Infantryman, which became my 'Knock knock!' vignette. Got lots of useful pix for the NBC suit.

Determined to do a Marine Recon dio next year.

Are you going to put figs in the vehicle, too, or just around it? The groundwork's pretty good too.

I've used the PKM and it's as good as the FN MAG and way better than the M60. Oops

P2G, Due to an upcoming trip to the UK and Europe I haven't been able to buy any after market stuff. That is why I have used the WWII gun cradle ( I thought it looked close enough LOL) and haven't changed the radio. I would love to have everything accurate though

David, I found the book a real eye opening experience. I hope maybe, funds permitting to get Trumpeters OIF marine set and put the torsos on the academy Humvee figures to put in the vehicle.

Good work Andy... humwee,figures, groundwork all looks very good...some detailing on humwee like MRE2 and ammo cases can be good.
best regards

Good work Andrew keep going

Looks promising, howerever I have never seen a .50 pedestal quite like the one you have on your truck. What were your references for this or is this your own design? "Q"

Thanks Engin and Murat,
Matthew, the Pedestal mount was meant to look like this one in the picture but as you can see it is waaaaaaaay off. So I have followed Gino's suggestion and made it a straight mount.