I have almost completed my 1/72-scale Jackal 2 model, and am giving some thought to a likely diorama setting. How feasible would this be? … a roadside somewhere in Afghanistan, vehicle stationary, monitoring traffic and other movements along the road, concrete ‘Jersey’ barriers in front of the vehicle. I am not sure how common tarmac roads are in Afghanistan, and whether the Jackal would be appropriate for the role.
Paul
Tarmac roads existed in Kabul, and east toward Jalalabad, as it was a main avenue coming from Pakistan. South out of Kabul there was a paved road that petered out way before Gardez, and there was nothing after that.
Of course this was 2002. We may have built up their infrastructure quite a bit since then, but you could definitely go with paved. There was one heading toward Bagram as well, and it had several “checkpoints” along the way. We never stoped for them though. I’ve got a great video of us blowing through one. I might dig out my camera and take a “video of a video” as I don’t really remember what it looked like, other than being manned by an angry looking dude with an AK.
18Bravo,
Thanks for your response.
Actually, I have just come across a photo
that is a perfect inspiration for my diorama.
Paul
Basically the only paved road in Afghanistan is The ring road. The Russian and later Chinese did that. It is a very important road for both operations and Logistics, so your idea is good to go.
Pretty much still the same as what I described from 2002. Amazing that is hasn’t changed in all that time.
If you look at the map, it runs north to Bagram, east to Jalalabad, and south(ish) but veers away from Gardez.
A snippet from this article pretty much describes what I meant when I said it peters out before Gardez. At some pinjt we just found ourselves on a dirt track:
Less than an hour south of Kabul, in Wardak Province, the pavement starts to break apart, pockmarked by craters from Taliban explosives and weakened by ripples in cheap asphalt…
Again, thanks for your responses.
Yes, I have a set of the Brengun ‘Modern Concrete Road Barriers’, which I plan to use.
That said, they lack the cut-outs in the top edge, and what I think should be a pair of
transportation lifting-points. So with minor refinement, they should be perfect for my
scene.
Paul
Not all of those have a cut out at the top, the ones used around here do not. But the ones in your photo do. As for the lift points, in real life they are usually just part of the rebar, wire is a good replicant.
Ken
Tankerken,
Thanks for clarifying that point.
Yes, modifying the Brengun items will be a simple task.
Paul
