1/35 M551 Sheridan

[lawman56]

This is a diorama I built for the Command Sergeant Major of the 73rd Cavalry Regt at Ft. Bragg. He was hosting a regimental reunion and asked me to build him a centerpiece. So I did my research, (which included multiple museum trips and questions asked of unit vets), and created two. The first one was the Sheridan, which I'll post here, the other is of Cassino, which I'll post seperately.

The title of this one is "The Calm Before The Storm", and depicts a Sheridan crew talking just prior to the order to move during Operation Desert Storm. For those who don't know, the day we were told to cross the border into Iraq, the Operation went from Desert Shield, to Desert Storm, hence the name. Also, from the 1960's until the early 90's, the 73rd Cav used the M551 as a scout vehicle. Now they use up-armored Humm-Vees and M1117 Guardians.











Yes, those are little 82nd Airborne patches on their shoulders, and yes, I painted the desert camo on the helmet covers by hand. I apologize for the poor photography, it's only recently I started actually viewing my dioramas as 3D works of art, and have been paying attention to composition. These were taken in the event something broke. this way I knew where it went.

[Stikpusher]

I really like this one! How did you do the MOPP suits on the crew?

[LyleW]

Looks like Stik has a armor buddy. Your builds look perfect to me. but I only have one eye.

[Medicman71]

Very cool! You don't see many Sheridan builds out there.

[lawman56]

I really like this one! How did you do the MOPP suits on the crew?

Actually, Stik, they're cover-alls. I found out, (from a former member), that the guys in the 3/73 would keep mechanic cover-alls in their vehicles to wear so they didn't destroy their uniforms. They became a sort of 'de-facto' uniform for them. The two standing crewmen are from a Verlinden resin "modern tank crew" set. I just added heads from the spares box. I also had to sand off some of the straps, etc... to create the 90s era flak vest.

The two guys sitting are crewmen wearing MOPP suits from a Dragon, (I think), set of Modern US Soldiers. Again, adding heads and hands from the spares box.

My spares box, (or my "Frankenstein Box", as my wife calls it), is a small, plastic, compartmented box, similar to a small tackle box, or craft box. Each compartment holds something different. One for heads, one for right arms, left arms, legs, feet, torsos, etc... plus all the TA-50 and weapons associated.

I make it a habit to always look at figures when in the hobby shop. You never know what you might find. I've been known to buy a set of 6-8 figures, just because I need that one arm that's bent just so.

As for painting, I try to follow Shep Paine's steps for highlights and shadows. I say try, because no matter what I do, I can't get facial features down.

[lawman56]

Very cool! You don't see many Sheridan builds out there.

Thanks, Medicman.

It was a bear. No lie. I started with the re-tooled Academy kit, threw out the rubber band tracks, which were horribly incorrect, then added everything Eduard had to offer, plus Fruil tracks. The CVC helmets came from Hornet, which are beautifully detailed, right down to the seperate mic, and I added coiled copper wire strand, painted black for the comm line. Plus a bunch of goodies like MRE boxes, ammo cans, etc...

A few personal touches that I just had to add after talking to a buddy of mine that crewed these beasts for 15 of his 20 year career, include a broken rear strap for the water fording kit stowage, and a green replacement road wheel. Anyone in the US Army when I was in, (85-94), knows that ALL replacement parts came in green. And usually stayed green until the vehicle was slated for the paint shop!

As much as it was a frustrating challenge, I'd do it again in a heartbeat!