Mike Bravo Miniatures: Updates etc (28mm Moderns)

[commissarmoody]

Thanks for sharing

[Mike Bravo Minis]

Just a heads up that real life (poorly baby) has delayed release but Anton's been sculpting in the background on the cold war US and Robi is working on a few bits and bobs for a mini NI range, before we hit the Wild Geese in December.

[Poiter50]

Family takes priority, sorry to hear of illness with a young one, stressful to all.

Where will MBMs be available from?

[carlos marighela]

Nice work but a small quibble. I'm not sure what period these are quite meant to represent. They are armed with M16A2 and SAWs which really came into service in the latter half of the decade and wasn't fully fielded until basically the end of the Cold War. The M16A2 started coming into service with the US Army circa 1986 onwards, the Marines a couple of years earlier. To field these for Panama they are lacking body amour. For Grenada, they have the wrong rifle and most of the photos showing the 82nd Airborne anywhere near combat ( not that they saw much) shows them wearing PASGT body armour.  The Marines in Grenada were wearing M-1 pots and M69 style body armour That rather limits them to Europe in the mid /late(ish) '80s.

I noticed that Anton had also sculpted a version in the old M1 steel pot. Are those M16A1 armed? If so it would be nice to have some head swaps available so we can field them in PASGT helmets.  It would also be nice to have both M16A1 and M16A2 armed versions wearing the PASGT body armour. That would allow these troops to be fielded anywhere from about 1983 onwards.  I noticed that Anton mentioned the possibility of variants with body armour.

Sorry for the pedantry. Those are really nice sculpts but it would be nice to see a little bit of versatility to allow for accurate representation of them for historical campaigns.

[Ray Earle]

Just a heads up that real life (poorly baby) has delayed release

Completely sympathise, have a four month old with a very bad cold at the moment. It's definitely not good for getting anything done. Hope yours feels better soon. 

.. and Robi is working on a few bits and bobs for a mini NI range, before we hit the Wild Geese in December.

Very much looking forward to these. Any sneaky pics? 

[Mike Bravo Minis]

Carlos, not pedantry at all. All fair points. Might help for me to say:
(a) these are all really still WIP in terms of what is released and further development is planned, Eg another M203 pose, making sure rifles are consistent variants within the packs etc.
(b) there will be heads available for either type of helmet.
(c) the brain spark that led to these was actually to have something for mid 80s Europe as I fancied something to go against UFM'S East Germans. What will happen I think is: a set with early helmet and pre M249 saw options for early 80s, a set for mid/late 80s without body armour, and a set with it.  mabe some hot weather variants too. should cover most bases?  need to have a proper think and it may just be mid and late 80s with options to convert heads for those.  a lot of my planning happens at silly o'clock am during night feeds - I'll just leave it at that
(d) I think they're also missing the earplug holders which I might get Anton to add.

(will answer rest later)

[FlytrapFactory]

Hi guys first thanks for the feedback

Carlos I have a folder full of imagery of US soldiers (not marines) in Panama without the LBV, wearing the basic ALICE rig.
Case in point heres one example, I have about 200 more.



With the difference between the M16A1 and M16A2 visibly being the forward grip Im not sure the expense and labour to mould two variants at this early stage of development is justified.



I do have the Steel pot sculpted up and the idea is to supply different head sprues for ease of swapping in and out.

The dates mentioned on the video are the exact dates of entry for said changes in equipment and uniform but save only for the lack of the LBV which I have mentioned and the lack of the ear plug puch () this range has been thoroughly designed to cover the period Dan has requested with minimal effort (a head swap and alter perhaps the LBV addition)

As Dan mentioned this is purely an anchor point for entry into this period and we have tried to cover the span as best we can with the range of models provided.

Cheers
Anton

[carlos marighela]

All good news! This should make you a richer man and me a poorer but happier one. Best wishes with the baby.

