Q: WWII Buffs/Grunts
GREG BUCK
I'm making a squad of D-Day 82nd Airborne guys.
My question is how close is the 21st 82nd Parachute rig/reserve to what
was worn by the WWII Paratroopers. At a glance it appears pretty close.
How would the 21st rig need to be modified to look closer to a WWII rig?
Thanks for the help.
I'll post pix when able, the DC-3 is gonna be HUGE!! ;-p
CHK6...See Ya!
Torch
LRic54
Triplett98
<<I'll post pix when able, the DC-3 is gonna be HUGE!! ;-p >>
Hey, that project sounds kewel, Greg! I can't wait to see the pics. I wish
I could answer your question about the parachute rigs....you might wanna wait
and see what 21st Century does with the WWII stuff. I bet they'll do an 82nd
guy. I can't WAIT!!!!! It's no fun anymore to just have just ONE of something!
It looks WAY more cool (to me anyway) to have a whole pack of guys wearing the
same uniform. The way 21st is priced, we're all gonna be able to have whole,
entire, complete squads without leavin' your testicles at the local pawn shop.
LOL, who am I kiddin? We'll STILL be just as broke as we are now....it'll
just mean that we'll get even MORE stuff before the moneys all gone! ;-)
SS-Standartenfuhrer "Sepp" Triplett
"Meine Ehre heist Treue!"
Justin88
SJSNYDR
Looking through my WWII Airborne books. It looks like it's similar. It looks
as if they used a light color of webbing for the harnesses, instead of the OD
color of today. Some of the models had a quick release device, dial-like so
they could get out of it quickly. It was done away with because the chance of
activating it while exiting the aircraft. If I knew how to p[ost a PIC on the
Box I would.???? Any help for me?
Steve S.
AK Joe
AIRBORNE!!!
ITFC #50
Stand Up, Hook Up, Shuffle to the Door......
LRic54
or 21sT,webing make your own SOTW unis,grenades bandoiliers,lot's a trenchs
knives folding stock carbine and some of thos enew thompson pouchs fromc ots..
Greg James
The paratrooper started off as a Cotswold 82nd
Airborne trooper, but my brother wanted a Screaming Eagle,
so I removed the divisional patch and the flag, as I have
read that only the 82nd wore the oilskin flags on D-Day...
He wanted the flag, so I found a jpeg of a 48 star U.S.
flag on the net, brought that into MS PowerPoint, scaled
it, and printed it with an Epson Stylus 1500 at 720 dpi.
The Screaming Eagle patch was a scan of a full size one,
and the Technician 4th Grade chevrons were ones that I
had drawn in AutoCAD, scaled down to 16.6667%. These were
also printed at 720 dpi, and the inkjet paper was "rolled
and flexed" to give an appearance of cloth, then sealed on
both sides with Krylon Matte Clear Acrylic to seal the ink...
(it's water soluble!) The jacket & trousers were washed
several times, then allowed to air-dry. Then the patches
were applied using Elmer's glue.....
The "George" figure's face was weathered by applying
a thin wash of Testor's Model Master acrylic enamel, in their
"leather" color, a reddish-brown tint, to bring out the detail
on his face. Then I used an orange-red pastel chalk to give him
some "signs of life" on his nose, cheeks, and chin....The black
face paint was a combination of charcoal and black pastel chalk,
applied carefully to avoid that "Al Jolson" look, and to get a
varying density look, thin in some places, thicker in others,
so as not to hide the other detaling I had done. The hands were
done the same way.
The helmet had the net removed, was completely sanded,
and re-painted using the Testor's MM acrylic Olive Drab. Then
I painted the rim a steel color to simulate the OD paint being
rubbed off the steel pot. I hand painted "spades" on each side
of the shell, as the 101st used this as regimental (?) insignia,
and the net was given a wash of brown acrylic paint to tint it a
little more toward olive drab. I re-applied the net using elastic
thread for a drawstring, then small strips of khaki, green, and
OD cloth were tucked under the net. Then I made the first aid
packet from paper colored with tan pastel chalk, then tied it to
the net with strips of cloth medical tape painted OD.
The M1A1 Thompson was completely sanded, the barrel
drilled out (.45/6 = .075), the plastic glob standing in as the
rear sight was removed, and a new one was made from 3/16 brass "U"
channel and a Dremel tool. Then the weapon was painted, metal parts
first in flat black, then highlighted with graphite from a shaved
pencil lead to bring out the detail. Then the stock and foregrip
were painted, first in the "leather" colored paint mentioned above,
then "streaked" with thinned acrylic flat black paint to simulate
the woodgrain, and to darken the wood. U.S. WWII stocks were
impregnated with linseed oil to prevent the wood from drying out,
and this turns the wood VERY dark brown.
The bayonet was converted into a M3 fighting knife, and
the scabbard was shortened and drilled for the leather strap at
the bottom, which is real leather, cut into a stip only about 1/32"
wide.
The boots were sanded and the soles were painted flat black,
and the laces were painted to match the real leather strap from the
scabbard. Then I gave the boots a thin wash of the black paint to
bring out the seams and to add depth. Then the boots were "dusted"
with the same chalk I used to color the first aid pouch.
I can't say enough about chalks being fantastic for
weathering stuff.....it's great! Same for the Model Master Acrylic
enamels, you can use this paint on anything, and it's alot easier to
clean out of the airbrush!
My brother was astounded at the difference between the
detailed trooper and the stock, out-of-the-box one. (I had two more)
The detailing and putting the personal touch on these figures is
what I enjoy most about collecting Joes. All I need is good "raw
material"! I'm considering scratchbuilding a Browning Automatic Rifle
using brass tubing for the barrel & gas tube, and basswood for the
stock and foregrip, especially after looking at Jimbob's FG42.
Good Job!
Greg
GREG BUCK
Great pics Greg, very nice. Thanks for the tips too.
My "little project" is growing.
The Sandbox Rocks! Thanks again.
CHK6...See Ya!
Torch
GREG BUCK wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm making a squad of D-Day 82nd Airborne guys.
>
> My question is how close is the 21st 82nd Parachute rig/reserve to what
> was worn by the WWII Paratroopers. At a glance it appears pretty close.
>
> How would the 21st rig need to be modified to look closer to a WWII rig?
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
> I'll post pix when able, the DC-3 is gonna be HUGE!! ;-p
>
> CHK6...See Ya!
>
> Torch
Jimbob1
great, and really helps with the appreciation of the amount of detail and
work that went in it. I'm glad that the FG-42 was some inspiration to you,
but you've got a lot of great techniques that put mine to shame! (I'd have
probably used linseed and cocoa on his face, and found him covered with
ants...) It's cool to see that there are others who like jazzing up their
figures-- Besides being fun, I always thought that it was a way to take my
mind of the endless impulse to buy, buy, buy!!! :^)
Congratulations on your excellent work!
Jimbob
Jimbob-Wan's Image Depot http://www.flash.net/~jimbob1/
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