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Show some imagination.....please!


Sabrejet
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Some years ago I was selling some US uniforms at Beltring. A reenactor came along wanting a set of enlisted Class As so he could attend the big "Hangar Dance". He was young, tall and slim. The perfect build for the mainly small-sized WW2 uniforms which have survived. I found him a nice 4-pocket jacket and mustard pants. He went into my tent to try them on...they fit him like they were made to measure! However....he declined to buy them on the basis that the jacket and pants were different shades! He wanted them to match like a suit. I explained that it wasn't done that way but it fell upon deaf ears! :o

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Some years ago I was selling some US uniforms at Beltring. A reenactor came along wanting a set of enlisted Class As so he could attend the big "Hangar Dance". He was young, tall and slim. The perfect build for the mainly small-sized WW2 uniforms which have survived. I found him a nice 4-pocket jacket and mustard pants. He went into my tent to try them on...they fit him like they were made to measure! However....he declined to buy them on the basis that the jacket and pants were different shades! He wanted them to match like a suit. I explained that it wasn't done that way but it fell upon deaf ears! :o

 

You go on the other forum?

 

Well, a couple of years ago, I remember reading about a chap who had actually managed to get hold of an original M41, and guess wot, he was like "it's too new, how can i age it"... I kid you not!!

 

Another thing which I like to get annoyed about (but really, I just laugh and poke fun at) is those chappies who wear their 1940s uniforms like they did whilst in a 1970/80s army, ye know, hat resting on their eyebrowse and those dangly wangly things round their legs to hold up their trousers, blousers I think they call them - And yep, I know later in the War the Airborne done it, but you look at the photos of the old sweats and ye won't see it, and besides, it was done wi rubbers, not British Army dangly things... And I dunno if the straight legs used them in any case... Ohh, and they crowbar in every excuse to wear those gucci jumpboots!

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That explains it then! Re the 101st thing and harking back to my original post, your group are an object lesson as to how it should be done... attention to detail right across the board. I was referring to the army of "506ers" who seem to parade around most British shows these days simply as a pose...you must have seen them yourself on many occasions? That's why I referred to the likes of your group as "bona fide reenactors" as opposed to the "wannabes"...there's a world of difference b' twixt the two!!

 

 

Yes Ian, I have seen them, we have a chuckle and carry on with what we are doing. We don’t get it right all the time though! It’s a learning curve and we are always learning from those who know more than what we do, however we like to think each time we get a little better at what we do, where as others don’t and some even go backwards.

 

Many who spout on how good they are often forget it was not that long ago they were not. I would hate to embarrass anyone in particular, but I have run shows and some who today think the sun shines out their arse have been to those shows I have run and displayed and I have the pictures to prove that perhaps they have not always been that great.

 

Ian I support all you have written mate and it is defiantly a lack of imagination with some people, but I believe horses for courses and it’s up to the individual and group to set their own standards, I cannot do anything to change that, unless they join our group and then!, well let’s say they had better change if need be or goodbye.

 

There are of course a lot of people who say they are Living Historians who are no longer very active who seem to have a lot to say about what is good and what is bad. These I feel are worse than those having a go regardless of their standards. Nothing worse in fact than an armchair re enactor, apart from an armchair general perhaps.

 

Great thread Ian

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PM sent Ian Look forward to touching base and having a chat over a beer in France.

 

Regards

Lee

 

 

Roger that Lee...thanks! :thumbsup:

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willysmb44
I have never had anything stolen. For awhile I had a resin and fiberglass mock up of a 1919a4 on my GPW. At an event I turned my head to talk to another group member and I turn around just in time to see some guy loosen pintle mount, grab the grip of the 1919, turn it, and pull the trigger.... needless to say he broke the trigger off a very well done replica. And he thought it was funny. But not only did he touch what he should not have been touching, IT WAS A "MACHINE GUN" WITH A BELT OF AMMO HANGING OUT OF IT!!!! He obviously thought it was real enough to touch and turn it... yes all the ammo was dummy.... But did he know that? Did he know the thing was totally fake?? He "pulled the trigger" on what looked like a live and loaded weapon. That was a great conversation that followed.

I remember that well. In my mind, the fact that he did it wasn't what ticked me off, it was the attitude he had after you called him on it (and folks, Jordan didn't raise nearly the stink over it that I would have), that oxygen thief really thought that YOU were to blame for that trigger snapping off! What a jerk...

There was a former Army MP standing with us at the time and he started yelling out insults to the guy. I still chuckle over that...

