Been working on this dio on & off. Adding and removing things as well as replacing certain objects. Still working on it but can say it’s 99% done. This dio that somewhat depicts vehicles fallen to IED’s or heavy attacks which left them totally destroyed and unusable. I had seen quite a few pics of badly damaged vehicles, beyond repairs, just put into a heap or collected together and placed into a ‘Junkyard’ type for damaged vehicles. So this is my loose representation of such yards during the Iraqi War…
Thank you gentlemen. Glad to know I came close to the real thing. I’m sure it was a sobering site to see in reality. My blessings to all the men and women in service.
Had a change of heart and decided to end the Gun truck, I was working on seprately, life and add it to the Fallen Armor dio. Even added a dog as this was also common in these yards.
Like Iraqwildman, I have distinct memories of one of these ‘boneyards’ at Al Asad Airbase, in the Anbar Province, Iraq, 2005. You have definately captured the feel.
Outstanding work in all aspects. Ultra realistic finishes and assemblies. The addition of a guard & dog is perfect.
Although it sets a somber mood it may not reflect a deeper story if entered as a diorama in a contest. Depending on the other entries they may contain more stories or several within a scene. As a vignette this is the best I have ever seen and would say it is world class museum quality.
Thanks for posting your work, looking forward to more.
Thank you for your feedback. It’s actually not completely finished. I want to add add more figures. In fact you seemed to have missed the second figure carrying a cooler. The idea is that crews have stopped by to salvage want is left of the broken down/destroyed vehicles. Like extra spare tires and such. Anything that can be reused. As you can see on the side of the road, there are crates, packs, boxes that the crew as collected to their vehicles. It is still work in progress but I your points are good.
Hmmmmm… OK, let me tell you my impression of your story.
In my experience, ‘bone yards’ of this type were to be found on bases or installations controlled by the US. When one of our vehicles was destroyed, we never, EVER left it, or any part of it. Even if we had to blow it up into smaller peices, it was recovered and brought to one of these bone yards on ground that we controlled. The idea was that nothing was going to be left behind to be used as either a military asset or a propaganda victory for the insurgents.
As I read your storyline, I got the impression that you intend this to be ‘off base’ somewhere. I think everything else in your dio so far works fine, but that little detail does not ring true with me. Having said that, like I said, this is only based on my limited experience, so if this is the way you want to go, then I’m not going to bust you chops over it [;)].
Oh I’m not in any way upset. I am very happy to get any advice and tips from those who have been there. So reading your points I will let it remain has you suggested. An off-base scenario. Thank you again. I do appreciate any tips you may have. So, just for finalizing everything, the Theme off this dio/vignette, should be?
Only 1 dog? Those things were all over that place in 2004, until KBR starting killing them.
I really like the hillbilly armor and ring mount on the M923 5-ton tractor. I wish the one I drove had half this armor, we just had it on the doors and floorboards.
Also the soldier would not have his sleeves rolled up. We were ordered to wear them down at all times when in body armor. It actually was cooler, it keep the sun off your skin.
Most of the knocked out vehicles I saw had burned to some extent.
A funny story: We had a 5-ton get knocked out on the airport road in Baghdad, so the Lieutenant decided to destroy it in place. He put an incendiary grenade on the drivers set and the last we saw it was smoking like hell. The next day we get a message that another unit recovered our truck with a hole burned in the seat. The Lieutenant had used a smoke grenade in error. We razzed him for a long time over that.
That is the issue, there would not be an off-base cannibalization point (military talk for a junk yard). The vehicles are always drug back to base so the enemy can’t use any part of them or use them as a propaganda prop in a video or something like that. Also, all the easy to remove items; ie.: bags, coolers, fire extinguishers, weapons mounts, etc. would already be removed. Basically, the vehicles get stripped quickly of any usable parts. The rest of the vehicle is left and larger parts are removed as need to repair other vehicles. They are usually located near maintenance facilities.
The short (t-shirt) sleeves isn’t an issue. Some units did allow t-shirts to be worn with IBAs. It is up to the unit Commander to make that call.
WOW! Gents. This is some really nice feedback from the real deal. Much appreciated by all of you. Thanks again for your help. BTW, thanks for trying to make the world a better place. OH. And by the way, I only found one dog that was being sold on EBAY. If you know of any please let me know.
Thank you again. I do appreciate any tips you may have. So, just for finalizing everything, the Theme off this dio/vignette, should be?
