*BOOM!*

The blog is active again. We’re going to try it for awhile to see if we get some readers and some interest. If you read it, post a comment. Even if you don’t like it, let me know. I can fix it if I get input. If you have a figure, a diorama, a review, a tip, a suggestion, or a how to, I’ll run it. This isn’t all about me. 

Enjoy!

A mediocre at best set of figures

Let’s look at these paratroopers. The person who made them says that they are US Airborne in June 1944. It’s a noble endeavor. Or, is it? We’ll label them #1, #2, and #3. 

Trooper #1:

He’s probably the best of the bunch, but is he a good figure? First of all, look at the aid kit tied to the helmet net. Reenactors love it that way. Modelers love it that way. Action figure enthusiasts love it that way. Is it correct? Not at all. Paratroopers jumping into Normandy didn’t do it that way. They used a lot of burlap scrum to help break up the silhouette of their helmets. They wouldn’t tie an unnatural looking object into them.

How about the musette bag? It looks good, right? It’s on backward. The idea was for the jumper to land, drop his chute harness, drop his life vest, and toss the musette over his head and wear it like a backpack. That doesn’t work when you wear it this way. 

A trench knife in the reserve chute rigging? Really? What happens to it if you use the reserve chute? When you are in a hurry and quickly drop your harness, will you remember to grab your trench knife?

What’s with the compass on the wrist? Troopers said they rarely if ever wore them that way.

Trooper #2:

The musette bag is backward. See above. 

He wouldn’t have his binoculars loosely slung around his neck. In the first place, he’d lose them as soon as he jumped. What would happen if he had to use his reserve, and they got snagged in it? He’d either strangle himself, or they’d bind in the rigging, and his chute might not open properly. Then, what?

Why would you have smoke grenades in the parachute rigging? Would you remember to grab them when you dropped your chute? If not, what good are they? 

He has the wrong parachute on. The parachute used in Normandy hooked in the front. The one with the buckle harness wasn’t used until Market Garden.

Figure #3:

Is he good? Nope. His musette bag is backward. See #1. 

Why the trench knife in the reserve parachute rigging? See #1.

Double-buckle boots? First of all, they weren’t issued at this time. Most importantly, paratroopers took pride in their jump boots. They earned the jump boots, and the boots were a status symbol. Only recruits and replacements brought in later got the double-buckle boots.

A BAR? Unless he’s 82nd, he has the wrong weapon, and even then troopers didn’t jump with them. They were too big and too bulky to jump with. 

Compass on the wrist? Nope. 

Why is his canteen in front?

Learn from these figures. If you want yo do good, realistic figures, look at photos. See what was worn and how they wore it. Do a bit of research, and the rewards will pay off. 

By the way, the purpose of this post isn’t to ridicule or to demean anyone. It’s our hobby. We all do things our way. However, if you are trying to represent a group of real people, even if you aren’t doing a specific individual or group of individuals, you owe it their memory to do it right. Reenactorisms took over what was once a great hobby. Don’t do the same thing in 1/6 scale.

Scam Seller on eBay...Watch Out!

Here’s the listing as it appears:

Let’s look at the problems with this listing. First of all, the price. $1,500? It should be in the $300-$500 range.

He was contacted by the film industry to use it on the big screen? Doubtful. Hollywood wouldn’t pick the cheapest, most basic tanks out there.

He states that it’s customized to be an M3, but it’s not. The original Haunted Tank was an M3. This tank is still in M5A1 configuration, They wouldn’t use the wrong tank in the film industry.

Supposedly it was customized, but nothing about it is changed from original configuration. Nothing about it makes it worth 3 to 4 times the cost it should be. He says it was supposed to be in the film industry. So, what? That doesn’t increase the value. Maybe if it was in some type of movie, it would command a premium as a movie prop, but this one wasn’t.

I don’t have the space to show the pictures of the crew, but they’re horrendous. They’re kinda close to being accurate, but basically they are 4 GI Joes with an assortment of cheap, mismatched gear.

Sellers like this make it hard for honest sellers to do business. I feel sorry for the people who don’t know better, who believe the hype, and greatly over pay. 

Buy with care! 

82nd vs 101st

As the paratroopers organized in the dark and came together, the fighting began. Objectives were accomplished, and a series of small battles was fought throughout the Cotentin peninsula. Unit cohesion had basically disintegrated, and troopers partnered up with and fought with whoever they met. 

Before we get too far away from the 1/6 scale and turn this into a history blog, it’s time to look at the individual US Airborne divisions. How were they they same? How were they different? They were unique units, and the qualities that made them unique were often subtle at best.

The 82nd was the first US airborne division established. It was a combat hardened division whose men had fought in both Sicily and Italy. The division’s first combat jump was in Sicily, as part of Operation Husky.

