Meng M2A3 Bradley BUSK III 1:35 – build review

Short Feature Article by Tony Rivera

A short note from Geoff

It gives me huge pleasure to welcome Tony to our SMN Review Team. I’ve been a fan of Tony’s armour modelling for many years and the chance to introduce you to his work or provide just another opportunity to see it has to be good for everyone. Tony’s first contribution is this Meng M2A3 Bradley BUSK III in 1:35 scale – the Bradley being possibly one of my favourite AFVs of all time. I think it’s just the shape – it just ‘looks right’ – entirely personal and subjective view of course.

Meng are producing a lot of good quality models and we have Ian R’s Achzarit Israeli Heavy APC on the way too – he’s just finishing off some figures to go with it, so I’m sure you’re looking forward to that! As ever, depending on when you read these words, both of these builds will either be in progress in Build Now, or, if finished, in Finished Now.

Here’s a photo of Tony’s completed model – I love the subtle weathering and realistically, slightly faded look and I’m sure you will too.

Over to you Tony

I remember when I was in high school and received the newly released Bradley by Tamiya. This was back in the old days before the Internet and the ability to order anything you wanted at the click of the mouse. I actually purchased the model through mail order and had to wait six weeks for it to arrive. The excitement I felt upon receiving that package rivaled the excitement I had upon purchasing the current release of Meng’s Bradley, with a complete interior, and BUSK armor to boot!

Kit and Build

Adding three tons to the overall weight, the Bradley Urban Survival Kit, was implemented to protect the vehicle and crew from RPG rounds encountered in Afghanistan and Iraq. Along with the ERA blocks that adorn the sides and hood of the vehicle, a bulletproof glass shield was installed to protect the commander from small arms fire.

On with the build…