"BF Models and other makes for the 73 War " Topic

First of all this list isn't exhaustive but is a list of models that I have looked at and modified or considered modifying were necessary . The research has come from you guys initially and later from a book collection that I have built up on the subject.

I will start with the Israeli side of things for starters.

M60A or Magach6a- The BF model is an existing M60 model in their TY range . The way they have built the Model for the book is incorrect for the 73 war as it shows the post war condition. The instructions that are supplied with the Israeli starter set also show the post war build. The model needs to depict how the tank looked during the 73 war. It needs to be fitted with the CWS cupola ( machine gun turret ) and the smoke dischargers carved off along with the boxes. If you can like I did , try and scrounge some turrets from club members from the Plasitc Soldier kit of the M60A3. I found it to be an easy kit bash and looks the part after as the smoke dischargers and boxes are add ons in the PSC kit and just really need to be left off. The head light clusters on the BF hull are to crude for my liking and I carved them off and fitted the PSC ones, again scrounged .

Shot- I havnt built one of these but its been in the BF range for some time and is a good model. For me the British style smoke dischargers need to be left off.

Magach2/3- For the 73 war ,the Magach 2 can be disregarded as all were converted to 3s prior to the 73 war. So we are left with the Magach 3. This is one of BFs original releases in resin . As far as I can see the kit is unsuitable as things stand for the 73 war. This is because as far as I have researched none were left with the CWS cupola. This is were the redundant Urdan cupola from the M60 kit comes into play. A bit of filling will be required but the plastic urdan cupola can be fitted to this model to make it look the part.

Isherman M51 – Original BF Resin kit and fine to use as is.From an historical point of view one needs to bear in mind that most of these were now allocated to Mechanised Brigades

M113 – As far as I can gather these were quite "rare" during the 73 war with only 2 divisions using them . One was based in the North and one in the South. The BF model is produced for the TY range . It can be used as is if need be as I have found a couple of pictures without any side racks. It is better if side racks were included on the model as this was more typical . These would need to be obtained from redundant M3/5 half track kits or scratch built using strip styrene. A nice accessory pack of stowage and hoses is available from BF . The hose I found to be particularly useful on these models to fit around the exhaust port . Picture obtained from the web , I found to be useful . You just need to make sure that they are from the correct period as Israel apart from the US was the biggest user of M113s after the war .

M163 VAS- I came across this by accident when researching the M113 in Israeli service. In my encyclopedia of Israeli vehicles it states that 6( with a picture) were used on trial from 1968. That was good enough for me to use them !
BF in their TY range have a plastic kit. This needs to be built without the extra Storage pannier panels and the vehicles don't appear to have side racks but have hangers for stowage.

US Built Halftracks- The Bf kits are available in plastic and will need the previously mentioned stowage kit to complete.

I will now turn to the Soviet side of things for a while. My "Arab" but really should be African force is Egyptian

Starting with the T54 – A newish plastic kit introduced by BF. IMO this is a really fine kit and is very easy to build. A really good model is the end result and the extra fuel tanks are a one piece moulding . Great idea!

The above model can be mixed with he PSC T55 which is a good kit but a bit more fiddly. One of my books states the Egypt still used more T54s than 55s in the 73 war.

T62- A new BF plastic kit. A very fine model of the 72 model T62. There in lies the problem for me . Egypt only used the 67 model . Its fine though for Syrian use as they used both types. The well known picture of the knocked out Syrian T62s in the Valley of The Tears confirms this.

At the time of posting I am experimenting with the use of the metal Skytrex T62 turret on the BF hull .

BMP1 – Plastic model in the existing TY range . A fine plastic model. Just need to make sure that you build the right type as it contains parts for the BMP2.

I am hoping to add to this list in the future as I build and paint more models in the future . I hope it will help those contemplating this era in 15mm and serve as a reference point. Contributions from other would also be welcomed .

But again thanks to the guys who assisted me and you know who you are without mentioning names as I wouldn't want to accidently miss anyone out.

So far I am quite impressed with the over all quality of the BF models. I appreciate that the original resin models were brought out for the first incarnation of FOAN which concentred on the 67 6 Day war. Therefore by the time 73 came, many of the vehicles had been modernised, in particular the Israel side of things. Therefore I don't bear any criticism towards BF for having to modify their original releases .

I salute you, sir. Your strict and uncompromising adherence to historical accuracy and attention to detail are commendable and make you a true "Treadhead." I wish more people think like you.

Khurasan make some vehicles and infantry i believe

Thanks you guys for your comments and hoping to add to this list in the future.

I do like Khurasan infantry but for me living in the UK ,are not as easy to source.

The latest vehicle that has come under the spotlight is the M109. If my books are correct Israel had a small number of these in 1973 and they were Brigaded on both the Northern and Southern Fronts.

For once if you source the Nam or TY German M109 it will not need any modification for use in 1973. Use the stat card that is contained within the German M109 set and your good to go. But don't use any of the special ammo rules! :)

I am not sure why BF didn't include this vehicle in the FOAN range in the first place as all it would need is perhaps a fresh box.

As I have a "modern" Israeli 1973 force this AFV seems to fit within my theme better than the Priests or M50 SPGs.

Just built and painted a couple of Bf's resin and metal kits for the ZSU-23-4 Shilkas. For the benefit of the beginners and others new to moderns, the 23 bit means 23mm calibre of the weapons and the "4" means the number of barrels ie 4.

On closer inspection the model depicts the 72 model which fits in well for the Egyptians as this was the type they used in fairly good numbers. They formed part of the new anti aircraft umbrella of which the Soviet Union was willing to supply up to date defensive armaments for.

Overall a very good kit and fit . The Resin casts are excellent whilst the metals are fair. For some reason IMO BF metals tend to lack the crispness or sharpness that other companies appear to do better with.