Bradley coup, and question
Steve Charlton
On Saturday, I went to the eastside Tucson TRU to get some $14.99 MPs.
While I was there, I saw they had a Bradley sitting on a cart by the
Joe/21C stuff. The box was in poor shape. I went over to look at it,
and the assistant manager told me that, due to the box damage, he would
be marking it down. I asked how much, and he said '$150'. Needless to
say, I bought it.
However, there are some issues that I have run into. There was no
instruction sheet or anything in my box (lost? never there?). There
were three parts on the bottom of the box; a track link like the one on
the reat top of the Bradley, a long plastic cylinder which I found was
the hinge for the rear roof hatch, and a strange piece of plastic with
three 'arms' (looks like the smoke generators, but it is much
smaller/thinner). Anyone know where these are supposed to go?
Also, the radio aerials do not seem to seat vey well into the two holes
on the turret. Did anyone else need to trim the aerial bases down a bit
to get a good fit?
Finally, the ammo cans. Some of them (I assume) go into the slots on
the right rear of the turret, but some of these slots are not the right
size for any of the various ammo cans. I assume the rest go into the
stowage bins on the back of the Bradley. Anyone learn anything
different?
As for the item itself - the Bradley is HUGE, and very nicely done. I
was able to get Joes in both the commander and gunner hatch on the
turret, as well as the driver hatch. I have not been able to squeeze
four infantry-equipped Joes in the back, but I did get three in there
OK. The paint job is excellent, and the TOW pod on the turret side is
very nice. I was also pleased to see the hatches on the gunner's
nightvision sight block worked well, as well as the aiming reticle
linked tot he 25mm chaingun.
The interior of the driver and passenger compartments are not
intricately detailed, but they have much more detail than I expected.
The passenger hatch drops correctly and has a separate door in the hatch
(like the M-113). It appears that the front glacis plate does not open
(iut resisted my pulling, and I did not want to risk breakage).
As others have noted, the Bradley is a bit too small (the width is
pretty close, but the length is at least 1 real-world foot short).
However, it looks comfortably in scale like the Stuart, rather than
toyishly warped like the 21C HMMWV Recon vehicle (the hardtop). I am
definitely pleased with the vehicle, and even if I cannot figure out
where all the ammo cans go, I really like the ammo cans.
Unfortunately, this vehicle (like the Stuart) will be a shed storage
item due to its size; hauled out only for special occasions until I get
the additional room on the back of the house.
Overall - I would probably have spent the $250 on it after Christmas,
but I was not about to refuse a $100 discount. The box is just a place
to store the vehicle while it is in the shed, so a beat-up box does not
make me too sad. I am just wondering if there was anything missing.
Steve
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Steven Charlton
Steve.C...@ifsna.com
Nothing clever to add just now...
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
TIMSHARONLOEB
minutes and look at the bradly for me ..ok?
and while your at it please drop it carefully
on the floor and damage the box, then wait
out in the car. darn, mister toy manager, its
damaged! can i have it for $100 off? sure
sir! no problem! joy joy joy! (just foolin')
VincentG45
Thats if it's not just droped alittle, but completly melted and still on fire.
TRU will only give 10% off, even if the box was empty.
Vince Garcia
Jeffrey Griffin
You suck! ;-)
Ok, now that I have that off my chest, congratulations on such a great find!
Gotta luv w/you get lucky like that. Take any pics you can share w/the rest
of us, yet? Would love to see some pics with a fig in the turret, driver's
position, and in the troop compartment for comparison. I'm sorta waffeling on
getting one because of the scale disparity...
Many thanks in advance, and congrats again!
Jeffrey Griffin ITFC#1124
Project: RAH at PhotoPoint:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=919569
"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity and greed." - Robert Heinlein
To reply, remove .net.org
Steve Charlton
bottle of diet Pepsi, all of that came out to 193.83. And of course,
the .25 for the handful of chicle gum from the machine by the exit.
This is also the same place that refused to mark down the Mercury
capsule set with the cover ripped off and the accessory pack removed for
almost a year.
I think the main factor here was a total shelf overload problem. THis
store had three Stuarts, and a BUNCH of the SWAT motorcycle sets in the
21C area, and a pile of WWII Marine and Royal Marine boxed sets in the
Hasbro area that must have extended three feet up. This particular TRU
is a Feast or Famine store. They go three months with nothing new, then
for a two week period they get a pile of new stuff every day, and with
the new layout they have no room for overstock.
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