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strayduck230
Thanks for that. As you are well aware, it's firearms which tend to attract the most attention. Here in the UK they are all deactivated by law, so there are no safety issues as with "live" weapons. About ten years ago I did an infantryman display and my M1 rifle was laid across the table with clearly printed "Do Not Touch" signs strategically placed....and yet seems like everyone who came close reached out to touch it...especially kids! Anyway, at the end of the day, as I was packing it all away, I noticed that the cocking lever had jumped its track and had jammed solid!! It's one of those things which you couldn't do even if you tried...but during the course of the day, somehow someone had!! However, I have a WW2 FM for the M1 so when I got home I stripped it down and was thankfully able to put the lever back in its track. Lesson learned!! :w00t:

 

One guy in Lee's and my group (Pete L.) had his SP1 (first civilian colt AR15) on display and a guy came and picked it up and started breaking it down. Don't touch signs are invisible sometimes. Especially with weapons. For my outdoor displays, I set up a rope so that people can see everything, but they are far enough away that they can't touch. If they want a closer look, I will pick the item up to show and explain.

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One guy in Lee's and my group (Pete L.) had his SP1 (first civilian colt AR15) on display and a guy came and picked it up and started breaking it down. Don't touch signs are invisible sometimes. Especially with weapons. For my outdoor displays, I set up a rope so that people can see everything, but they are far enough away that they can't touch. If they want a closer look, I will pick the item up to show and explain.

 

 

Maybe I should try some reverse psychology and make up some FEEL FREE TO HANDLE ANYTHING signs! :thumbsup:

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willysmb44
One guy in Lee's and my group (Pete L.) had his SP1 (first civilian colt AR15) on display and a guy came and picked it up and started breaking it down. Don't touch signs are invisible sometimes. Especially with weapons. For my outdoor displays, I set up a rope so that people can see everything, but they are far enough away that they can't touch. If they want a closer look, I will pick the item up to show and explain.
I think the whole, "crazy people you meet at events" is well outside the scope of the intial thread here about 'shake and bake 506' impressions and was best covered here. Case in point from my very first post on that thread and how it related to Jordan's post:
  • The ROTC cadet who has to show off his skills because his friends are sick of watching demonstrations of low crawling or how to disassemble an M-16.

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strayduck230
Just to take this very interesting discussion along in a slightly different direction, I shall be doing a static display next month as part of an event to commemorate the presence of US troops in my area in WW2. My theme will be the 2nd ID as they were one of the principal units based here before shipping out for D-Day.

 

http://barryatwar.info/our-next-event/882-2/

 

I haven't set up such a display for a number of years now so I'm busy planning what to take and how to best display it. I recently had a meeting with one of the organisers who told me that their main consideration was the security of my display, given the potential value of the items. I know, from past experience how "on the ball" one has to be when surrounded by curious members of the public, especially when "Please do not touch" signs are studiously ignored! I just wondered if anyone has ever had items actually stolen or damaged in this way. Apart from obvious things like vigilance, do you have any tips to pass on? Thanks!

 

post-8022-1336715810.jpgpost-8022-1336715821.jpg

 

 

This is when the discussion shifted a bit.... But all has been enjoyable! :thumbsup:

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mpguy80/08
One guy in Lee's and my group (Pete L.) had his SP1 (first civilian colt AR15) on display and a guy came and picked it up and started breaking it down. Don't touch signs are invisible sometimes. Especially with weapons. For my outdoor displays, I set up a rope so that people can see everything, but they are far enough away that they can't touch. If they want a closer look, I will pick the item up to show and explain.

 

I did the same thing last year at the DAyton Airshow. BIG sign says: PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE DISPLAY ITEMS Still, it seemed like everyone and their cousin wanted to finger everything. You would think that the kids would have been the worst but it was the adults! I had one guy pick up one of my Demo TNT blocks, which are wrapped in brown craft paper similar to a paper bag. Keep in mind its 110 degrees farenheit and I'm handling the stuff with a a rag to keep the sweat off the paper. So he picks up the block and I ask him to please not touch the display items. He got offended!!! He asked why I would be so rude. I bit my tongue... and calmly explained that if all of the 10,000 people who came through the booth that weekend or even just a small portion of them picked up even just that one block, the sweat on their hands would ruin it. He looked kind of sheepish and said, "Oh." and walked away.

 

This year I'm changing things a little bit. I'm re-wrapping my demo blocks with more realistic looking wrappings and then sealing them with a clear satin finish sealer to protect them. For the weapons, which look oh so tempting to pick up sitting on the table, I've build a display rack which will sit behind the main display table, close enough to see but not close enough to touch. Live and learn eh?

 

Wayne

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Just 47? He's a youngster! :lol: Seriously though, good luck to him. Here in the UK Health & Safety legislation is a major consideration...as much to protect organisations from potential litigation as it is the individual. So, would this fellow be expected to sign some kind of disclaimer due to his relatively "advanced" age...or would he just face a much more rigorous health-check than a 21 year old?

