Thursday, January 10, 2013

Blackhawk Down Ranger - US Army

You could say I have officially "broken ground" on my US Army Mogadishu Ranger Platoon.  This trooper is carrying a standard M16A2 and while his kit is somewhat off (interceptor vest, gas mask, etc) he did turn out respectably well.

Some of the pics I found are conflicting as to whether the Rangers wore the famous "chocolate chip" kevlar helmet covers.  Many of the personal snapshots that are available online show the now-famous 3 Color DCU.  However I wanted an excuse to paint choco-chip camo so I went ahead and did it.  Since there isn't much chocolate chip, I'll try and use these guys for my Afghan and Iraq actions as well.

He turned out out OK so I'm going to paint up a few squads of his buddies and game some parts of the battle.  Next up - Delta Force.  Can I do these legendary warriors justice?  We'll see.
Painted the vest OD while the gear is a slightly lighter shade of green.  It works just like for the WWII guys.

Going to have to add a black wash to the weapon - the metallic is too bright.


The helmet turned out awesome!
Random "technical" in the background.  Gonna make a recoiless rifle out of a pen...

Scanning for "skinnies" on the roof tops.


14 comments:

  1. Very nicely done. Looks like its in 1/35 scale!
    FF

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  2. Thanks, FF. I put the camera too close to the bugger so he looks huge. I tried putting the "technical" in the background for scale purposes.

    The crappy part is that with these awesome cameras, you see all the flaws!! Thanks for commenting,

    Steve

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  3. Great paint job! I look forward to seeing your technical once it's finished!

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    1. Thanks Uncle Brian. I will be sure to post soon! My goal is to make it 1/2 fighting machine, 1/2 comic relief for the battlefield. Thanks for commenting!

      Steve

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  4. Replies
    1. Nick,
      He's a plastic Caesar 1:72 Modern US Infantryman can you believe it? The Caesar moderns line is AMAZING! From weapons accuracy to sculpt quality, I think they are top notch and you can't beat the price.

      Steve

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    2. I know! 11.99 US per box it's amazing. THe Caesar guys should def not be overlooked as I think they are a great supplement to 20mm metals. My own opinion. My entire modern 20mm force is mostly Caesar plastics.

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  5. For 1/72 scale plastic that is an amazing figure, and your brushwork is top notch. Awesome work. Mind you, that technical in the background looks pretty high class for the among. :)

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    Replies
    1. THanks and I agree about the technical. I originally painted on Iraqi license plates anyways :)

      I'll have to find a matchbox that is decidedly more "third world"

      Steve

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  6. Excellent test figure! I love the mix of camo and the contrast of the equipment and armor.
    I know Caesar is lax on their SAW Gunners, so you could try using an old piece of their plastic (I used stands of spare figures) to cut out a two thin sticks for the bipod, and a rectangle for the clip. With super glue, the bond is almost as strong as the rest of the figure, you have to see it to believe it!
    I look forward to seeing his buddies, and some "skinnies"!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ben. I was hoping you'd like this guy! I think he turned out pretty well.

      I am working with the SAW gunners and the rest of the platoon trying to figure out who gets DCU and who gets ACU!!

      You're right about the frail and bent barrels and bipods. Same with the Barret gunner. Speaking of which, I am also working on my Delta guys now!!!

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