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Reenactments at "War & Peace Revival, 2014"


Sabrejet
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If you're reading this the chances are that you've already viewed my other "W&P" thread, in which case you will already have some idea of the massive scale of this annual event. Apart from the hundreds of vintage military vehicles which are in attendance, their owners, crews and associations go to great lengths to create authentic encampments and living history dioramas in which to display their vehicles and equipment. Some of the structures which they design, build, transport and erect themselves are very impressive and highly detailed, being like 1:1 construction kits! The most basic unit is, of course, the OD tent, hundreds of which cover the show ground. However, these are punctuated by full-blown encampments as you will see from the accompanying pics.

 

The show is really a reenacter's paradise. The very large trade village contained many very well-stocked repro-gear sellers. The way the hobby is going, these are gradually becoming a majority which in some ways, to we purists, is very sad to see. There is now almost nothing "GI" that can't be bought as a repro...everything from a packet of Luck Strikes to a full-blown, camo'd, reenforced jump-suit...and everything else in between! I even saw a very well-made jumpsuit for sale for a 5-7 year old child! It's not just WW2 either...the same applies to VN gear. For example, I saw what I thought was a '69 flak vest in good shape. Wrong! When I picked it up it was evidently a commercial repro. The nylon shell was correct but the whole thing weighed next to nothing because the "armor" panels were created with some kind of lightweight expanded foam. Great if you're a VN reenacter because it means not having to wear a hot and heavy original vest all day long!

 

Anyway...collector's gripes aside, the availability of such repros does enable reenacters to look the part...whether paratroopers, grunts, Tommies or SS, so I suppose that in itself is a bonus?

 

I'll add some pics of some of the dioramas here, plus a few of the "personalities" and, to begin with, a few panoramas which will help give a sense of the scale of the event. It'll take a while to upload all of the images so please bear with me!

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British Home-Front. A row of reconstructed period shops and businesses full of original artefacts.

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