[carlos marighela]

Anton,

I do appreciate the difficulty and associated costs with portraying an army that was in transition. Failing eyesight but I thought that in your earlier pics the guy with the tin pot was wielding an M16A1, hence the question. To me the difference shape of the forward grip, from triangular to a ribbed round shape is quite noticeable, even with 28mm figures but that might just be me.  I have a couple of examples handy. I could probably convert them I suppose but if you do expand the range it would be nice to see some M16A1s, as that covers a larger chunk of the decade.

PASGT vests seem more common for combat troops during the actual fighting (again, such as it was) post invasion house searches and non combat arms seem more likely to have dispensed or not been issued with it.

If the range does expand to see some hot weather types (presumably rolled sleeve versions) then a bush/ boonie hat version would be realty appreciated. Some spare items to drape on troops miht be a good idea, loose AT-4, M72, etc.

Anyway intended as positive criticism and I love the work so far.

[FlytrapFactory]

All good ideas Carlos
Ill run it past Dan and see which direction he would like to take this range.

Cheers

Anton

[Mike Bravo Minis]

Carlos, big thumbs up mate.  Really appreciate all of your input on this thread.  And I assume the 'should make you a richer man' is firmly pointed at Anton as it sure as hell ain't me 

It's a bit of poor planning on my part.  I had to go and pick a point in time when everything was in transition and many options would be equally viable.  Should've just picked 1989 and been done with it

And yes in my mind I'm thinking rolled sleeves etc for the hot weather guys.  I think eventually I'd also like to cover off USMC in flak vests for early 80s - probably as a tie in to where we get to for Lebanon with the IDF etc.

So many ideas, so little time.

[Mike Bravo Minis]

Poiter - initially these will be direct from me on a limited run basis so that I don't fall behind on fulfilment, but my job for the new year is to work out retail options for UK/US/Down Under.  with the best will in the world I'm not going to have the bandwidth to retail them myself for a while given young family (3 under 3...)

Ray - I will see what I can do but I may need to keep the NI chaps under wraps until the new year. 5 Brits,  1 RUC and 3 PIRA for now (commercial suicide but it's a pet project!) Will do wild geese previews when they start to be commissioned in December. 

[Ray Earle]

Ray - I will see what I can do but I may need to keep the NI chaps under wraps until the new year. 5 Brits,  1 RUC and 3 PIRA for now (commercial suicide but it's a pet project!) Will do wild geese previews when they start to be commissioned in December. 

Depends how you market them I suppose. Winter of '79 seems to be fairly popular at the moment. Selling them as Communist sympathisers/East German commandoes/Welsh seperatists who could also be used as PIRA might help. The squaddies will most probably work as BAOR too (purely guessing as I haven't seen them obviously), not sure about the RUC officer though..

[carlos marighela]

The way around this is to commission a couple of figures that look like Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness and call it the NOT the Provisional IRA range, as we have been repeatedly assured that neither gentleman was ever involved with those loveable scallywags.

The third bloke you just do in a balaclava. He, presumably but we'll never know, is the chap that did all the planning, directing, bombing and executions etc.  Alternatively sculpt a daft, pasty looking twat with a moustache and call it Johnny Stephens of Leytonstone.  That could be your 'not even fucking Irish' figure. 

[Arlequín]

The way around this is to commission a couple of figures that look like...

Naughty... current affairs, no matter how funny or true it is.    I do imagine an NI version of that Monty Python sketch with Mr Bimmler, Mr Hiltler and Herman McGoering when those guys have meetings though.

Thing is though, any 'Freedom Fighters' in the UK and NW Europe are going to look very much the same back then... flared Jeans, Zapata moustaches, combat jackets, bomber jackets, Levi jackets, pullovers, balaclavas or berets (or both)... only some of the weapons used would tell them apart from Gov'ment forces too.

I suggest the third figure be just a silhouette, he was always being interviewed on the telly, definitely a wrong 'un.