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101st Airborne Division in The Bois Jacques


ArtyScout
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Hey All, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'm in the process of creating a wood project for my daughter's birthday and I was also trying to figure out what to do next. Then it hit me. After watching some "Band of Brothers" and doing some research on the area. I decided to do the Bois Jacques. I've been using old Tamiya soldiers and parts along with MiniCraft and Dragon figures. I also took a page out Dennis' (Old Marine) playbook by obtaining some Hornet heads. Basically the figures are done and I know that some of the figures are wearing their gaiters, which the 101st didn't wear, but I don't have the extensive repertoire of figures like 'Old Marine'. lol. So I have to use what I have. The figures have their division patches and ranks but I'm waiting on the helmet insignias which I should get by tomorrow. Which is why a lot of them do not have their helmets on, yet. The figures have received their weathering and highlighting and I'll tweak what needs to be tweaked later. I've started the base and I'm in the process of making the foxholes. The toothpicks are to mark where I'll be putting the trees. I'm thinking of just putting sporadically the lower branches of the trees on some of them so as to not block out the base and figures. I hope you like these WIP pics and as always all comments and critiques will be greatly appreciated.

P.S. The figures with helmets on are the Hornet heads.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

 

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Your biggest issue will be the infantry leggings that airborne did NOT wear. by Bastogne even the Glider riders wore the double buckle combat boot as normal footwear

 

You could make trouser cuffs using putty to cover them

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Great to see that you are starting another project! Very nice paintwork so far, can´t wait to see how you´ll do the trees.

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On 12/6/2022 at 8:59 PM, Linedoggie said:

Your biggest issue will be the infantry leggings that airborne did NOT wear. by Bastogne even the Glider riders wore the double buckle combat boot as normal footwear

 

You could make trouser cuffs using putty to cover them

Linedoggie, you are so correct. I guess I'll be going to the putty. I'll experiment on scrap leggings first. 😄 Lars, as for the trees, I've already decided NOT to do the entire trees but I will add the lower foliage on some of them. Since I don't want to cover up the diorama. Wish me luck.👍🏼

 

Semper Fi. 

 

Manny

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I know the leggings thing has been beat to death, so won't go there, but one critique that I would make is that any of the airborne trousers that have cargo pockets on them should have the pockets painted in a totally different shade of green. New pockets were a very dark color, but the color bled out fairly quickly (depending on the amount of laundering) to a grey color. I would tell you that painting the cargo pockets a different color will lend a lot of authenticity to the project.

 

Allan

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2 hours ago, Allan H. said:

I know the leggings thing has been beat to death, so won't go there, but one critique that I would make is that any of the airborne trousers that have cargo pockets on them should have the pockets painted in a totally different shade of green. New pockets were a very dark color, but the color bled out fairly quickly (depending on the amount of laundering) to a grey color. I would tell you that painting the cargo pockets a different color will lend a lot of authenticity to the project.

 

Allan

Thank you Allan. Luckily, only one of my figures has cargo pockets. So a dry brushing of Lt. Grey will probably take care of that. The puttying has already begun, now shaping and painting. My helmet insignias are next, then concentrate on the base. BTW Teufelhund, thanks for the pics of the woods and the monument. 

 

Semper Fi. 

 

Manny

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Hello all. Well, I was able to putty the infantry pants longer, scrape off any leggings and paint and weather the figures. I was quite happy with how they came out.

I've been adding the helmet insignias, but it looks like I'll need some more insignias. While I await their arrival I'll continue with the base and I'll post some more WIP pics as I go along.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

 

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Hey All. As I wait for helmet insignias to arrive, I continued with my base. I painted my foxhole dirt and trees, and they'll get their tweaking soon. I'll be laying down some ground foliage but most of the base will have a snow effect. As I mentioned before, I'm not doing complete trees so as to not take away from the base. Well as always, all comments and critiques are greatly appreciated. Happy Holidays!

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

 

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2 hours ago, Proud Kraut said:

It´s coming along nicely! May I ask what are those colors in the background of your last photo?

Hi Lars. Yes those colors are Burnt Umber & Neutral Gray by Americana Acrylic Paints. I use that company's paints on groundwork so as to save my Tamiya and Model Master paints for my figures and vehicles.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey fellas; Happy New Years to all.

First of all, I finally finished the figures. Now that the holidays are over, I can concentrate on this diorama. I've started putting some figures in their places and the toothpicks show where the figures and the trees will be placed. But I am at a crossroads. I'm trying to decide if I want to add the lower tree foliage to my dio. I'm posting my scratchbuilt trees, so you have an idea what I'm doing. I like how the trunks came out but I'm a little apprehensive about the foliage. I feel like the groundwork came out just like how I wanted, and it will get a 2nd coating of snow, also the small fir tree is staying. Like always your comments and critiques are greatly appreciated.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

 

 

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These foxholes aren´t shell craters, right? So I would vote for 2 - 3 trees more at a minmum. Great work so far, Manny.

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No Lars, these are regular foxholes, not shell craters. I'm going to work it with the trees I have since the I don't want to clutter the scene. I have an idea on how I'm doing the trees, and yes I'll make them partial. Thanks for the input. Wish me luck.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

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The other thing you have to remember about mortars and trees- You do NOT want to deploy your mortars among the trees! You might have them on the edge of the tree line, but you don't want them anywhere near where the mortars will be traveling. 

 

Allan

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1 hour ago, Allan H. said:

The other thing you have to remember about mortars and trees- You do NOT want to deploy your mortars among the trees! You might have them on the edge of the tree line, but you don't want them anywhere near where the mortars will be traveling. 

 

Allan

Thank you Allan. You are so correct, but I've considered that and yes this is the edge of the treeline. The Bois Jacques was like that in which the treeline ended abruptly, but I also need to afford my mortar pit some concealability and protection from prying binocular eyes. LOL.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

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Hey everyone! Well, I finally finished another one. I thought I needed more trees than I actually used. Which worked out OK. I scratch built two trees which I was very happy with. The diorama is a rendition of the 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division as they respond to the sound of armor and vehicles as they're about to emerge from the other treeline. There are plenty of photos, so enjoy and as always, all comments and critiques are greatly appreciated. 

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

 

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I love the bitter cold atmosphere of the dio together with the foto background; a perfect winter setting. The trees came out fantastic. Many amazing details including uniform insignia etc. You did a great job, Manny!

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