Vodnik's M3A2

M3A2 Bradley
Cavalry Fighting Vehicle

C.C.Lee 1/35

I used poor copy of Tamiya M2A2 Bradley IFV model manufactured by Chinese C.C. Lee Models company and converted it too M3A2 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle. I corrected many errors Tamiya made in their model - to find out what can be done to improve accuracy of this kit, read my article: Accurizing and detailing Tamiya M2A2 Bradley kit. I did not implement all changes described in the article in this model - Lee model required really hard work just to bring it to similar level as Tamiya original model, so I decided to accept some inaccuracies. I will correct them in my next Bradley model - Tamiya original kit this time. Things which I left not corrected include: size of final drive housings, shape of the armor plate behind rear stowage boxes and the shape of bustle rack (although I replaced parts of it with thin styrene sheet). I also didn't modify original kit's side skirts, except for the first and last ones.

I didn't use any aftermarket parts to build this model, except for MV lenses for headlights. I used several suspension parts from Dragon MLRS kit to replace overly simplified M2A2 kit parts. I also replaced some parts in Lee kit with better molded parts from old Academy M2 Bradley (e.g. all road wheels). I used vinyl tracks from Tamiya AAVP7A1, as those in Lee kit were useless (I will use Blast Models tracks on my AAVP7A1).

My model is a replica of scout vehicle HQ-24 from 1st Infantry Division, 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion, 16 Infantry Regiment during REFORGER 1990 exercise. I used photos in two books by Concord Publications ("USAREUR" and "M2A2/M3A2 Bradley") to get correct markings for my model.

I printed most of the decals myself, except for rear USAREUR markings that came from Tamiya M2A2ODS kit.

Click on pictures below to see larger versions.