Hey all,
I am mostly a jet guy, and something possessed me the other day at the shop and I picked up my first armor kit…a Tamiya M2A2.
I have been fondling the plastic for about a week now, but I don’t really know where to start. Any tips you can share before I dig in?
Do you guys use future on armor kits like we do on jets? Any suggestions for weathering?
Thanks in advance!
Welcome to the dark side of armor modeling. The Tamiya M2A2 ODS kit is a pretty easy kit to build and has all the extras to make a pretty nice model. If you are interrested in adding to it or updating it, check out Vodnik’s M2A2 Accurization and Detailing Article. For good tips on weathering, check out Armorama’s Feature section. Browse around there and you will find lots of help. Good luck and show us some pics when you get started.
“Once you do tracked, you’ll never go back”…
Weathering armor is about the same as aircraft, just more of it, it’s more heavy-handed, and it’s more forgiving if you screw the pooch… If you make a goof in assembly, it’s ok to hang a rucksack, camo net, or tarp over the bad spot as well…
As for using Future, fuggedaboutit… Unless it’s supposed to look wet, you won’t need it, although you may want to use a gloss to add the wash before you squirt it with flat to continue the dry-brushing, and pastels (if you work with 'em)… Nice thing about armor is that you don’t need to do much painting before assembly unless you’re doing interiors… Shep Paine’s book, Modeling Tanks and Military Vehicles is a good one to have lying around if you want reading material that’s portable…
First tip I’ll give ya is find a way to chuck those roadwheels in a motor tool or drill to sand the seams and “rough up” the rubber on them… Also, start looking at mixing up some good “rust” colors and textures… Just be super-careful and look your tracks over so you know what’s metal and what’s rubber… You don’t want to rust the rubber, and you also want to make sure that your tracks are on correctly… Check photos, don’t believe box-art or instruction sheets. It’s easy to get them on backwards, or to get one right and the other wrong…
Thanks guys…those links will be very helpful.
It seems I have an older version of the Bradley kit. The ODS kit is number 35264, mine is 35152.
Yup, you have the older M2A2 kit. It will build into a pretty nice vehicle from the Operation Desert Storm ('91) time frame. Most of Vodnik’s article still applies to it.
When you come to weathering, don’t go overboard with rust on a Bradley, its hull is aluminum alloy, which doesn’t rust. Tracks and wheel nuts/bolts ok, but generally, on the hull itself, no. The applique armour plates are steel, but if there is any rust at all, it is likely to be light.
Welcome…soon you will know the power of the dark side!!
My brothers Heavy and Hans have given you a bunch of info so not adding to it I would say “there is nothing to fear but fear itself”. Dive in and enjoy it!
As for the future…if you are using acrylics, leave it on the shelf. If you are using enamels, it depends what you will weather with. But rather than future, use MM acrylic flat and the weather
Hans - You must have stopped in Brooklyn at some point…“foggetabouit”…Since when are you using northeast Italian words? LOL
Rounds Complete!!
Sopranos marathon…
Welcome to the wonderful world of armor modelling! Look forward to seeing your efforts with the M2A2! Future has its uses in armor building the same as it does with aircraft, both as a sealant and as a means for getting decals applied (although there are alternate methods available that don’t require it…but if you’re comfortable using it on aircraft, there’s no real reason not to stay with it IMHO).
As far as weathering techniques go, the sky’s the limit depending on the look you want to achieve! Much of the same techniques you see on aircraft like washes, pin washes, etc. still apply but a “dirty” AC would translate into a “clean” AFV, so in this case more really is more! Feel free to ask away if you have specific questions, the group here is always helpful and HeavyArty has already pointed you in a good direction with the links in his post. [;)]
When you get down to basics, armor modelling is not grossly different that other types of building. Read the instructions, test fit, and generally plan ahead before applying glue. All the basic skills carry over.
Most of the replies that I’ve read say to not bother with Future. My experience has been different. When I skipped the gloss coat, the decals silvered.
For weathering, I would go light. Bradleys are new and generally are going to be pretty well maintained.
Since you’re probably not that generally familiar with the subject, try to do some internet research, find a lot of photos and see how they look in real life. How they do weather, what gets dirty, what stays clean, etc. You might want do a search here on the armor forum for Bradleys. I know i’ve seen more than a few threads over the years, which have a lot of good info contained.
Good luck, and have fun.
Andy
Hi Andy, thanks for the tips. My internet connection has been working double time pouring over pics of Bradley IFVs the last few days. I am kind of debating whether or not I want to go desert scheme or camo…I don’t get to do camo very often on aircraft! I just got back from the LHS and picked up Tamiya’s “US Modern Army Infantry” figures, I was thinking of doing a little dio or something. I would really like to find a way to incorporate my MRC UH-60 as well.
