Hello!

Stik - thanks a lot! So the way I see it I'll probably have to sculpt a second canteen (or the lower portion of it) to show under the helmet - and it also needs to sit higher on the belt.

In the meantime I was able to take daytime shots of the PASGT vest. Here they are:

As you can see I have already painted the gloves, too. I'm just going to fix a few things I caught just when the photos were done and I'm slowly contemplating fixing the arms to the chest. I have also tried to paint up the US flag the way Capn suggested:

Now its also hight time to finish the boots at last, I need to do some assemblying here!

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

If you don’t want to hold your helmet in your hand, and have to have it along while not wearing the thing on your head, you can simply loop the snapped chinstrap over a canteen worn on the LBE/Pistol Belt.

Hello!

Thanks again for your great comments!

Gamera - no sweat, I was expecting something like that - after all this is a Verlinden fig, they just regularily confront you with certain challenges!

Gino, Stik - of course it's not nice to have something wrong here, but thanks to your great input I will know to move things at least a little in the right direction - in this case I understand I have to move the pistol holster and the canteen as far up as I can to suggest they are hanging on the belt "by their midpoint", so to say. And the pics will help me get the color of the nylon right. And I think I will hang the dressing on the front of the vest.

So how about that helmet - is there any popular method of storing the "Fritz" when the cap is worn?

And in the moment I'm finishing painting the woodland pattern on the vest. Hope to post pictures soon!

Thanks again and have a nice day

Paweł

Yes, lots of information in this thread on late Cold War era “battle rattle” and uniforms. Of course there is far more unsaid at this point. 

AHHHGGGGGGHHHHHHH  that's why I like smaller figures- you can't see as clearly if they got the detail right or wrong!!!!!!! 

All joking aside VERY good advice you're getting here. And an education here for me. 

I guess he does have a pistol belt.  It can be worn w/out the suspenders, but isn't as comfortable since it has to be worn tighter around the waist to keep it up.  The canteen isn't right though.  The canteen connects to the belt just above the midpoint, not from the cap as the figure has it due to the belt being under the vest.  No idea how the helmet is hanging there, unless it is over another canteen?

Pistol belt w/canteens.  Note the connection point.

The M12 holster attaches the same way, so not sure how it is hanging on either.

Hello!

In defence of good ole' Francois, the figure seems to have something like the pistol belt. I think this picture shows it best:

From what I read it is possible to wear the belt without the suspenders, right?

What Stik says would make the most sense, of course - a vest/LBE unit. If I noticed this earlier, I might even be tempted to make a conversion!

And in the meantime I'm working on the woodland pattern for the vest.

Thanks again for your great comments and have a nice day

Paweł

Looking at the figure, he does not appear to have an LBE on at all.  I don't see any evidence of a pistol belt either.  The rest of his gear is just hanging there.  It is not clear how he is carrying the canteen, holster, nor the helmet.  I guess it is more "Verlinden Magic".

The first aid pouch could be connected to the strip on the left side of the vest, like the flashlight is on the right.

Pawel

Hello Gino!

Thanks a lot for the info!

How about when the PASGT vest (kevlar) is also worn?

I don't think it would be carried under the kevlar or would it?

Thanks in advance for the info and have a nice day

Paweł

 

No, LBE is worn over the vest. The shoulder sections have those snaps the can be unsnapped, the suspenders placed under those, then resnapped so that the LBE and vest become a single unit donned or removed together. Some guys will attach their protective mask carrier to that as well with a snap link and the carrier pouch straps.

Hello Gino!

Thanks a lot for the info!

How about when the PASGT vest (kevlar) is also worn?

I don't think it would be carried under the kevlar or would it?

Thanks in advance for the info and have a nice day

Paweł

The first aid pouch goes on the upper left strap of the LBE.  You can see a few standard LBE load-outs below.

One canteen on right hip.

With an e-tool pouch opposite the canteen on the other (left) hip.

Or with two canteens, first aid pouch still on the left strap.

Hello!

Cap'n, Stik - thanks a lot for your comments, again - great info here.

