Meng M3A3 Bradley w/BUSK III & Interior 1:35

[Mike]

M3A3 Bradley w/BUSK III & Interior
1:35 Meng

You can see the potted history of the Bradley at the top of our review of Meng's M2A3 variant here, as they share their heritage and most of their components with the M3, which is a reconnaissance vehicle that carries more ammo than its troop carrying sibling. The M3 has followed the update path of the M2, while retaining its own peculiar internal layout to accommodate the TOW and Bushmaster ammo, plus its smaller complement of passengers.

The M3A3 is enhanced with all the latest equipment in the form of ERA applique armour, battlefield awareness and networking equipment, and once it got to the field, the crew and ammo stowage were changed to improve survivability. The addition of the BUSK III kit allows the recon Bradley to engage in urban fighting with all the risks that entails from RPGs to IEDs, vastly improving their chances of coming back in one piece.

The Kit(s)
If you've seen the initial M2A3 Bradley release, you've seen a large portion of the sprues already. Following on from suggestions (and probably moans) regarding the interior, the M3 has a separate interior that you can either buy to finish off the kit inside and out, or leave to build a Bradley with limited internals that would suit a closed up vehicle. The choice is now yours whether you want to pay for the extras, as they're in a separate box, and I have it on good authority with pictorial evidence that it also fits the old Tamiya kit's hull, which should help with sales!

The main kit (SS-006) contains:

• 12x sprues plus two hull halves in a sand coloured styrene.
• 2x clear sprues for vision blocks etc.
• 1x Black polycaps.
• 1x flexible styrene ammo feeder part.
• 1x flexible styrene mantlet top cover.
• 8x metal suspension tubes.
• 188x track parts.
• 2x Photo-Etch (PE) brass sheets.
• 1x Decal sheet.
• 1x Instruction booklet.
   

 

 

The Interior Kit (SPS-017) contains:

 

• 4x sprues in pale green styrene.
• 2x sprues in grey styrene.
• 2x flexible styrene crew harnesses.
• 1x PE brass sheet.
• 1x Decal sheet.
• 1x Instruction booklet.

Construction of the kit is only slightly different from the original if you have plumped for the interior, but if not, it should both speed your build and reduce the part count quite significantly. If you are building the kit with the interior, you should perhaps consider making notes before you start on where the interior parts sit within the build, and having access to the M2A3 will help interleave the build steps immensely. If you haven't got the original kit, 1999.co.jp have it online here for comparison purposes. Either way you'll be flitting back and forth between the two instruction booklets during the build, so clear a little space on your bench for them both. In an ideal world, there would be an amalgam of the two booklets available for download, which as of time of writing, doesn't exist.

Having been through the instructions, there are subtle differences present throughout the build, which can be summarised as below:

 

• 2 Fuel cans are included in the interior set but not shown in place.
• The interior includes bench seats on port side for observers.
• An extensive TOW missile rack takes the place of the additional passenger seating on the starboard side.
• There is a reduced complement of vision blocks due to the lower crew count, with three sideways-looking blocks removed during the build.
• The passenger compartment roof hatch armour is different, and four aft-looking vision blocks are present.
• The much needed air conditioning units absent from the rear bulkhead – clearly recce patrols don't feel the heat!
• The side skirt assembly lacks the lower row of ERA blocks that protect the tracks and road wheels, with PE step/handles present on the visible skirting.
• The commander's protection system shields are lower and afford less cover.
• The rest of the build is identical to the earlier kit, but if you are opting out of the interior there is much less work, and the hull is closed up by step 7. The large driver's hatch is still detailed enough to withstand scrutiny, but a figure would be needed to hide the blank interior, which would also be visible through any open doors at the rear.

 

 

The click-fit tracks are present again, and as mentioned in my previous review, they're a joy to use, and streets ahead of the flexible styrene variety. A PE template is included again to help with the painting of the Big-Foot trackpads, allowing you to paint five links at a time with a suitable rubber shade, without worrying about your hands wobbling. Just remember to add some masks to the ends of the PE stencil to avoid overspray, and cover up the hole that you can use as a stencil to paint the roadwheel hubs.

Markings
Vallejo colour call-outs are given throughout, and the main scheme continues the theme. Both decal options are sand coloured and differ only in their unit markings as appropriate. From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• 6th Suqadron, 9th cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, US Army, Fort Hood, 2014
• 4th Infantry Division, US Army, Fort Carson, 2013

 

The interior kit has a full range of decals for the data screens inside the vehicle, as well as various stencils and weapons markings for the TOW missiles stowed inside. Decals are printed by Cartograf, so detail, registration, sharpness and colour density is good, with lots of detail visible and legible on the interior kit's stencils, all of which add realism to the finished article.

Conclusion
Following in the footsteps of the M2A3, Meng have listened to the comments about the interior and are now offering it separately, although this has made the instructions somewhat confusing unless you prepare well. Detail is superb, the parts cleverly moulded, and yet again there are other variants just waiting to emerge from the moulds. Be aware that this represents a late M3A3 due to the repositioned observer seats, and check your references if you plan on going "off reservation" for your markings options.

Very highly recommended.

Available from Creative Models in the UK.

M3A3 Bradley w/BUSK III


M3A3 Bradley w/BUSK III Interior


Review sample courtesy of

[Antoine]

A good thing to propose interior details appart, in my opinion.

It'll certainly help to keep the cost "low", as we've seen with the FT-17.

[Mike]

They're now available in the UK from Creative's website, and as Antoine says, the price is a pleasant surprise if you're only interested in the exterior. It's also competitively priced if you want both - check out the new Buy It Now links in the review for details

[Julien]

Seems a good way of doing things. I would not pay £50 for an uber kit, but £32....now that's tempting!