Obee
Captain
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2009
- Messages
- 5,967
When the new 106mm Recoilless Rifle set( VN089) was recently released, Howard immediately wanted a couple of these weapons for close order defence of his forthcoming Vietnam Firebase diorama. Unfortunately the only crew made for them is USMC (VN016 Loader) and no gun commander.
He knew that the Aussies did wear flak jackets and tin hats on the bases, so a conversion from USMC to Digger was possible, so he asked me if I could repaint of boots to black , repaint the helmets to Jungle Green and remove the small back pouch, leaving the two water bottles. He also wanted the same job done for a commander, using VN014 to complete the team.
The big problem was sourcing a suitable layer of the Rifle ...... because we needed a seated figure to operate the hand wheels and sight the weapon. He suggest one of the seated digger from the M113 tank riders set VN062, BUT in one hand he held his 'trusty SLR' while in the other was a water bottle!
I said I'd 'give it a go' and so a box arrived here last with a couple of guns and crews AND he also wanted 2 x Battle of Bulge trailers (cover in mud and snow!) repainted green and dusted with Vietnam mud maybe to be towed by the new LandRover? Also there was a USN crewman from a D-Day Landing craft who needed to be changed to a RAN Lading Craft from HMAS Sydney which ferried equipment ashore at Vung Tao.
First task of conversion from USMC to OZ was easy because the back pouch was a plug-in so easy to cut off and fill before repainting.
Another task was the changing side of the elevation hand wheel which as incorrectly positioned on this particular weapon ( it was correct for Israeli version IDF017)
The complex task was the removal of the SLR and the water bottle out of the hands of the digger, which were cut off using wire clippers, then the metal within the clasped hands was drilled out, and then flied to suit. Both arms then needed some 'gentle persuasion' to be bent so that the right hand operated the elevation wheel, and the left hand to adjusting the sight. When he was then fitted, the paintwork was matched and we now had a the layer completed.
This is a completed lot for Howard, showing a trailer and the sailor.
I'm sure that now these figures and equipment will add to atmosphere of the Firebase diorama and hopefully in the New year we can all see it come to fruition and take pride of place in Howard's collection.
John
He knew that the Aussies did wear flak jackets and tin hats on the bases, so a conversion from USMC to Digger was possible, so he asked me if I could repaint of boots to black , repaint the helmets to Jungle Green and remove the small back pouch, leaving the two water bottles. He also wanted the same job done for a commander, using VN014 to complete the team.
The big problem was sourcing a suitable layer of the Rifle ...... because we needed a seated figure to operate the hand wheels and sight the weapon. He suggest one of the seated digger from the M113 tank riders set VN062, BUT in one hand he held his 'trusty SLR' while in the other was a water bottle!
I said I'd 'give it a go' and so a box arrived here last with a couple of guns and crews AND he also wanted 2 x Battle of Bulge trailers (cover in mud and snow!) repainted green and dusted with Vietnam mud maybe to be towed by the new LandRover? Also there was a USN crewman from a D-Day Landing craft who needed to be changed to a RAN Lading Craft from HMAS Sydney which ferried equipment ashore at Vung Tao.
First task of conversion from USMC to OZ was easy because the back pouch was a plug-in so easy to cut off and fill before repainting.
Another task was the changing side of the elevation hand wheel which as incorrectly positioned on this particular weapon ( it was correct for Israeli version IDF017)
The complex task was the removal of the SLR and the water bottle out of the hands of the digger, which were cut off using wire clippers, then the metal within the clasped hands was drilled out, and then flied to suit. Both arms then needed some 'gentle persuasion' to be bent so that the right hand operated the elevation wheel, and the left hand to adjusting the sight. When he was then fitted, the paintwork was matched and we now had a the layer completed.
This is a completed lot for Howard, showing a trailer and the sailor.
I'm sure that now these figures and equipment will add to atmosphere of the Firebase diorama and hopefully in the New year we can all see it come to fruition and take pride of place in Howard's collection.
John
