Siege of the Iranian Embassy

[Basiliscus]

Here is some backstory to my latest MOC:

In 1980, the SAS were given the go-ahead to assault the Iranian Embassy at Princes Gate in London. Six days previously, a group calling itself the 'Democratic Revolutionary Front for Arabistan' took over the building, capturing 26 hostages. In an 11-minute mission, in front of the world media and in broad daylight, the SAS recaptured the building killing all but one of the terrorists.

In this vignette, we see part of blue team absailing onto the front balcony (in reality they climbed onto the front balcony and red team absailed onto the rear, but I took some artistic licence).

I should add that I used Google Earth to design the building as accurate as possible and Steve White's photos of the building were an invaluable source of inspiration.

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Comments and (constructive) criticism always appreciated.

Edited July 30, 2011 by Rufus
Indexed

[Marko]

Nice real world military vignette

[Guss]

nice vignette^^ I love the black fence!

[Bob]

That looks great! I really like the levels, each showing a different scene.

[Dutch]

That is really cool. I like how the are roping up the front of it. Also the 'cretin spelling?' is amazing. so keep up the hard work.

[Basiliscus]

Nice real world military vignette

Thanks!

nice vignette^^ I love the black fence!

The black fence is supposed to resemble the real one at Princes Gate - it was one of the details that took the longest time but I am happy with the way it turned out.

That looks great! I really like the levels, each showing a different scene.

Appreciated Bob, glad you like it! I tried to do something different in this vignette.

That is really cool. I like how the are roping up the front of it. Also the 'cretin spelling?' is amazing. so keep up the hard work.

No idea what a cretin is (other than an idiot! LoL) but glad you appreciate the effort!

[Joey Lock]

My Dad told me about this day, Not boasting but the SAS are one of, If not the most prestige Special Forces in the world.

Ecpecially how they sweeped the Argentinian Airfield, Destroying all planes, without a single death.

Very nice moc indeed, Did you know that one of the police was going to take the last surviving member back in to be executed? He was stopped when he realised he was on TV... Woops...

[tedbeard]

I remember watching the coverage on TV and being amazed at the stories that came out like how the SAS basically tossed the hostages from man-to-man to get them out of the building quickly.

Anyway, great details and wonderful execution. I agree the fence is a nice touch.

I wonder though, if it would be worth trying to reverse the arms on the hostage with handcuffs? Make it look a little less unreal perhaps?

[Zorro]

This looks awesome! I love how you did the police officers and terrorists.

It is really a strong and good work!

[Joey Lock]

This looks awesome! I love how you did the police officers and terrorists.

It is really a strong and good work!

Its a Special Air Service, Not Policemen!

[Basiliscus]

My Dad told me about this day, Not boasting but the SAS are one of, If not the most prestige Special Forces in the world.

Definitely. Most of the counter-terrorist organisations worldwide were trained at some point by the SAS, including the American SWAT teams.

Very nice moc indeed, Did you know that one of the police was going to take the last surviving member back in to be executed? He was stopped when he realised he was on TV... Woops...

I didn't know that actually! I know that a lot of thought was put into it - the gas board were asked to dig up a nearby street and flights to Heathrow were diverted overhead to mask the sound of operatives drilling holes in the wall to insert cameras etc - it worked!

I remember watching the coverage on TV and being amazed at the stories that came out like how the SAS basically tossed the hostages from man-to-man to get them out of the building quickly.

Yep, you're right. They did that because in that sort of situation the hostages can often act in an unpredictable way - they want to be firm with them so they don't affect the execution of the rescue operation.

I wonder though, if it would be worth trying to reverse the arms on the hostage with handcuffs? Make it look a little less unreal perhaps?

What do you mean by "unreal"? I thought of swapping the arms round but the problem is your elbows don't bend the other way (try it)! LoL

This looks awesome! I love how you did the police officers and terrorists.

As Joey Lock said, they are actually part of the military rather than police (unlike the American SWAT for example). Glad you like the vignette though!

[tedbeard]

What do you mean by "unreal"? I thought of swapping the arms round but the problem is your elbows don't bend the other way (try it)! LoL

Yeah, I understand that but if you have ever been handcuffed the arms rotate partially and the hands are held close to the back. Simply rotating the arms creates a very strange look, more appropriate to a "stress position" as US Army interrogators would describe it.

Just thought it might be worth a try and I don't know where my LEGO handcuffs are to try right now.

[kill will]

Nice, but no Brickarms MP5s? The MP5 was first used in combat in this siege, and when it was raided proved a very effective weapon.

(I love H&K weapons)