Checkpoint Iraq 1:35

[Christian1970]

Few weeks ago, I bought three boxes with old figures from Tamiya, Dragon, Verlinden and more brands.
The most are figures for vietnam scenes.
But there were a lot “modern” US soldiers in these boxes.
And now, I’m building a diorama for them.
It’s a checkpoint at a t-junction. It this word correct? In germany we call it T-Kreuzung.
This is, how it’s looked at the moment.
The figures not finish yet, also the M2 Bradley is waiting in his box.

And some concrete barriers.

I will also add two palm trees.

Regards Christian

[Johnnych01]

Hi Christian. This has the makings of another great scene. And T junction is correct. When you look at the available ground area you have, and you mention a Bradley, and those barriers and 2 palm trees … with all that added, it could soon start to get a bit over- populated with stuff ? How & where will the Bradley sit ? How will other vehicles/people move around it ? would 1 palm tree be enough instead of 2 ??
I really like the layout of the roads and how you have coloured it so far - it has a nice middle eastern feel to it. I also like the attention to detail on the kerb stone painting and the rough texture on the road surface … Very good

[Christian1970]

Here is a picture of my idea.

Maybe I put the barrier, next to the bunker, away and place the M2 a little bit in front?
One palm tree comes behind the broken wall, by the second one I’m not sure.

Regards Christian

[HeavyArty]

Looking good. What version of Bradley do you have? It looks like an early M2 hull. If an original M2, it is way too early for Iraq, even in ODS ('90-'91).

[Christian1970]

Ah ok. It’s the Academy M2. I saw this picture and it looks like a early M2 for me, so I thought, I can use this one. And I thought, the picture shows the M2 during ODS.

Regards Christian

[HeavyArty]

The original M2s and M2A1 were sent to Saudi Arabia during the buildup (Operation Desert Shield). Before ground combat began on 24 Feb '91, almost all original M2/M2A1s had been turned in and replaced with M2A2s. A few M2A1 and M3A1 did fight, but not many. The majority of units had M2A2s.

The Tamiya M2A2 (35152) is the prefect kit for an early M2A2 as seen in Operation Desert Storm.

Additionally, we really didn’t have chechpoints like that during Desert Storm. ODS was mainly fought across open desert and we stayed out of most cities. We didn’t occupy Iraq either as we pulled back to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia after 100 hours of combat and a cease fire.

[antimedic]

TLDR/Long story short - C Co 1-41 IN wound up with ONE M2A2 ODS in Baghdad in early/mid 2005. It was in service with this unit for only a couple months before we redeployed in June 2005.

No sh!t, there I was, senior company medic in C Co. I had a M113A3 ambulance, but only took that out when the entire company was on an op. Otherwise for platoon operations with company leadership on hand, I rode in wither the XO’s or Master Gunner’s M3A3.

If I remember the sequence of events correctly, we had a platoon loading up to go out in the city for daily operations when ALL safety mechanisms/devices/precautions on someone’s WP grenade were inadvertently defeated inside one of our M3A3s inside the company motor pool on Camp Liberty.

Everyone safely evac’d the Brad, but fire suppression was not activated. The concentration of WP, other munitions, and combustibles inside the cabin created enough heat that the hull failed, dropping the turret into the vehicle. I’ll try to find the CD (yep, CD…) with those photos this weekend.

The company’s Master Gunner (callsign “Crusty”) gave up his Brad to immediately replace the platoon Brad and then drew a pre-po that had to be brought in from somewhere else, Kuwait, I think.

What we got was a M2A2 ODS…Crusty was supremely happy, as he thought the M3s were trash - he had a personal beef with something about it.

Anyway, if you want to portray a traffic control point/checkpoint in Baghdad in March or April 2005, C Co 1-41 Infantry of 1st Armored had exactly ONE in use and it was often on exactly that type of duty/task.

Anybody know the difference between a war story and a fairy tale?

War stories start out, “No sh!t, there I was…”

While fairy tales start out with, “Once upon a time…”

[Christian1970]

Can I use this one?

Regards Christian

[HeavyArty]

Not for Desert Storm. It is a later M2A2 ODS used in Iraq during the invasion in 2003 and later. It has features that were added after lessons learned in ODS.

