1:35 US M242 25mm Ammunition Box Set - 3D printed (10 pcs and Decals)

Boxes for the 25 mm Bushmaster

The 25 mm M242 Bushmaster cannon has served with the US Army since the start of the 1980s. It is carried by the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and its M3 reconnaissance version, by the Marine Corps LAV-25 and by a range of other chassis. The 25 x 137 mm round is brought to the weapon in a belt held in sheet metal boxes, and it is exactly those that are the content of this package.

Ten pieces in one set is no accidental number. On equipment in the field the boxes pile up: some lie on the rear deck, some are lashed to the sides of the turret, and empty ones are set down on the ground beside the ramp. Scattered ammunition containers are among the fastest ways to give a vehicle a lived-in look without having to build a whole scene with figures.

The printing and the markings

That the parts were made by printing can be seen on the edges. The catches, the hinges and the pressed ribs of the lid stay distinct even under paint and are not rounded off the way small parts turn out when injection-molded. The enclosed decals carry the data markings that are applied to real boxes and without which the surface looks empty.

Before spraying it is recommended to rinse and degrease the parts, because a thin film is left on them from production which would otherwise lift the primer.

It pays to set the boxes apart in color from the vehicle itself. Real containers tend to be worn at the edges, with metal showing through and with a layer of dust in a different shade from the vehicle beneath them. It is exactly this mismatch of tones that makes a scene look alive.