Diorama "Hummer in Iraq"

Modeling Subjects Dioramas
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Diorama “Hummer in Iraq” using Academy M998 I.E.D. Gun Truck and ICM’s U.S. Elite Forces in Iraq. Built by “Art Instructor” :

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Looks good, but there are few things that I noticed. One, boots have white spots, which should not be there. The standing figure looks like it is floating instead of being attached to the ground.

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The figures are not current either. The ICM US Anti-Terror Troops are from the 1980s. Their armor is the older PASGT vest, their weapons are older M16A1s and an M60 MG (both of which are no longer used). Also, the painting of them is off. Their web gear (ammo pouches, canteens, etc.) should not be OD green. All US gear is a very dark green. It may fade to a lighter medium green, but not OD. The colors are off on their woodland camo vests too. There is no OD green in the camo. It should be dark green, brown, khaki, and black. Good effort, but not accurate, as usual.

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Can’t help chiming in with some comments - hope you take them as constructive criticism.

  1. The vehicle is WAY too clean and not nearly cramped enough. Where is all the extra ammo, the chow, water, kevlar blankets, AT-4’s, night optics, cammie nets, etc., etc., etc. There should be a TON more stuff back there.

  2. In my opinion the purpose of a diorama is to tell a story of some sort with the model and figures as key elements of the story. What is the story here? Two guys are kneeling in semi-tactical poses. Two guys are standing doing…? and why is noone on the MK-19? I’ll tell you something - I spent enough time in Iraq to know that there would be a gunner on that weapon system.

  3. As has already been pointed out, the cammie pattern is all jacked up.

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A friendly correction - The M60 is indeed still in use (well, it was as of May '05 when I left Iraq). It was replaced by the M240B, but that’s in line units and mostly Regular Army. You still see the M60 around Anaconda quite a bit.

M16’s should be mostly the M4 SOPMOD variant if you’re being current, but could concievably be the M16A2’s if you’re doing an early-war dio. As in, the first few days of OIF (the Roll-Up). Also in the early part of the war, the old-style PASGT vest was indeed still in use, more in the Marines than the Army, but it was there. They were all over the place. In fact, the units who were around us recieved their Interceptors while they were there (we inherited some of the old vests).

Correct that the gear will be a dark green. Much of it could also be “desert tan,” but not early in the war. And the vehicle would be dirty, dusty.

~jerry

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Thanks for all your comments.

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Modelmaniac:
If you need a source of M4/M16A2 etc, www.blastmodels.com sells 2 different sets. 1 also include the SR 25 sniper variant and the other is the M4/M16 version. I think Dragon might’ve reissued its AK stes but I’m not sure

xavier

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Yup, I remember a engineer unit that was there that used the M60 on their trucks. Most of the times I saw them they were providing security for the boat guys out on the Sapper bridge next to the LSA.

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im with the guys you got a whole cargo bed in the back of your truck fill it with sand bags, ammo boxes, food water or maybe the stuff they hand out to kids (toys)

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Looks nice. Even tho there are newer versions of flak vests, etc. There ARE still units without all that fancy new gear. Remember all the hubub just in 2003/4 about the lack of uparmor HMMWV and troops sharing armor vests?

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Nice review on equipments brothers,very nice diorama either.

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Thanks for more comments since my previous reply.