The 101st airborne division was new to the parachute infantry. It was formed in August of 1942 from the old 101st division. Cadre for the 101st, in the form of NCOs and officers was provided in part by bringing men over from the 82nd. 

Does this mean that they both were the same, and only wore different unit patches? To a point, but the men of each unit were proud, the men of each unit thought their division was the best, and they did their best to distinguish themselves as  “All Americans” or “Screaming Eagles.”

How were they different? While their uniforms and equipment were mission-specific and basically the same, some subtle difference were evident. 

While both wore helmet nets, the 82nd used considerably less burlap scrim. Members of the 101st stuffed as much in as they could.

The 82nd used both straight handlers and folding entrenching tools. The 101st primarily used the folding etools. It was rare to see a Screaming Eagle with a straight handled shovel.

The men of the 101st were given cricket clickers to use as a means of identification in the dark. The clicker was a toy that made a click-clack sound when squeezed. One click-clack was answered by two click-clacks. The 82nd didn’t get them.

Members of the 82nd primarily wore holsters for their pistols on their belts. Members of the 101st primarily wore shoulder holsters. 

During Overlord, the 82nd often sewed American flag path patches on their right arm. Men of the 101st did not. 

While some members of the 82 carried BARs, the infamous Browning Automatic Rifle, into battle, it was not used by paratroopers of the 101st, because they thought it was too big and bulky to jump with, and many hated the logistics of having to carry magazines. They waited for M1919 light machine guns to be dropped in canisters. BARs would be brought in by the glider troops in a day or two. 

There are other minor differences, but when making 1/6 paratrooper kitbashes, keep these ideas in mind. Subtle, factual distinctions often mean the difference between good figures and great figures.

D-Day Paratroopers, the Americans...

This is the first in a series of posts dedicated to paratroopers on D-Day. We’ll talk about the troops that landed, their objectives, the differences between the divisions, the role of the glider troops, and some tips on making the best possible 1/6 scale Normandy Invasion paratroopers in later postings.

In the early morning hours of 6 June 1944, thousands of paratroopers from the British 6th Airborne, the US 82nd Airborne, and the US 101st Airborne divisions began landing all over Normandy to begin Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of occupied France. Each division was later reinforced by glider troops. All 3 of the divisions had specific objectives. They were to mass their forces after landing, and assault and hold such things as bridges, causeways, crossroads, etc. As part of their defense, the Germans had flooded large fields in an effort to restrict movement of any invaders, and it was the primary goal of the airborne forces to not only cause diversions and disruptions behind the German lines, but to seize and to hold causeways and roads that would allow ground forces, and eventually armored vehicles and supply trucks to move inland.

Just after midnight, pathfinders from the airborne divisions were dropped. Their mission was to find and mark drop zones so that the aircraft could more easily drop the troops in the proper locations. They had lights, radio beacons, and so forth that they were to use. The pathfinders were the first invaders on the ground, and their mission was both highly important and extremely dangerous. There weren’t many of them, and they were lightly armed. They would be on the ground by themselves for hours before additional forces landed.

Due to a series of problems during the drops, many planes missed their drop zones. Paratroopers were scattered throughout the Normandy region, many far from their designated drop zones. Some of them couldn’t even find men from the planes they were on, let alone the rest of their unit.  Unit cohesion disintegrated, and the troops on the ground met up, organized, and fought with whoever they found in the dark.”. Many of these men were from other units. In some cases, men of both the 82nd and the 101st banded together, tried to determine where they were, and moved toward their designated objectives.

By daybreak, when the beach landings started, paratroopers were organized and assembled into viable fighting forces. Many of the designated objectives had been seized and were being held. It is said that the misdrops actually made the paratroopers more effective. Since they were scattered all over the place, the Germans were never able to organize and mount a strong counterattack, as they were unsure of where the paratroopers were or where they were headed.

In the next post, we’ll talk about the differences between the 82nd and the 101st. They were not just they same kind of guys with different patches. There were many differences.

Geronimo!

This blog is going active. We’ll be sharing ideas, showing off figures, giving helpful tips, and showing the work of others. I’ve been silent for too long. It’s time to speak up again!

USMC Scout Sniper

Silent in action, but deadly in the end. This is the shooter of my newest sniper team. I have the spotter coming up later, and I’ll take them outside as a team for upcoming photos. He has the basic Hasbro ghillie suit, with some add-ons and improvements. 

Scout-snipers infiltrate silently and very inconspicuously, moving slowly,  making no noise, and blending in completely with their environments. Oftentimes they don’t go out to make a kill, but when they do, one shot is all it takes. They strike from far away and blend back into their surroundings. On missions where they don’t shoot, they often do scouting of enemy strength and numbers, supply routes, defenses, terrain, and so forth, and after calling in the required info, they provide fire support for friendly troops.