1/18 BBI River Patrol (Action shoot)

[granch]

Not so easy: Take 4 PTE dinghies, make them watertight (or they will sink when loaded. Load with soldiers, if possible in different postures (not anough hats? take some from 21st VietNam tank drivers, repaint in a matching NATO camo). Make a trial in your bath, if the boats list, move the backpacks. Take 4 fisherman's threads, loaded with lead balls (or they will float and disturb the pic). Take a long bamboo stick and fix the wires. Fix them under the boats. Go to the river. Hope for good light (we have a very wet and dark summer this year in Switzerland: about 2 months rain). Put the 4 boats in the water. Hold the bamboo stick with 1 hand and try to take pictures with the 2nd hand without falling in the flood. Hope that the lines will not bind to each other because some seaweed like to participate. At the end, as after all mission, check your platoon's stuff: this time nothing lost. Good luck!

[normandy]

Well Granch, your hard work payed off...... Great picture! Glad Your troops made it back safe!

[holensock]

Great picture! I'm a big fan of your work!!

[maritime96]

Great picture! The entire time I was reading your post I was wondering if any troops got sacrificed to the 1/18 picture gods for this shoot. Glad to read that everyone made it

[slogan]

Very nicely done. Are the larger PTE Patrol boats watertight?

[pickelhaube]

Looks cool .

[tmanthegreat]

That's a fantastic setup! Like the use of the PTE rafts. I have a couple of those myself and they are a great little floating "vehicle". Careful not to let any of your figures get washed away

[Light.Inf.Scout]

Excellent

[granch]

Thank you all for your kind feedback.
Yes, I've used the bigger PTE (river) patrol boat. It floats anough for the time needed for pics. But if you want to put a remote control, you should fill the splits around the hull and all the holes in the deck. The problem with the PBR is that, when loaded with 6 figures in all seats + 1 at the bow with the machine gun and 2 more sitting on the trap door, it's too heavy above the floating line. So, the PBR capsized at my first trial. 4 men disappeared in the flood. Same with a 2nd trial, but I put a wire mesh downstream to limit the loss (not anough for the small gear: helmets, goggles, weapons). If you try, there is a compromise to find: anough current to make the waves around the boat as it would move, not too much to keep it upright. Here 2 pics I think I've allready shown some time ago:


I have an other variant of this boat (cockpit at the aft), preparing a somalian pirate crew. Want to try an open "sea" (only lakes availlable in Switzerland...) scenary with use of a fishing rod for the motion. There is an other interesting boat from the chinese inner market's PTE, ask board member Melvin...