Hi all,
here I am. My entry is complete pending your comments and suggestions



Hope you'll like it. I think about writing a build article along with Epi to share our common experiences about building a more accurate ODS vehicle from Tamiya's kit.

olivier

I love that drivers hatch.

The only thing I could suggest, and it isn't your fault, but with such a nice looking Bradley, you need a nicer looking figure to go along with it. Your Tamiya figure is nice, but a Alpine, Nemrod, or a Warriors figure woul;d jut make it even better.

Its not fare!!!!!

Mine is taking me ages to get anything done -you did yours in no time. Its looking amazing and you did a superb job on it! Like Pete said the only thing I would do Is get a nice commander figure-Tamiya one is a little crude in terms of details. I can hook you up with an Alpine one for a little cheaper than the shops.

Looks great Olivier. Awesome job. Weathering looks spot on.

Dear Olivier
Pas mal really good my friend
Same comment as Pete nice Alpine AFV crews will a good add

Cheers


Seb

Ps what about the crazy Korean guy ??

No obvious fllaws, well done, it would certainly brought forward as a serious contender at any contest I'd be judging. You did pretty good with what Tamiya gave you for a figure, too.

This one deserves nothing less than a big salute, Olivier.
Great work

Erik

Excellent! Great job.

Thanks for your kind comments !
Concerning the figure, I agree it's not the best and I'll probably change it one day or another. I haven't decided yet which reference I could use.

olivier

Hi olivier
Done a Great job. I got one in stash. But everytime I open the box, All those tiny parts really scares me away. Excellent weathering and the paint job.

Regarding the figure: I for one am not for spending additional money for expensive resin figures. I do not have the necessary skills to justify the extra money for the figure. So I either skip or tend to use the figures supplied with the kit. Ofcourse once your figure painting skills are up to par then yes. The Alpine fiqures would sure give extra punch to your armor.
Anyway you got a great model there. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work.

Have a Great Day

Ditto!

Cheers and congrats

Very nice. Ditto on the weathering. Something I'd like to get better at

Thanks again all of you.
Mukund, like you I'm a bit afraid of scraping a resin figure by a poor painting. This time I could give it a try though.

Anybody here who could point me to a good looking reference for a Bradley commander. I only need one figure so far. The Nemrod crew are too much for me and honestly I think their helmets looks odd (to narrow). The Alpine tankers look good but are they suitable for an IFV ?

olivier

Oliver,
If I'm not mistaken, the IBA's where not issued during the time frame your model is depicted. So you would have to go with a figure without body armor or a figure with the small tanker vest.

These are Warriors M1A1 tank crew sets:


This set would be perfect:


Or if you want to go a little bit cheaper, these Dragon figures are very nice, even better if you change the heads out with some Warriors or Hornet heads:

Sorry Pete,
I realized I didn't answer your post.
Your tankers wear a strange looking flak vest I never saw before. I expected to see the kind of jacket with shoulder patches and the opening on the front of the vest with a flap over it.
What kind of vest is the one on your pics ?
It looks like OIF timeframe figures are way easier to find now. I'll maybe have to stick with Tamiya old figures.

olivier

The tankers above are wearing the NOMEX vest that goes with the NOMEX uniform, it is also fire resistent. Tamiya's figures that come with the kit are wearing the newer IBAs. You are thinking of the older PAGST vests, with shoulder pads. They were not usually orn bu AFV crewmen, th elighter NOMEX vest are/were prefered for their weight and fire retardancy.

So Gino,
If I got you right, I can use the tanker in Nomex suit to represent a BC as well as the standard PAGST upon BDU.

olivier

Half way there. The PAGST was not normally worn by tankers. It was ocassionally worn, but they prefered the NOMEX vest. IBA is pretty much standard for all now since it has ceramic plates that can actually stop bullets (up to about .30 cal, 7.62mm), as opposed to just stopping or slowing down schrapnel like the NOMEX and PAGST vests were designed to do.

Best bet is either NOMEX vests or IBA for a modern BC/TC, either over a NOMEX CVC (Combat Vehicvle Crewman) jumpsuit or BDUs/DCUs. IBA was initially issued about 2000/2001 timeframe to troops going to the Balkans. Some 3ID tank/Bradley crewmen still wore the NOMEX vest during the invasion phase of OIF though, not all had IBA yet.

Wow, excellent job.