As for the gas mask carrier - I meant Verlinden modelled it as if there was only a half of the upper, shoulder strap - the back half isn't there, but, as I said , it would be covered anyway.

What my daughter noticed - there's a personal dressing pouch in the kit, but the box doesn't show it and it is unclear where it should be put.

And thanks about the remarks about the flag.

The photos of the real thing are as always very welcome!

Thanks again and have a nice day

Paweł

M17 Protective Mask Carrier. Olive Drab cotton canvas

Outer side

Inner side worn against body

The lower thigh/waist strap in thinner than the upper waist/chest strap. The carrier can be worn at the hip or under the arm over the belt. The hip is the most comoon wear location.

Pawel

there's a strap for the gas mask bag on the front of the coat, but none on the back... I'll not correct this one though, as on the rear the spot will be covered by the canteen. I'd like to ask one more question if I may - what can you tell me about that shoulder US flag patch? Such flag is not so often there, is it?

M17 mask carrer has two straps, both are the same width.  One loops over the opposite hip, the other around the thigh.  There's a pocket on the bottom left (looking at the front of the carrier) that's very rectangular, that contains the decontamination kit, which is in a hard(ish) vinyl/plastic container.  So, the shape in the corner is quite distinct.

Prefered wear in 1990 was to snug the canteen to where it sat above the "notch" created by that decon pocket.

Amercian flags became a more common thing which in multinational deployments.

Byt rule they were menat to have the blue union to the front of the wearer, but supplies of those were limited, so, seeing them "backwards" (blue union to viewer's left) was some common.  Usually they were "bright" but some subdued examples were in the field.

Barring matching an actual photo, I'd probably go bright.  I'd probably render it "backwards" too, if only to tweak the experienced.  (Marines probably sent LCpl Snuffy down to the PX/BX to go grab all the US flag patches available at the beginning of the deployment, to get everyone to local SOP, and would not be picky--and would be distracted by the cases of I.W.Harper.)

If I can find my M17, I get you some photos.

Hello!

I have painted the "spots" or "pebbles" and managed to take some daylight shots. I think I'm going to lighten the camo a little more still:

I have also found one more "Verlindenitis" symptom - there's a strap for the gas mask bag on the front of the coat, but none on the back... I'll not correct this one though, as on the rear the spot will be covered by the canteen.

I'd like to ask one more question if I may - what can you tell me about that shoulder US flag patch? Such flag is not so often there, is it?

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello!

Stik - thanks a lot for the great shots of the kevlar vest. This is going to help me a lot with the painting. Thanks also for the info on the belt.

I have already started painting this belt that is just visible under the lower edge of the kevlar vest. I have also put the brown spots in two colours on the coat:

Now I have to add the "pebbles" and shade it a little to get the contrast down again.

Thanks for lookin' and have a nice day!

Paweł

Here is the vest, front and back

The pistol belt is made from OD Nylon

Hello!

Thanks a lot for your comments - they mean a lot to me!

Gino - great shots and thanks for clarifying the thing with rolled down sleeves and gloves.

Stik - good info on the vest, thanks a lot!

Capn - if the shoes can't be brand new - understandable! - then it's got to be the jungle boots, of course. Sure would love to see that vest, especially the back of it - that side is not documented as well on the web.

Gamera - Thanks a lot for your kind words!

And I have tried one more thing with the "chocolate chip" camo. After painting the coat white I have put on swaths of light green:

On top of that I have just put one brown wash:

Now I have tan and green swaths without so much contrast between them. Other coloursw will stay the same, but hopefully this will also help convey the looks of two separate garments - trousers and jacket.

One more thing - what colour would the gun belt be?

Thanks again and have a nice day

Paweł

Again I have no idea how accurate what you're painting is but it looks very impressive to me!

It would also be very period-appropriate to have the black 'jungle' boots, supply of all three variants of "the desert boot" lagged well behind tropp deployments.