Like this (you would need lots of room, the UH-60 is huge):
Just a note, the Tamiya “Modern Infantry” are pretty bad and no longer modern. They were modern in 1984 when they first came out. Their gear and weapons have all pretty much been replaced. They wear old PAGST body armor and have M16A1s and an M60MG. The current body armor is IBA (Interceptor Body Armor) and IOTV (Improved Outer Tactical Vest), both have all the loops to attach gear and ammo. Current weapons are M4s and M16A2s. The M60 has been replaced by the M240B MG too. Additionally, they are anorexic and pretty soft on details too.
For some good modern(ish) troops, get DMLs Modern US Marines. They are from about 2003. Trumpeter makes some ok modern (Iraq) figures as well. They are not as good as Dragon’s though. Another option is to get some of Dragon’s other “modern” sets from the early '90s. Take the torsos from the Trumpeter and Dragon Modern US Marines sets to update them with current IBA vests and gear. This gives you almost limitless possibilities for poses and different figures. For current figures in ACU digital camo pattern uniforms, there are quite a few in resin by Hobby Fan, Warriors, Alpine, etc. None in plastic though.
I used the older Dragon figures with new torsos for a customer’s dio, “On Patrol”, of a 3 ID Bradley in the eraly days of OIF.
More here.
Since your Bradley is an Operation Desert Storm version out of the box, any of the older Dragon ODS-era Modern figures would work great with it.
Good luck.
Well if he is going to do figures in ODS camo 6 color “Chocolate Chip”. That is the toughest to master so I suggest he gets some shinsengumi decals
6 color desert Camo “Chocolate Chip”
Desert Digital scheme “Aka ARPAT and MARPAT”
3 color camo desert
Oh Gino about the figures the Trumpeter set also featured molded on items like knee protectors which was seen on almost every shot of US Soldiers seen in Afghanistan and Iraq. And I believe the M60 would have still been used in the earlier periods of the war it would have been the M60E3. Is the M60E3 in the second Modern equipment set any accurate?
The Tamiya ones you have will work… There were still a lot of M16A1s in service during Desert Storm… Especially in National Guard Units. The Army and the Guard only replaced the A1s with A2s as they wore out… PASGT armor was used then also…
Yup, the Tamiya set will still work fine for ODS. I meant they won’t work for modern, OIF figures. They are still horibble figures that I wouldn’t waste my time on though. I would still get some Dragon ODS-era figures. They are much better.
Some units still had M60s, but not many. The M60E3 was only used by the USN and USMC, not the US Army. They were replaced in the early to mid-'90s by M240s as well. So not really accurate for the OIF time period. The one in Tamiya’s first Modern Equipment set is good, but only of limited utility for an '80s to early '90s USMC dio.
The camo decals don’t seem like they would work well on figures. Too many bumps and curves to get them to sit in. Also, the pattern does not continue across seam lines, pockets, etc. I’ll stick to painting them.
The Air Force was still using the M60E3 up till 2006 my brother was a M60 gunner in his Security Forces squadron mostly due to him being able to carry the M60 and all the ammo.
They even still use the M16 Keyhole (M16A2 W/12 gauge shotgun).
Thats what you get when the AF tries to play Soldier… [:D] [:D] [:D] [swg] [swg] [swg]
LOL when he graduated Basic Training in 2000 the ParaRescue guys tried to recruit him mostly due to his size he could bench almost 400lbs. But with the 6 years in SF he is now a Trooper in the Michigan State Police.
Well, this is not only my first attempt at armor, but I have never done figures, outside the odd 48th scale pilot to cover a crappy cockpit.
The LHSs (LHS’s, LHSes?) around here are pretty well stocked with WWII armor and figures, but when it comes to modern stuff the well is pretty dry. When picking out the Bradley, my options were the LeClerc and the M2A2. The LeClerc is an exceptionally cool kit, and I was very tempted to get it…but wanted to get a couple notches on my “armor” belt before I tackle it. Besides the Tamiya figure set, the only other non WWII option was some Dragon Vietnam SpecOps…Don’t think that would have worked too well!
I just built a nice big case for 32nd scale jets, so I am not too worried about the room a Blackhawk would take sitting next to the IFV…could be a fun little project though.
I submitted the Bradley in my list for the “In My Stash” group build, so I am waiting to see if it gets voted on before starting it…I hope it gets voted. If it doesn’t, I will build anyway!