Neil's 1-35 Liberty Ship Diorama

[Neil Merryweather]

Just a quickie from me.
I’ve assembled the second batch of six GIs- I calculate that I need at least 18 guys along the covered bit before I can nail it down and carry on with the next stage of the ship.
Much as I hated them I decided to use up the remaining Italeri torsos, and also the Italeri arms and hands where they are not really visible behind the bulwark. This time I’ve used some rather nice Hornet heads.
I have researched the make-up of the standard infantry company and of course most of them are riflemen, so they will predominate, but I want some variety so here we have just nos 1& 2 who are riflemen.


3 & 4 are a 30cal gunner and ammo carrier with packboards ( there should be two carriers, an assistant gunner and a corporal as squad leader,so I might do them later) ,and 5& 6 are medics (are they called Corpsmen in the Army-or is that just in the Marines?)with their own particular type of kit and a stretcher.
And here’s their kit already drawn from the QM


So the next stage will be filling in the gaps with MagicSculpt, so that will be the next instalment.
Thanks as always for the encouragement and comments
Cheers
Neil

[Neil Merryweather]

I’m afraid it’s been a couple of months since my last ‘confession’, due to domestic responsibilities followed by a nice little private commission. I wasn’t intending to have a break from this but SWMBO decided I needed one - or more to the point, she wanted stuff done. And after a couple of weeks of that I got an unexpected request for an architectural model - which was a real breath of fresh air, actually (I can’t share it, unfortunately). Oh, and in the middle of that I had a week touring the Normandy beaches and museums with my son and grandson, which was thoroughly awesome.
I’m back at the bench now and raring to go, but I don’t know how long I'll get away with it; I can sense the household the jobs stacking up....
I’m actually gagging to do some painting, would you believe, but I’m restraining myself until these six are ready. And I might even allow myself something Napoleonic when I do...
I have made some progress in the meantime but I just didn’t have the opportunity to report in.
MagicSculpt and Green Stuff have been applied , and kit has been attached to some
Here are the first two
GI no 1







His pack and respirator will be painted separately ,as will his rifle in its cover, but he’s mostly done

The same applies to GI no 2






So that’s where I am at the moment, next up are GIs 3&4, the .30cal team.
Thanks for still being interested
Cheers
Neil

[spanner570]

Still being interested?
It's been far too long waiting for the next update.

Top work Neil, and great to see the build up and running once more.

Ron

[Jim R]

Figures look great. The Hornet heads make a huge difference. Excellent sculpting/modifying.

[minitnkr]

Excellent figure work. U r correct, USMC Corpsman, US Army Medic. MG teams normally w/HW Pltn. Same w/Bazooka team. Squad BAR team=shooter & ammo carrier/asst.
These rules don't apply to Armored Infantry as they were not issued BARs, but had halftrack issued MGs & bazookas to dismount. Normal US infantry, once bloodied, would sometimes trade or steal what they needed to be more mission effective. Usually bazookas & rockets off of unattended vehicles that were issued them, or Burp guns (great for 'close work')from armor. Stretcher bearers w/Med. units usually attached at Battalion level. Your model, your rules, just my $.02 w/1st cuppa.

[Neil Merryweather]

Excellent figure work. U r correct, USMC Corpsman, US Army Medic. MG teams normally w/HW Pltn. Same w/Bazooka team. Squad BAR team=shooter & ammo carrier/asst.
These rules don't apply to Armored Infantry as they were not issued BARs, but had halftrack issued MGs & bazookas to dismount. Normal US infantry, once bloodied, would sometimes trade or steal what they needed to be more mission effective. Usually bazookas & rockets off of unattended vehicles that were issued them, or Burp guns (great for 'close work')from armor. Stretcher bearers w/Med. units usually attached at Battalion level. Your model, your rules, just my $.02 w/1st cuppa.

Thanks Paul, as I suspected, I'm condensing and conflating the composition of an actual Higgins boat for the sake of artistic license- in this case giving a bit more to look at, PLUS for myself a lot more interesting stuff to model. I'm already struggling with the limited variation of standing still poses, and I've only got to number 12!

[Neil Merryweather]

Still being interested?
It's been far too long waiting for the next update.

Top work Neil, and great to see the build up and running once more.

Ron

Too kind Ron

[Neil Merryweather]

Figures look great. The Hornet heads make a huge difference. Excellent sculpting/modifying.

Thanks Jim, the Hornet heads are good, but I kind of miss the ugly ducklings

[Neil Merryweather]

I’ve finished the next four GIs, so all six are now ready for priming - and painting, YAY!
GIs 3&4, the .30cal team, both have 3D printed packboards which I originally created for the Iwo Jima project-(oops, remember that?) and they have their packs strapped on top of the gun and ammo respectively.
here’s the inspiration



GI no 3, .30cal gunner




Oops, he’s lost his cigarette. And he’s not drunk, he’s leaning over the side. And the clunky detail of his buttons will be covered by his respirator .

GI no 4 loader/assistant gunner





I’ll be adding rope etc after I’ve painted all their kit.

And then we have the medics, GIs 5 & 6
They have the medics’ specific webbing pouches underneath their packs etc




GI no 5. He’s holding a folded stretcher, and his pack etc will be painted separately


GI no 6


I’m not sure about his neck, but it might be just the camera angle.

Now we have to see how they look with primer.
Thanks for following
Neil

[scottie3158]

Those figures look great.

[flyjoe180]

Fantastic work going on here Neil

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Lovely work Neil. They are going to look stunning when painted up.

[rtfoe]

Really nice figure work Neil. All kitted up and ready for action... I mean paint.

Cheers,
Wabble

[Neil Merryweather]

Thanks everyone.
I am relieved to say they look ok with the primer on

[Jim R]

Better than OK. A lot of work has gone into those figures and it was all worth while.