The is particularly true for the Marines on two fornts.  One is that gear had to get to Regiment, and then down to each Company.  The other is a Marine focus on being "legs"--so unit commanders--like our putative Company commanding Captain--are going to be focused in on insuring that th troops have broken-in boots that fit, and in enough pairs to equip all hands.  Which had some Marine units in the black leather boots, too.

The boots I would up with were the second pattern (non conductive protected toe).

This topic has me thinking to go dig out my PASGT vest.  The nostalgia here is strong.

Pawel

 

Stik - thanks a lot for the great shots of the armor! They really help me a lot. The one in woodland camo is very interesting because it looks like it has at least two different kinds of fabric on it, I'll try to replicate it on my model. Good info about the bands, too - I was very close to making an error here - but I have to research the armor more.

 

 

 

 

Gino covered the sleeves down and gloves, as well as the vest cover

Pawel

Good ole' Francois decided to make the captain wear armor in woodland camo - is that realistic? And why? I could think about supply shortages or maybe woodland would be a better camo at night? (rolled down sleeves and gloves would also suggest nighttime, right?).

The woodland camo vest isn't really a mistake.  Not all units/Marines had the covers.  Many had mixed uniforms during ODS.  Also, sleeves down is standard when in the field and gloves are often worn to protect the hands.  Neither is indicative of nighttime ops.

Hello!

Stik - thanks a lot for the great shots of the armor! They really help me a lot. The one in woodland camo is very interesting because it looks like it has at least two different kinds of fabric on it, I'll try to replicate it on my model. Good info about the bands, too - I was very close to making an error here - but I have to research the armor more.

Good ole' Francois decided to make the captain wear armor in woodland camo - is that realistic? And why? I could think about supply shortages or maybe woodland would be a better camo at night? (rolled down sleeves and gloves would also suggest nighttime, right?).

keavdog - that's what I discovered on my previous figure build (called Good Morning Vietnam) - there is a lot of first hand knowledge here on the forums and all you have to do is to politely ask! Makes building real fun. And thank you friends for heelping me!

I have tried to lighten the camo I already painted and make the contrasts less pronounced. Here's my result and I'm calling the trousers done:

 Movin' on to the Coat, BDU and the boots now.

Thanks again for your great help and have a nice day

Paweł

Coming along nicely!  No shortage of reference help on this forum.  Great folks.

The bands above the pockets on the body armor are for hanging items, not nametapes. On the vest itself they are OD. On the Desert camo cover that can be added, the bands are light tan.

And yes, Verlinden goofed on the boots details. No reinforcing bands for the ankles. But they do look like the black jungle boots that came out in the late 80’s with the padded collars.

Hello!

I have also noticed those OD bands, and it's a cool feature. But it won't work in my case:

As you can see those bands would be covered by the vest - which in turn seems to have its own bands. I suppose those bands would be OD, too. The vest - by the way, is it kevlar? What would be the desription here? - is supposed to have woodland pattern.

I have also put the boots on wire holders:

Funny thing - those boots look a bit like the early jungle boots with no ankle bands, they don't have those tiny water drains, neither. I'm planning to add those features - more specifically, paint them on.

Thanks a lot for your comments and thanks for looking - have a nice day

Paweł

stikpusher

a reference shot

And an important one for showing a very common thing in-theater:  OD name & branch tapes.  Which officers would have bought in job lots.

The Marines issue gear by the Regiment, so, if a Theater required DBU, then those would be issued, each officer then had to get those uniforms badged up to regulations.

There was a bit of a fad, back in the 90s of having a name tape on the back of one's Utility cover, but it was not Corps-wide.  So, it can be forgiven if not replicated.

There ought to be a name tape over the back right pocket of the utility trousers, but that's going to be less visible.

Gamera - thanks a lot for your kind words! I'll try one more thing - to make the "green" a little more green and I think I'll leave it at that.

Have a nice day!

Paweł

I like where you're going Pawel! At the size you're working at everything looks fine to me. 

Here’s a reference shot for ya. To my eye, one sand was pinkish, and the other more yellow, not green. Then the two brown tones.