tomrommel1 | 24 Sep 2019 11:01 p.m. PST |
Here is the machine-gun team for my US Marine platoon. First the missing 2nd assistant gunner:
Here is the complete M60 team:
More on link |
bracken | 28 Sep 2019 10:25 a.m. PST |
Nicely done, I'm painting some of the Empress Miniatures Vietnam US marines myself. They are beautiful little figures, and do paint up rather well. |
deadhead | 28 Sep 2019 2:05 p.m. PST |
I have agonised over the metalwork on the M16 and M60s. I am working with the Gringos figures and spent much of today dry brushing with gunmetal. These, you have shown, set me thinking. I wish I could go back and may yet do so. A light brushing with grey maybe instead. Or even give up and go back to black with no highlights. Snag is I have only done Napoleonics up to now (other than one effort into ACW) where that worked. My impression of Nam from so many photos, is that the metalwork stayed black. Except for the Radios where the paint seemed to peel off. The Bazookas did. The LAW was a once off weapon I think….Remind me, no wear and tear? |
Legion 4 | 29 Sep 2019 7:12 a.m. PST |
The LAW was/is a one shot weapon. So generally there was little wear & tear. The metal paint job on the M60, M16 etc. looks pretty good as it is. It may look a little darker in reality but we are dealing with scale here. Real Scale vs. model scale … so some colors may not transfer over perfectly. |
deadhead | 29 Sep 2019 8:47 a.m. PST |
That is how I worked today…but thanks for reassuring me. I have done it pristine. LAW came with stencilling in a red square and also white onto the basic colour? Tried to do that today. Result mocked by my wife and middle of three sons. I thought it worked brilliantly! The Bazooka I have seen disassembled, with much worn paint. The radio totally stripped of paint for some reason, so that is how I have done it. Good point about scale effect once more. Any bare metal on the M16 for example must have been very much edge of any corner…in reality. But to look right in a 28mm figure… |
Legion 4 | 30 Sep 2019 6:47 a.m. PST |
The LAWs I saw had yellow stenciling along the tube, IIRC Scroll thru these photos, it has some good pics – link Yes anything metal like a Bazooka will have worn paint/chips. I've never seen a radio that was bare metal. But with paint worn off along some of the corners etc. However, if you saw a pic of one, well that should be good enough. But as I said, all our PRC-77s, etc. did have paint worn off on corners, etc. Yes, balancing scale colors with RW vs. modelling is generally the situation. I like to get as much of detail out as possible without looking "off" … |
deadhead | 30 Sep 2019 8:58 a.m. PST |
I may have it wrong, but I downloaded some images of LAWs with a red panel and white lettering. Then a second column in white print directly on the green paint. If I had some ammo boxes for the M60 I would certainly have used yellow stencil there. I have kept the LAW pristine and the bazooka chipped. I see it broke into two halves for carrying. Every radio I have seen from Hue was meant to be painted, but the edges universally were bare metal and many an area of bare metal showing through all over…but definitely meant to be painted. Must have been rubbish paint! Many thanks for the advice. MUCH appreciated |
Legion 4 | 30 Sep 2019 12:55 p.m. PST |
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Lion in the Stars | 01 Oct 2019 2:13 p.m. PST |
It's worth pointing out that the Vietnam-era rifles were a much lighter gray than modern stuff. different parkerizing finish. I have a (replica) XM177E2 "shorty", it's very distinctly gray as opposed to the near-black of modern M16s. |
deadhead | 02 Oct 2019 5:10 a.m. PST |
I thought that was just the dust. What an invaluable piece of info…it explains so much. Now I must look up the verb to "parkerise" and do so to my Marines weapons! Brilliant! Then I went to Google and now know all about it. My period of interest has always been Napoleonic, when of course "Blueing" was the thing and many a barrel ended up looking rusty brown. Suddenly so many photos of Tet/Hue make sense |
Legion 4 | 02 Oct 2019 6:58 a.m. PST |
That is true … in '79 the M16s we were issued were a dark metallic grey. |