For more info on which Bradley was used when and which kits fit when, check this thread:

M2/M3 Bradley Reference

Some info on the different Bradley kits available. Tamiya came out with the original M2 IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and M3 CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle) kits in 1985. The M2 has a partial interior for the driver’s area and rear crew compartment along with interior placards and markings decals. The M2 and M3 were/are the same plastic, just different decals and the M3 does not include the partial interior. There are a couple different parts on the A sprues for the M3 (blanked off side fir…

Which figures do you have? A post '03 Iraq dio using the Academy kit may be more appropriate.

[18bravo]

Your T junction checkpoint looks quite nice. Not all were so well designed:

Your Jersey barriers could be spaced out more. Not even an SF guy on a bet could get through yours in good time, Barely enough room for a gun truck.

[Christian1970]

Now I ordered the Tamiya kit.
Because I have figures from desert storm.

Regards Christian

[18bravo]

Ich kann das M2A2 Upgrade-Set von Jacques Duquette hoch empfehlen. Du kannst es in diesem Forum oder bei eBay finden:

M2a2 Bradley Upgrade for sale | eBay

[Apache26]

Maybe I missed something, but are you doing Operation Desert Storm or Operation Iraqi Freedom? That makes a big difference on your choice of Brads.

[Christian1970]

It will be a checkpoint in iraq in 2003.
According to the Tamiya M2A2 decals, I can use the Bradley for Company A and B, 2nd batallion,7th IRM, 1st brigade, 3rd ID mechanized at southern Baghdad and Baghdad International airport april 2003.
Or 3rd batallion, 69th armor regiment, 1st brigade, 3rd ID mechanized at Baghdad international airport 2003.
So I can use the Bradley and the checkpoint together.

Regards Christian

[tankerken]

@antimedic

War stories start out, “No sh!t, there I was…”

While fairy tales start out with, “Once upon a time…”

So from now on I will start all my war stories with “Once upon a time…”
Ken

[Robert_Goldman]

Shots fired

[HeavyArty]

@Christian1970

It will be a checkpoint in iraq in 2003.
According to the Tamiya M2A2 decals, I can use the Bradley for Company A and B, 2nd batallion,7th IRM, 1st brigade, 3rd ID mechanized at southern Baghdad and Baghdad International airport april 2003.
Or 3rd batallion, 69th armor regiment, 1st brigade, 3rd ID mechanized at Baghdad international airport 2003.

I am assuming you have the below Tamiya kit (35264) on the way. It will make a nice addition to an Iraqi Freedom Check Point.

Also check out Zodnik’s Bradley Update Article: https://vodnik.net/pages/m2a2/m2a2-p1.htm
It has lots of good tips for fixing/updating the Tamiya kit.

[Christian1970]

Yes, it’s this Tamiya kit.
And thanks for the link. Very nice and a lot of infos.

Regards Christian

[18bravo]

The Vodnik article is indeed useful. Even so, he leaves out some things, which to be fair, almost everyone else misses as well. The most obvious of which is the welds between the large armor plates attached to the sides of the hull. They’re very easy to remove. then you just scribe lines, inside and out, A literal two minute fix.

The other one takes about the same amount of time. Once you know it’s there it’s hard to unsee it.

The M2 OG Bradley

I know I’ve posted this before, but it bears repeating. Every Tamiya and Academy kit up through the M2A2s needs this fix. The low notch on the ramp armor needs to be reshaped. The right side is done. The left still needs to be reshaped. [image]

Other than a few other minor things, follow that guide and you can’t go wrong. Of course, if you get the above mentioned aftermarket parts I linked to, you can save yourself tons of time,.

[Apache26]

@18bravo

The Vodnik article is indeed useful. Even so, he leaves out some things, which to be fair, almost everyone else misses as well. The most obvious of which is the welds between the large armor plates attached to the sides of the hull. They’re very easy to remove. then you just scribe lines, inside and out, A literal two minute fix.

Rivet Counter. I’m amused that an SF baby has such a deeply detailed interest in Bradleys.

As the most famous of tankers once said, “Hey man, I don’t know how they work, I just ride in 'em.” Or something like that.

I can assure you that I wasn’t looking at the weld lines on my M-2A3’s in 2004 - 2006. But if someone out there saw a Bradley turret covered in scribbled grid coordinates corresponding to Najaf (or Ft. Hood), it could have been mine.