NBC News' Battlefield Satellite News Gathering System - named "The Bloommobile System" in honor of embedded journalist David Bloom who passed away April 6, 2003 just before US forces entered Baghdad - is the most important commission I've ever taken on - and the one miniature I am most proud of.

On April 8, 2004 NBC News unveiled a memorial to David Bloom and sixteen other NBC Journalists who lost their lives covering news events around the world. This miniature appears at the memorial in NBC News Headquarters, New York City as a part of mementos dedicated to these brave souls. This is a moving display and pays respect to their fallen comrades.

Journalist David Bloom's history-making news coverage while on the move with the US Army 3rd Infantry Division was captured with stunning clarity by NBC News through some ingenious employment of the latest in satellite communications technology and an attitude that nothing was too big to tackle. The Bloommobile System actually comprised of two vehicles. David Bloom himself transmitting images from a M88 Medium Recovery Vehicle that the US Army allowed NBC News to erect a special seat and gryo-stabilized camera set enabling David to transmit on the move as the 3rd ID bore down on Baghdad. Modeler Pete Gay was selected by NBC News to model this vehicle for the memorial display, utilizing AFV Club's excellent M88A1 Medium Recovery Vehicle.

The second part of The Bloommobile System was a radically modified Ford F-450 SuperDuty truck that carried specialized satellite communication equipment and a transmission dish mounted underneath a protective dome on the rear body. This truck would trail the leading elements of the 3rd ID's spearhead at distances of up to two miles. The M88 carrying David Bloom broadcast microwave signals back to the Ford F-450 truck, which in turn transmitted these signals via satellite uplink back to NBC News Headquarters. All of this was done on the move!

This was and still is a stunning technological achievement for NBC News and broadcast journalism. It is a source of great pride at NBC News today. As part of this Memorial, NBC News desired a miniature representation of the Bloommobile Battlefield News Gathering System to go into the permenant display. Early on it was determined to use the 1:35th scale AFV Club model kit on which to create the M88 ARV that David Bloom and cameraman Craig White rode in. Desiring to keep in constant scale, NBC News approached me to take on construction of the Ford F-450 Mobile Satellite Uplink Truck. It would have to be scratchbuilt.

I was able to see the "Bloommobile" as it is today in New York City, and meet David Bloom's veteran Cameraman Craig White. NBC News was the most accomodating and gracious host I've ever experienced - and in appreciation I eagerly took on this project. For those not familiar with NBC News' coverage during the war, you can obtain an excellent book from amazon.com. NBC News: Operation Iraqi Freedom - 22 Historic Days in Words and Pictures is a wonderful photo log and includes a DVD narrated by Tom Brokaw. Purchasing this book raised the whole importance of my miniature efforts for NBC News. Having met Craig White and being able to watch David Bloom impressed me more than I can express here. It got me through some tough times during the construction of my miniature - as scratchbuilding calls for some intestinal fortitude and perserverance. The DVD makes you smile, will shock & awe you, and make you cry. It connected me to what was happening there, and gave me a sense of being that I endeavored to capture a little essence of in my miniature here.

I decided early on not to make this page a blow-by-blow on scratchbuilding a miniature like this. It means so much more to me than that. I hope that you as a fellow modeler can appreciate the effort and consider what it took to model a truck like this one. It was as difficult and challenging as I am proud of it today.

This part of the Bloommobile System is based on a Ford F-450 four-wheel drive diesel powered truck with the extended SuperDuty cab. Built by MTS, the rear seats were removed to accomodate an electronic package that included satellite transmission equipment and telephone/Internet Access - located behind the Driver and Audio Technician/Uplink Operator.

The rear body was equipped with a custom-built equipment bed supporting a gyro-stabilized satellite antenna system and an AC power generator.

Near the end of construction, the Antenna Dome is made up of three pieces of clear plastic - a base ring and two hemispheres. It would be the last major section of the miniature built - having gotten past the tough work to render the Ford F-450 Truck. During the drive onto Baghdad, the truck's lights were taped over, rendered here with painted strips of Kleenex Tissue, and applied with diluted White Glue/Water mixtures.

While I painted one half of the Antenna Dome as it appeared shortly after David Bloom's passing, I opted to leave the other half clear to show a representation of the interesting Antenna Dish inside. The NBC Memorial is designed to be viewed from either side - so this would be of additional interest to the observer. Fitted into place here during construction, my inspriation came from those funny "astronaut-shaped" televisions from the 1970's. I taped a plastic container over the half of the clear hemispehere as a painting mask and finished it quickly. I'd leave this half of the hemisphere removable in case the airplane trip (or taxi ride in NYC) jostled and damaged the interior contents. Amazingly, this didn't happen...

Most of the Antenna Dish and associated transmission equipment fitted into place during construction. I wanted to make representative pieces more than overwhelming detail to mimic the equipment in the actual vehicle. For the observer, it's easier to digest and more meaningful than a confusing mass of wires. Another tricky piece of the miniature came in modeling the Main Mast. This part was damaged during the fierce sandstorm that brought US Forces to a standstill. The original equipment was damaged during the storm and had to be repaired by the NBC Crew with what they had on hand. This was a "fun" part of the miniature to replicate. I decided to make this part 'flexible' as to give a little during transportation to New York City, as well as during handling, so it wouldn't snap. Several times during the trip to deliver the miniature, and during the setup in the Memorial Display, this particular part of the miniature was bumped and jostled. It, however, gave a little and suffered no damage. Note, the rear lights are also taped over as they were during the push into Baghdad, and you can see the .010" mirrored styrene I used for the rearview mirrors reflecting the doors of the model truck.

Positioned on the floor of the Display, Pete Gay's M88 and my "Bloommobile" make a nice pair in 1:35th scale. The Ford F-450 Truck is noteworthy for it's size - it isn't a little truck. During researching the real vehicle, I fell quite enamored with the real Ford truck. I think I'd like to own one one day. The M88 carried David Bloom and Craig White during the drive towards Baghdad. Craig controlled the ball-shaped outrigger camera - deftly modeled by Pete. The M88 carried the microwave transmission antenna(s) sending the video/audio back to the "Bloommobile" uplink truck which trailed some two miles behind the M88 with the leading elements of the 3rd Infantry Division spearhead. The "Hi Dave" marking were applied by the NBC Crew after David Bloom's passing - and thanks to two little seen photos provided to me by NBC, I was able to duplicate this feature with painted Kleenex Tissue applied with White Glue/Water mixtures exactly as it appeared on the real truck.

Viewed from the reverse side of the Memorial, Pete Gay's work on the M88 is highlighted here. The Camera is easier to see, as well as the guts of the "Bloommobile" in the background.

My miniature of the "Bloommobile" is complete down to the all-important shovel mounted to the rear of the spare tire carrier - that saw daily use. The Cab Interior is complete, with electronics rack, telephone sets on the right side that were even used for allowing troops to call home on NBC's tab, to a cooler positioned between the front seats - originally suggested as a makeshift seat for a full-grown man but used here to carry a 1:35th scale can of Coke. Running Boards, instrument cluster, even door locks are represented here in the miniature more to add depth and a sense of what the real truck was like than to boast skills. The actual "Bloommobile" has a certain presence that I tried to capture in miniature by mixing the big details along with the smaller ones.

Below, camerman Craig White was my first host and gave me access to the real "Bloommobile" - which turned out to be so critical when all of my personal photos were destroyed in airport screening. I simply had to run from memory and impressions on what that day was like when I first saw the "Bloommobile". You can probably tell I am as comfortable as Craig is in front of the camera - but this was an opportunity I couldn't let pass. Funny, it's also the only photo of me on my own website!