"Advancing through Hue" Topic

Another little diorama completed using Gringos40 Marines in 28mm. I had planned my usual cheating images with a photo background and may still get around to it, but here is a sidewalk in the new town south of the Perfumed River. The wall is scratchbuilt and based on the typical French Colonial look in the posher parts of town. My next wall will be different and, now I know it, better. Also I think fewer Marines in the photo might have been better, but I did need to get these based (esp if more on the way …strong hint to Ged)

Of course now I can see that I had meant to change that fag end. It is the size of a cigar. Also I am reminded that I never did paint the magazine ends exposed in the bandoliers

Great work again! Were these done using German Uniform 920?

Beautiful work Liam.

really superb work Liam..capturing the
moment of intensity perfectly!!

regards
Ged
gringo40s.com
gringo40s.blogspot.com

Great work – thanks for sharing

Thanks all. Yes that is Vallejo 920. I forgot who suggested it here recently (I must check and credit him!) and it is ideal I think for a brand new set of utilities….never been washed or exposed to UV light.

I did do a couple of pics with a Hue background. I have faded the colours here and slightly overbrightened them for "authenticity". But I do have some B&W with a different background……just for me, cos everyone wants colour here.

Hope you like these;

love the colour background ,,,IMHO
takes everything to another level

cheers
Ged
gringo40s.com
gringo40s.blogspot.com

WoW! Your getting better and better, the composition is perfect. They actually look like they advancing down a street just waiting for the crack of gunfire to make them all take cover.

The reason for so many black and white photos is that we could develop our own negatives. Special Services around the world seemed to always have a dark room available for us. I could make a 'proof sheet' in about 20 minutes to see which photos were worth making full size. It was relatively simple and fun. Color film was much more expensive (maybe 4 or 5 times) and had to be sent out to be developed and it took, maybe, a week to get results. We used to like getting our results sooner to see what worked and what didn't. Always experimenting.
For instance, at fast shutter speeds, the rotors on a helicopter stood out. No disk! I was amazed that I couldn't see the individual blades with my naked eye.

interesting post d88mm1940

cheers
Ged
gringo40s.com

Your best bet:ask a vet!
Actually, I was reminiscing yesterday and I can get long winded sometimes.
I was at my in-laws, a couple of years back. You know, the liberal lawyers and such. But the college age kids had a school assignment: interview a Viet Nam vet. They didn't realize the ride they would be in for when they ask me to tell them about my experience!

Deadhead, those photos are seamless, if I didn't know I would have thought it was a picture from 1968. Do you have a site where we can see the B&W photos?

wouldn't mind the black and white picks as well Liam
I agree with s88mm1940…your best yet!!

cheers
Ged
gringo40s.com
gringo40s.blogspot.com

I wish I did have a way to show more photos, but I am conscious this is a wargamer's forum…..and I am very new to anything outside Napoleonics (other than my Quantrill's raiders that is)

Really want hear more from d88mm1940…..!

splendid Liam….
cheers
Ged

gringo40s.com
gringo40s.blogspot.com

Let's face it. Far more background photos in B&W and less problem with white balance. I mkight even start painting in B&W to save time? As the wall says, Quyet Thang or some such!

Oddly enough, the B&W shots looks more 'real' than the color ones. The color ones do show much more contrast and skill in laying down the paint.
Boots: They started out black with green or O.D. sides. They had wire mesh in the soles to protect feet from punji stakes (which is why you see the stakes at an angle to penetrate above the boot). There were also two small round vent holes by the arch covered with a wire mesh meant to ventilate and let water out. All they really did was let water in and your soaked socks would keep nice and moist. Mama sans (hootch maids, who were contracted by the military to wash clothes and clean our hootches) would 'polish' our boots with black boot polish. Never came out shiny; always a mat black. But this had the advantage of filing in the vent so our boots became a little drier. The green canvas on the sides would gradually change to a pale green then a tan color over the space of a month. I don't know if it was the dust or sun or humidity or a combination of all. I just remember getting a new pair halfway thru my tour and noticing how quickly they deteriorated. Some mama sans would put black polish over the entire boot, including the canvas. This had the effect of making the boot look like 'stateside' boots. The toes were always scuffed. Kind of a tan looking color, maybe leather. Some soldiers thought that stateside boots would be better and had family send them a pair or two. They would barely last a month before they disintegrated (soles would come loose, the sewing would rot out and the sides would start flopping around).
Pants blousing: See how the pants end nicely st the top of the boots? We used a device called a 'blousing rubber'. I looked like a small bungie cord. You would fasten the two hooks together around the top of your boot, but on your leg. Then you would tuck your trousers up under it. We hated them. They would cut off circulation and leave a red ring around your lower leg. However, the military wanted its troops to look handsome and neat, so you had to have your pants above your boots. Plus it was practical: you didn't want 'things' crawling up your leg!
Usually we would just tuck our pants into the boots. Different commanders had SOP on this so you had to do what ever he said. I tucked…

Flak Jackets: You received a basic uniform issue stateside:5 sets of everything (I think). All under clothes were green! Yep, green t-shirts (v-neck, I believe), underwear, towels, socks, handkerchiefs, etc.
Combat gear was received over there. Flak jackets (I don't remember calling them vests) were handed down. If someone died or rotated back to 'the World', the jacket went back into inventory to be reissued. Therefore, they were quite worn and faded. Usually a tan color.
Now, entire units coming to 'the Nam', like an entire reserve battalion, might have been issued a new jacket before leaving the states. These would have been green and therefore green for the entire unit. But units that had been over there for a while, like the 101st, could see a mix of shades.
I think that this is one of the reasons that the B&W pics look more 'real' to my remaining eye.

cheers and hope that I have not stolen your fine looking thread.

Oh, and truck drivers usually didn't wear them; they sat on them. Gotta protect the vital organs,,,

Deadhead, thanks for the photos. Fantastic!

d88mm1940, Thanks for the insight and for your service.

You're welcome.
My wife was just saying today that all of the WW2 vets are pretty much gone. We won't have a chance to talk to them about the little details that really ran a war.
So I thought that I could give some insight on the little stuff before all of us old Viet Nam vets are gone too.

That kind of input is simply marvellous. Thanks so much for sharing that with us. The brass eyelets are the daftest idea. Mine indeed just let water in.

My Altama US Marine issue Boots were far better. Until I wore them in the snow in Red Square in February at -23C. They both cracked right across the soles, full depth, after a half hour!

d99mm1940 thanks for the fascinating detail
wonderful intricate information

regards
Ged
gringo40s.com
gringo40s.blogspot.com

dman88mm +1