Operation Grapple - 1993
"Brits Lost in Bosnia"

by Ron Puttee
photographs and description by Brett Green

5 more images at the bottom of the page

The United Kingdom contributed soldiers and armour to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Bosnia a few years ago. The British Army labeled this peacekeeping campaign "Operation Grapple".

The focus of Ron Puttee's atmospheric diorama is a Warrior MCV and its crew. They are lost in the mountains of Bosnia during the winter of 1993 and are deciding whom to blame!

Academy's 1/35 scale Warrior is quite accurate and builds into a very acceptable replica out of the box. However the fit is tricky in a few areas, notably around the front appliqué armour, and there are some nasty ejector pin marks on the vision blocks. For more information about building this kit, "Military Miniatures In Review" Issue No. 9 has an excellent construction review.

Ron built the Warrior before any of the after-market accessories from Eduard, Airwaves and others were released, so he had to scratchbuild and adapt the improvements from other sources. The following is a summary of the modifications:

• Wire was used to replace the mirror mounts
• Front armour was reworked to improve the fit to the front hull
• The rack for the lube drum was scratchbuilt (but Ron subsequently discovered that it is too short - it should fit two lube drums)
• Razor wire and cable were added
• Photo-Etched grilles for the engine air intakes at the front of the vehicle were adapted from Eduard's "Merkava" detail set
• Heated pins were used to achieve "sag" in the kit's rubber-band tracks
• Verlinden oil cans and other accessories were scattered on the vehicle
• Photo-Etched handles were added to handles
• The mudflaps were reduced to scale thickness
• Telephone cord was added to the reel at the rear of the vehicle
• Tubes at the corners of the turret were added, but Ron later found that these should be fitted at an angle. They were used to fix camouflage netting
• A hole was drilled through the side appliqué armour to access the fire extinguisher

Ron says that next time, armed with better reference and more after market accessories, he will build an even more detailed vehicle!

The figures are the "Warriors" brand British Warrior Crew UN/Desert Storm set. Warriors stock number is 35072. Research for the uniforms came from the Summer 1986 edition of "Model Magazine International" in an article about modern British combat dress.

The groundwork was built up from a base of DAS modelling clay. A combination of "Microballoons " and baking soda was used to represent the snow. Foliage is dried phenyl (ask your wife - she'll know). Telegraph poles are from the old Italieri set. The flag came from the Airfix kit of the "Victory" - yes, the sailing ship!

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Diorama by Ron Puttee
Photographs and Description Copyright 1998 by Brett Green
Visit Track-Link for the best of Armour Modelling.
Page Created 13 May 1998
Last updated 26 July 2007

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