 

I don't know exactly how it works, but he went through more than a few physicals. He had to lose quite a bit of weight. He looked good because he lifts weights, but something about the height, weight, age....... whatever. So he crash dieted and increased his running. Then he had to get a waiver for his eyes. Not bad, but he wears glasses. He got through that.

 

I should add that he was a diver in the Navy and wanted to get back into that, but they wouldn't take him back in that capacity. That was when he hooked up with one of our officers who is a Warrant in the Army and in SF. So, if all goes well, he will be in that unit.

 

I can tell you that he worked hard, but at 47?? I'm wondering what will happen if he gets through basic, but fails jump school?

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Great pics and impressions as usual Lee...but they aren't at "public" shows...are they? Looks more like private manoeuvres? I probably get to four of five events per year, the two "biggies" (W&P and Miltary Odyssey) plus Stoneleigh and Malvern maybe? So, admittedly I don't get to see everything that's going on out there, but there are certain scenarios which are less commonly done...know what I mean? Though I accept that someone will probably say they did a Pearl Harbor impression or Operation Varsity etc. I can only speak as I find! Anyway, the thread has thrown up a lot of interesting ideas and opinions which is great! Thanks for adding your archive pics.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...howtopic=143464

 

This is one of the few private events we do Ian, it is the 101st Airborne, but I guess it could be any unit, the subject matter for the training was much the same regardless of the unit represented. We have new younger guys coming into the group and they have come in through the only unit they seem to know and have the kit for, Easy 506th, we hope to change that and open the hobby up to them.

 

Regards to all

Lee

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:lol: You're not kidding! Standing in line for coffee is rather like being at the Warner Bros commissary. Ahead of you there'll be a couple of Roman Legionaries, a Johnny Reb, an SS Panzergrenadier, Naploeon Bonaparte, the entire 506th and a Tommy or two! As for the men's room....have you ever stood alongside Adolf Hitler?! :w00t:
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To get the thread back on track again, I thought I'd post the link below to give our (mainly) North American members an insight into the broad range of living history groups which exist within the UK. Enjoy! :thumbsup:

 

https://www.military-odyssey.com/index.php?...iw=251&iz=0

 

Too big, good for shopping, and looking, but display too much... We go for the smaller shows like:

 

http://www.twinwoodevents.com/

 

http://www.wwiireenacting.co.uk/forum/view...104&t=71911

 

http://www.wwiireenacting.co.uk/forum/view...104&t=70972

 

Where we (the FSSF - UK) are based, and it doesn't stop there, as some of the guys in the group are also volunteers in the day to day activities which take place there, ye see, they have a programme where kids from schools visit daily and take part in the "40s experience" and there is a 40s house mock up, military museum, "dig for victory" garden, Blitz Building, 40s schoolhouse, and much more... Then there's the Open Day on the last sunday of every month, plus on a weekend they meet up and train, doing nite patrols in the woods and stuff, it pretty much takes up all of their time... Ohh, and I forgot the charity walk in a couple of weeks time..

 

So really, it leaves very little for events as it is, and ye won't hear them shouting about it, but they do sterling work there providing a wonderful and educational experience for disadvantaged children, and also, for example on the open days, where veterans of WWII and other periods volunteer and give talks and presentations, we also find some older people who where either in the Services, or children during the War come and visit to go down memory lane and we've found they come back, time and time again...

http://www.lincolnsfields.co.uk/

 

I live in Scotland now, so 400 miles away and over $11 a gallon for fuel, it's not feasable for a little jaunt for the day :crying: and with my other, new activities taking up most of my time (like playing on my Harley, building a 1956 Triumph chop, and looking at other periods like ACW, Medieval and Jacobean and of course self employment). But I've been looking to see what events are in Scotland... I've also briefly lived on the battle site, so dunno if that was a bad or good thing, as afterwards the appeal of sitting in "a little field in england" just seemed watered down and not the same as the "real thing", which kind of makes me an armchair re-enactor, ye know, like those guys in the Army who've never left their barracks or the parade ground...

 

Anyway, where where we?..."re-enacting", I guess the out the box stuff is all very good and fine, but I think we should actually be asking "what is re-enacitng, and what am I doing"? Ye see, in the UK forum, it's been discussed time and time again, and the conclusion I think we're coming to is sitting in the little field in england, or marching up and down that field, or running around firing a little bang bang is not "re-enacting" anything in particular, maybe a bit of should searching is needed, and for myself, I've done just about everything there could be done other than going back in time, I've sat in embassies, have met presidents, and slept in foxholes on the actual battle sites and got soaked thru in my "re-enacting" activities, so what else is there to do? ... Time out I guess and be an armchair general it seems... :think:

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Britain's "Ermine Street Guard"...arguably the finest of all the educational reenactment groups!

 

 

post-8022-1336984846.jpg

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