I have started working on a new project. It will use the new Trumpeter PMC - VIP Protection Detail figures and an armored Suburban in Iraq.
So far, I have started on the Suburban. The scenario is an IED blast that has disabled the vehicle and now the VIP and his Protective Detail are ditching from the truck and seeking cover until they can be extracted.
For the Suburban, I found what was listed as a die-cast 1/32 Cadillac Escalade on eBay for $10. It looked pretty good in the photos. When I received it, I measured it and it was actually 1/34 scale and very well detailed inside and out. Here is how it started life, with a 1/35 figure for scale.
I disassembled the Escalade and started changing it into a Suburban. First, I swapped out the wheels and tires for a set of beefier ones that I got from another 1/32 die-cast truck. I also added 3 scale inches of lift to accommodate the larger wheels and to show the heavier 4-wheel drive vehicles (the Escalade was already a 4 wheel drive, just low) these armored Suburbans are built on. Next, I ground off all the Cadillac badges and rebuilt the grill into a late-model Chevy Suburban style with A&B Putty.
I also cut open the right side rear door and removed all the over-sized hinges on the doors, hood, and back hatch. I also rebuilt the B pillar between the front and rear right side door.
Next, I moved on to the rear and added the inner armor plate that is fitted inside the rear hatch since this area is difficult to armor. The door on the plate will be opened with the rear hatch open and the interior fully detailed.
After the rear was taken care of, I moved on to adding some battle damage from the IED. The left side will be struck by the IED. I ground down the outer panels and smoothed them out to represent dented and shred panels from the blast. The area around the rear wheel took the majority of the hit and the rear tire was also shred to show the blast. I also dented in the front right fender and grill to represent the damage from impacting a road barrier that will be in the dio.
Next will be off to the paint booth for a shot of color and then some detail painting and weathering.
Let me know what you think so far and I’ll keep you posted.
The abuse you put that Escalade through reminds me of some of the drastic conversions on Discovery’s Monster Garage with Jesse James*.* Great idea modifying the die-cast. Should be fun to follow the progress on this one!
Progress continues. I have completed the rebuild of the Suburban. I added a few knobs and dials to the dash, then painted the interior parts with gunship gray and primer gray. I detail painted the interior to match my 1:1 Tahoe color scheme as well. Next I added some gear inside: an ammo can, MRE box, and some magazines in the rear gunner’s area; a water bottle box, 12 pack of Coke, and a couple bedrolls to the rear seats; and a few details on the dash up front. I repainted w/ a GM touch-up spray can of Seattle Silver. I made LT, Suburban, and a Chevrolet decals on my home computer for the external badges to complete it. For the damage, I scraped away the paint in the blast area and on the right front corner. Then I dirtied it up a bit w/ a sandy wash and black pastel chalk rubbed on the blast area.
~~Impresssive vehicle conversion in progress there Gino ! Very good work. So I wonder will the Dio focus on the team extracting themselves from that wreck ? Seems like they might be a little messed-up themslves maybe. Also, any other figures you’re thinking about including–I know you’ll want to add some kind of local flavor to set the scene. Anyways, interested to see where it goes…
Thanks Indy, its been fun so far. Right now, the plan is for the team and VIP to be out of the truck seeking shelter until they can be extracted. I haven’t decided on exactly how/where they will be yet, or on any other elements. I do have some Middle Eastern civilians and a Ford F250 crew cab that could become a guntruck coming to the rescue. Hhhmmmm. We shall see.
Its been a while since I have had a chance to make any progress on this one. After finishing a couple other projects, I have started to hit this one hard. I have finished up the figures and am currently working on a base. I built the Trumpeter Private Military Contractors (PMCs) VIP Protection Detail figures pretty much straight from the box.
They went together pretty well and I had no issues with them. I have heard all sorts of stories about how bad they were supposed to be, but to me they look pretty good. They do have some large feet, but they don’t look too bad to me. They may be a little short too, but we’ll just chalk them up to being short guys. The weapons are really nice and they come with lots of different scopes, laser pointers, flashlights, etc. to add to them. They also come with a bunch of extra gear to put on the figures. I think I only used about half of the gear and weapons add-ons.
Here they are.
A couple close ups.
I am also working on some T-walls and K-rail road barriers that will be used in the dio.
That’s it for now. Let me know what you think so far. I’ll keep you posted on further progress.
The dio is complete. I made a base out of a wooden plaque from the craft store, stained and sealed. I did the road out of spackling compound and painted it black. I added the lines with white paint. I weathered it all with a few different shades of sand and dirt in craft acrylics. I added some debris around the wall and barriers in the form of some Arab newspapers, a water bottle box, and a couple empty water bottles. I also added some Iraqi posters and a traffic sign to the T-wall as well. I damaged the wall where the truck impacted and added some concrete debris around the bottom too.
i dont mean to sound picky but it feels like the civi needs to be crouched down or something. he looks a tad…statuey…maybe cos hes a statue, um yeah just my 2 cents, either that or like hes falling over or something like hes been flung out of the truck while they try to protect him. otherwise it looks really great. im impressed. The posters on the barriers look good, nice touch. maybe some grafiti? (listen to me im handing out advice yet my skills arent up to this yet lol)
Thanks for checking it out. To me, the VIP is just kind of standing there in shock at the whole situation, unable to process what just happened as the security guys jump into action and take care of business.
I totally agree with your take on the VIP Gino- the way he’s clutching onto that briefcase makes me think he’s totally shaken up- standing there like a deer in the headlights. High contrast to the protection detail who rolled out of every side and quickly put up a perimeter. Of course they’re out in the open, they’re in the middle of the street and their ride just got disabled- the trick I would imagine would be to quickly get on the move, assess any and all threats and handle them appropriately and continue to stay mobile while they coordinate an extraction- to hunker down and get behind cover would be a mistake as they’d lose any slight advantage they may have- especially as a secondary blast is highly likely if this was a planned ambush sight.
As for the figures- I recant all my previous bashing of Trumps modern line. While their infantry looked a little odd I think the freedom of equipment and outfits in the PMC world worked to their advantage- these guys look right and while the molds may not be top of the line resin etc, for a plastic kit, they’re very much on par with other molds and with a great subject like this- who could complain! This is the kind of figure set that’s so specific you’d think it a one off or a conversion. Speaking of which- very very nice work on the uparmored Chevy. The best part IMO is that tire, nicely done.
Very nice work! You really put that shiny new Chevy through the wringer, and it came out very convincing: crunched, bomb-blasted and shrapnel riddled! I only wish I could see steam pouring out from under the hood.
Did you make those Jersey barriers or is that a resin product?
i actually seen 3 vehicles just like this one at the Armory on Ali Al Salem, Air Base in Kuwait the other day except they had brush guards and a roof rack with spare tire and comm equipment
