Cerick,   While I may be a "new member" here, I have been a long-time reader.  These guys know way more than I do.  Iron bender, great info.  While not a "3 bander" this Ole Gal came out of an attic near here a couple of years ago.  While I stopped collecting years ago, I couldn't leave her behind.  Ohio marked 1854 Lorenz.  Thought you might enjoy seeing it.     OD    

AGAIN,, THANKS FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE! I FEEL BAD, IT HAS BEEN BID UP KIND OF HIGH $1150.OO RIGHT NOW. 

I must be sheltered; it took me a while to realize the issue with searching " inflatable mannequin" !!!  And NO, I didn't try it!!   Lance

I'm trying to learn about this patch. I think it's US made, WW II era, but there doesn't seem to be nearly as much info out there as I found for my 101st Abn patch. Any help with date & origin would be appreciated. 

Looks like some kind of drapery tassel perhaps.  Doesn't look like a sword knot from any countries I'm aware of (which is not all of them I'm sure).   Lance        

Good evening everyone, I have been collecting USMC uniforms and helmets for a couple years now and am looking to expand my knowledge base. What are some good reference books for USMC collecting? Although I am primarily focused on uniforms (alphas and blues) and helmets, I still would like to learn more about gear, equipment, uniforms, helmets, decorations, etc. I have also read a lot of books on various campaigns and units and would love recommendations for more detailed orders of battle and histories/reference books.    Thanks!

I looked at information in the book "Civil War Cartridge boxes of the Union Infantryman".  by paul Johnson. and he says the following.: Box Plate --3.5" x 2.2" with the eyes on the reverse at 2.5 inches apart.  That matches nearly right on.  The eye separation is at 2.5 inches on the rear. Belt plate- Circular 2.5 " with the eyes at 2" apart.  Again that looks fairly good, with the eye separation dead on... Interesting.  I love this investigation work.  No matter whatthis is,, I learn about an area I am not familar with. Thank you all for the help. 

opps make  mistake in posting

Panel lines filled in with a black oil waah then rubbed off with a soft paper towel. 

I decided that my ground troops needed some close air support so I am building an A4C Skyhawk. This is a tribute to my dad, who flew the A4, A7E Corsair II, and the S3 Viking in the US Navy.  I found some decals on eBay for the A4B with the squadron insignias for Attack Squadron 83, aka The Rampagers, my dad’s attack squadron. The ship is not the same, as he flew on The Kennedy, but I figured it’s close enough. I attached some photos of my dad on his first cruise in 1969, when he was 24. Even now he can’t believe the Navy let a 24-year old fly that jet. I told him the decals were for the B model and he told me that a friend of his that he learned to fly A4s with went to a B squadron and he went to a C squadron.  Apparently, The USS Shangri-La was so small and the instrument panel on the B model was so bad that the new guys were not allowed to land the A4B at night on the Shangri-La! The A4 was my dad’s favorite plane. I haven’t build an aircraft in awhile but I am putting some figure painting tricks to good use like oil washes to fill in panel lines and create some grime and hydraulic fluid on the wings and undercarriage.   The A4 I got from Hobby Boss didn’t come with a pilot so I had to order some.  After building some helos I have determined that a fast-mover has fewer parts and should be an easier build.   I love this era of aviation. This was truly the golden era of jet aviation. The technology was just so that it provided significant challenges to the aircrews and really required them to be the best. The aircraft had beautiful full-color markings and the danger was very real.  It also cost more to train a pilot than it did to build an aircraft. There was no doubt that the value of the aviator and his skills far surpassed the cost of the airframes.