In honor/recognition of the 20th Anniversary of the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom and those who served there, I’m going to be building this kit.
I’ve got a set of AM Bigfoot tracks to replace the incorrect ones that come with the kit.
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I’ll be looking forward to it. It will need shot trap armor. Unfortunately the photos are gone from this old article (even though mine was for a later variant the shot trap armor was the same) but the description of how to easily replicate the complex shape may help.
https://archive.armorama.com/forums/123326-page=2.htm
I can send photos if you like. Not many folks think to look under there to take photos.
Good deal. I’m looking forward to following along and helping out where I can. Will it be a 3ID Bradley?
I don’t know how detailed you want to go, but this suspension set from a guy on eBay is a big improvement. It will fit your tracks better than the Academy sprocket as well.
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It’s honestly the only choice. 3rd ID was the spearhead of the push into Baghdad in 2003, with the “Thunder Run”.
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I know, I was there; 1-39 FA (MLRS), 3ID. I just got back from our Bn’s 20 yr reunion at Ft Stewart over the weekend.
4ID was also there, juts a little behind 3ID by about a week.
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Yes I will be building a 3rd ID Bradly from the drive to Baghdad. Did those have the shot trap armor that 18Bravo was talking about? I saw the link he posted but no photos in the link of the armor that he described. Unless I completely overlooked something there… 
I don’t think M2A2s had the additional shot trap armor around the base of the turret ring. If they did, it is not really enough to make a difference. I would just go with the kit as is.
Which BDE/unit are you planning on. Only 2 BDE Brads, 3-15 IN, had the added storage bins on the sides and jerry can baskets that were made in Kuwait. 3-15 drew APS vehicles from Kuwait. 1st and 3rd BDE brads did not have the bins.
The kit comes with markings for two vehs. One from TF 1/64 Armor, Crackshot, and one from TF 1/15 Inf, no name seen. I was able to find photos of both in the Concord book Thunder Run and the one from 1/64 has the external racks. I haven’t made a decision yet on whether or not I will scratch build up some of those racks to make Crackshot. I’m kinda leaning toward the 1/15 vehicle just because it’s from an infantry battalion.
If you do decide on the racks, Eduard makes a set for them. It also includes the bins for the jerry cans and tie-down blocks for the sides of the armor plates.
EDUARD 36004
Thanks for the heads up on that Eduard set. That sure would be easier than laying out Evergreen strips on some graph paper.
It’s visible in both of SableLiger’s second photos in his first and second posts of this thread.
Correct TF 1-64 AR had one company from 3-15 IN task organized to them.
2 BDE Order of Battle for OIF 1
2ND BRIGADE (had extra BREs, side racks, and jerry can racks for Abrams, Brads, and M113s from Kuwaiti APS5 PrePo stocks)
3-15 IN (very heavy fighting at Obj Curley during 2nd Thunder Run - almost overrun)
1-64 AR (heavy fighting in both Thunder Runs)
4-64 AR (heavy fighting in 2nd Thunder Run, had A/3-7 IN as part of TF 4-64 AR)
1-9 FA
10 Eng
26 FSB
Now I see it. In my opinion, not enough to worry about if you don’t have another brad to cut up the turret ring on or don’t want to scratch them.
Yes, BFISTs also had the racks, but all Brads in 2 BDE (APS 5 drawn) had the racks. They were locally made in Kuwait and installed on all the APS fleet.
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Ah, but it’s pretty visible to me. Stick, one JM to another, parts are yours for the asking, free of charge. I’ll send photos as well.
I did a ton of work on my M2A2 build. I used the updated Suspension and I can confirm that it’s an improvement over the stock setup.
Also, gluing a sheet of 0.20 styrene to plug up the motorization holes helps with the aesthetics.
My build represents an M2A2 from the mid 90s, as seen in either Somalia with the 24th or in Bosnia with 1st AD.
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Ok, you’ve twisted my arm on this. 
I’ll PM you with my contact info. And I’ll certainly want to see those photos for reference.
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Reynier, I’m content with the kit suspension as is. I did a test fit and most of that stuff will be concealed by the side armor, running gear, and tracks.
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For some easy (some not) fixes/upgrades on the M2A2 ODS, I recommend checking out Pawel’s M2A2 Article.
Vodnik's M2A2 Feature
Also, here is an easy fix on the rear hull area.
M2/M3 Bradley Reference