GMorrison - thanks a lot for your comment! Nice tip on the staring effect!

Have a nice day!

Paweł

Incredibe paint work--as ever  Bravo.

Hello Cap'n!

Thanks a lot for your kind words - they mean a lot to me!

I took the photos of the helmet cover as an inspiration or reference and started painting the helmet. so far I have this:

I still have to work on the cards, have to look up perion cigarette packs and maybe work some more on the bug juice bottle and finally paint the straps.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

have to look up perion cigarette packs and maybe work some more on the bug juice bottle

Like you said, almost a kit unto itself.  Nad well, done, too.

"Bug Juice" Bottles had a couple of forms:

Also

And, with white printed text

Your pick, all are "period correct."

For "smokes" plenty to choose from:

The "skinny" ones were in ration packs.
More:

Lucky Stripe, Marlboro, are the iconinc ones, visually, but Pall Mall and Park Lane and Winston were seen.

The helmet band, did not become elastic fabric until about 1970, before that, the "grunt solution" was to cut a bicycle tire inner tube.  Which look much the same today as back then--a gray rubber that was darker on one side and lighter on the other. 

Sometimes more than one was used, due to occasional poor-quality local tubes.

Think Gunship Gray and lightened Panzer Gray. 

Cards were a mix of "face out" and "face in"--your choice may come down to whether you want to render the classic "Bicycle" deck pattern at 1/16 scale or not.

Image available at:  https://wallpapersafari.com/w/oCFi3j

Hope that helps. 

Very nice work there on the flesh on the arms and the face Pawel! 

And the helmet don't look half bad either! 

Gamera - thanks a lot! I'm glad you like 'em!

Have a nice day

Paweł

This figure is coming along very well. I like how the face came out. Usually the face and especially the eyes can make or break a figure or bust. Everything here looks correct so far. But I remember using a jeep inner tube for my helmet band when I couldn't get an elastic one.

Hello Tiger II!

Sorry for getting back to you so late - I was waiting for custom decals to finish the helmet. But I went with your suggestion and so I painted the helmet strap "rubber colour".

Here's what the helmet looks like now:

I have also used this time to prepare a base - I cut the shape out of a cutting board and my neighbour was so kind to run his router along the edge. So here's my custom made base:

I have also tried to show how would the pant s look like worn by somebody sitting in the mud:

That wood block in the photo is my holder.

So now I think I'll work on the jacket.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Outstanding stuff.

As with so many of the VLS castings, the need to over-thicken edge details winds up being something we all just have to live with.

(One wonders how much more delicate these would be as 3d resin prints.)

CapnMac82

Bill

We had that stuff too.  I'll never forget the smell it had, pretty srong.  It sort of makes you wonder how far away you could smell it per person and how long the odor lasted.  You could also wonder if it had and detrimental side effects too, sort of like A.O. in a bottle.

Still wonder.

ikar01

forget the smell it had, pretty srong. It sort of makes you wonder

It's around 65% DEET at, IIRC, 10% (ordinary Off(tm) was like ±1%).

The smeel was the smeel   Which would be hard to  pick out among the LSA and the sort of sweat one generates with humping 20-30kg of ruck.

The very real issue was that there wa no sulfur nor Pemetrin in the mix to keep the parasitic arthropods at bay.  So, while it would, theoretically, keep biting insects away, fleas, chiggers, ticks, et al, not so much.

But, it was cheap at the surplus stores, back in the day.  And, if you could stand the stink of it, would keep flies, gnats, and other flying annoyances at bay.  Whic hcould be a boon while hiking a trail that might bring a person through a cloud of such things.

Bug juice was also great for softening up the camo sticks so they didnt tear your skin off when you were applying the stuff to turn green...  double points! Look like the local flora and keep off the local flying pests.

Stik, you are so correct. By the time I joined, they had switched to Cutters Insect repellant. The smell was a lot more pleasant. I used to pour some on my palm and then rub the camo stick in it to soften it up and then onto my face, ears and neck it went. (Avoiding the eyes). It was good as the base coat, then any fine tuning of the camo on your face and neck, you did afterwards.

BTW Pawel your helmet came out great, and your muddied up BDU's look excellent. 

Yeah the helmet with the camo and gear looks great Pawel! Perfect crowning touch for your figure! 

Hello everybody!

Thanks a lot for your comments!

Work here slowly continues.

I have shaded the jacket and glued it to the pants with 2-component epoxy:

I have also shaded one of the ammo pouches and the butt pack. I want to pick out the tapes lining the edges in slightly different colour. The other ammo pouch is still under construction as it is going to be shown open:

So that's it for now - thanks for looking and have a nice day!

Paweł

Looking good.

Thanks for staying with me on this one, Cap'n!

Coming out great Pawel! Super nice work! 

Pawel

Thanks for staying with me on this one, Cap'n!

Not a problem, my friend, having used an M-79, it's a close topic to me (and I still have the ring in my ears as a reminder, too )

So Cap'n - maybe you'll be pleased to see this:

As you might note I've put the sling attachments on it and the sling is in the making, like you suggested. The hardest part to do is that spring clip on one end, but I've already have an idea for it, misusing some PE leftovers, so stay tuned...

Other thing I was working on is one of the ammo pouches modified to be open:

I'm also working on the remainder of the gear. I hope to be able to use the Easter break to wrap this up.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Looks great Pawel! Yeah, one good weekend of work and I think you're done! 

Pawel

modified to be open:

That models the "stiffness" of those posches very accurately.  Even sopping wer they stayed pretty rigid.

The M-79 looks good. 

The eyelets on the belt might want to be a tad darker.  They were blackened brass.  And the top surface would burnish to a color kind of like a metalic version of Radome Tan, if that gives an idea.  So, not really a brass, nor agold, nor a silver.

Over that would then goe just and grime effects.

They get a unique "look" when "salty"

Versus new:

(Note the stenciling is on the inside of the belt.)

Gamera - thanks a lot, I hope I can do it!

Cap'n - thanks you, I'll work on those eyelets.

In the meantime I was working on some small stuff:

I also have the sling on the "Tube" done:

I'm trying to sculpt a claymore bag from milliput right now, let's see if I can hack it...

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

sculpt a claymore bag from milliput

The fabric on those is very thin, so, they "smush" around contents kind of closely.

They will hang "lopsided" too, depending on hose the contents shift around.

For being of a not-thick fabric, they were/are sturdy and resisted tearing mostly (and were considered expendable if they did tear--only natural as they were menat as an expendable item in the first place).

Not quite as floppy as, say, a plastic grocery store bag, but not as "form-sturdy" as, say, a rucksack or pack.

It's been a long time since I've been around a smoke grenade, but didn't they have a colored band indicationg the color smoke they would give off?

ikar01

It's been a long time since I've been around a smoke grenade, but didn't they have a colored band indicationg the color smoke they would give off?

Yes
And the top of the thing, too.

With the exception of the M-8 HC (High Capacity)

(Although, those sometimes had white tops to mathch the smoke.)

Cap'n - thanks a lot for more reference photos!

I tried to integrate your remarks about the Claymore bag or M7 Bandoleer - as it was known officially - into my sculpt. This is my second attempt:

What do you say? Is the suggested payload of it OK?

And this is how it fits the figure. Bob - you can see I made a coloured lid in my smoke grenade:

Please let me know if you approve my Claymore bag, or do I have to try again?

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello!

I just couldn't wait any longer - I'm calling this one done! Here are the pictures:

I'd especially like to thank Cap'n Mac for his support and the photos of real life gear. Thank you also all who have commented - you made this build much more enjoyable for me! Have a nice day and see you soon on the forums!

Paweł