The next step has had me wondering whether the juice is worth the squeeze or not.
The large armor plating lacks the small holes used for bolting on the BRAT mounts. If I leave them off, few will even know. But if I attempt them, and they’re even the slightest bit off, it’ll look assed up.
I almost forgot - I did say I was going to try and build the three kits concurrently. That’s not exactly going to plan with all these corrections. I’ve spent quite a bit of time just correcting two parts in this kit. But if you are building an M2A4, you may want to note this.
These armored sideplates I’ve been working on have features of older M2A4’s.
For newer ones coming “direct from the factory” as it were, you may want to make these changes:
They’ll really pop with a little wash. Very little.
And I’m still not done with these two parts. The final step will be to allow for the unusual way almost all Linebacker photos show the rear armor plates turned upside down,
In almost every case it’s a simple matter of removing the plates and flipping them upside down.
In fact in all my years of research on Bradleys, I have personally encountered this example only once - where the entire mounts is turned upside down with it armor plate still attached in the same relative position:
In may not be a big thing to most folks, but to me it’s entirely noticeable. And the strange thing is, nearly every photo of Linebackers have their plates inverted the same way. That’s a lot of trouble to go through - those cast mounting blocks are heavy. I don’t know the reasoning for this, but I will model mine that way.
Unfortunately the mounting blocks are molded on. In an ideal world (in my version anyway) the blocks would be a separate piece that you could install either way.
There are a few ways to remedy this, scratchbuilding being the least attractive option for me, so I just cut if off and inverted it:
It looks like the mounting plate is intended to remain mounted in the “up” position long term/permanently; that way when the armor skirt is mounted in the “down” position there is still some clearance for the idler to shed mud, dirt, rocks, etc.
Ken
Back at it. I needed to take a break from this one for a bit. I’m replacing the metal plate on the ramp. It never sticks out far enough on kits, and on some is nothing more than a stub.
I chose to work off a photo of a specific Linebacker. Three welds on the left, four on the right.
I used a tiny piece or armature wire to apply CA as the welds. It’ll show up better when painted.
Like, a bullet splash? I’ve stared at those things so much, trying to figure out if it’s a bullet splash, anti glare for the tail lights, something, lol
It’s for when the hatch is open - ostensibly to prevent rounds from going inside the gap in the hinge area. Never the gaping hole created by the open hatch,
More likely a justification to run up the cost another $1000.
There were bullet splashes on the roof and top hull at one point as well. They were removed when the roof and hull top armor were added. They have been misidentified in a well known article as a means to divert rainwater. However, they function much the same as the metal strips in front of the optics on a Merkava.
Thanks. From a long time building models for people who did know. Had to take a break from it but now I’ve got enough ammo to get me through the next few years.
I;ve fixed most of the kit issues. Working on some additions. Right now I have to scratchbuild a Talon to lash to the side of it.
Three fixes in one. The rear plates are now angled correctly, not parallel as they come in the kit. They’s been thinned to proper thickness and doubled up as well. A quick swipe with liquid cement will remove the fuzz from the white styrere.
It’s official. The track on these kits is off. The metal Panda track is a better option if you can find it. The Academy K-9 track also works very well. I can’t speak to any aftermarket 3D track as I have not actually seen it,
