Thanks for the kind words, Mike. I am pretty pleased how this one turned out. Of course, I had to add one of my cats to the scene as I like to do stuff like that. 
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That is a heck of a way to to arrive to a work site, Wayne. I bet the pucker factor was high after that announcement.
Was the runway made out of the same planking that I used on this diorama? If so, this scene would be quite doable. Royal Models has a couple of figures of welders that I could convert into US Engineers. I would need to know what the damage may have looked like and the process that ya’ll used to perform the repair work. I could probably show a part that was still damaged and parts that were fixed. The creative juices are flowing…
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Absolutely gorgeous work!
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I would have to dig out my pictures, but it seemed like it was the older PSP matting. We were repairing bent, or missing pieces and filling in washed out places to make it usable for the C 130s in case they had to evacuate in a hurry. We would cut out a piece, fill and pack down the dirt, and weld the patch back in. We were only about 15 or 20 miles from Kontum which was under siege at the time, so they were nervous.Most of the civilian contract workers weren’t coming in, so we ended up doing their jobs. I ended up on the fire truck crew. Another crazy story for another time. Wayne
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Outstanding build, brilliantly rendered, 
.
G, 
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Thank you. It was a fun one.
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Just found this thread. James, I am speechless; been reading everyone’s praise and all I can say is CONCUR!
Do you use oil, enamel or acrylic??? I’d love to see a brief tutorial of your painting style.
Thank you for this awesome thread,
Fred
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Fred & I seem to share the same hibernation cycle (I do not get how I missed this, I mean look at my frigging callsign!!), and worse he just wrote what I was about to. All I can add is this – most of us afflicted with diorama-itis depend to a large extent on inanimate objects to tell the story, and try to get away with as few figures as possible because…well it’s hard right?
But not you, jeez this is a 90% figure-driven dio/vignette/whatever – magnificent, totally convincing & believable, and ultimately quite moving as a perfect representation of powerful memories of a bygone time. 
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Seabees laying down matting at the Chu Lai airfield
A Seabee from NMCB-11 repairs a M8A1 steel matting parking apron in Dong Ha which was damaged by enemy mortar fire.
AM-2 Runway Repairs-Dong Ha. Seabees of NMCB-11 work on a type AM-2 (aluminum) runway matting that was damaged by enemy fire, as helicopters continue to operate overhead.
B Co, 14th Engr Bn are shown here placing M8A1 solid steel matting at Bao Loc. This is a C- 130 runway which will be operational by the end of the month
H.P.
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Thanks Frenchy, the last is probably what we were repairing at Holloway. Memory fades after so many years, at least some of them. Wayne
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Old school mat slamming.
Not much has changed, still have to manually lay it out one sheet at a time.
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Thanks, Fred. I am glad that you finally got the chance to see this one.
As far as paints go, I use acrylics over rattle can primer.
I will try to do a tutorial at some point. After I had finished this diorama, I busted my but trying to get several figures done for the Tulsa Figure Show.
This one is of my good friend Paul White who I served with from 2006 until he retired a few years later. Prior to moving to the US and joining our Army he served in the Australian Army in Vietnam in 1970-71.
Next is my rendition of Bravo 6’s Automatic Rifleman. It is one of the few stock figures I have done.
This is a 3D printed kit from Concept Miniatures of an ARVN Soldier.
Some hippies from Mantis Miniatures.
A figure from H3 that I cut in half so he could be in the water of a canal in the Mekong Delta becsuse the pose was awkward. Put a boonie hat on him and he is firing up old Charlie. Note the shell casings in the air and ejecting from the M16.
This is a figure I originally sculpted back in 2002 or 2003 that had gotten damaged. I replaced the head with a newer sculpt and had him sent to Custom Dioramics to be cast for their Yanks figure line.
And finally, another figure I sculpted that will be in the Yanks figure line. I sculpted this guy during my last tour in Afghanistan intended for a larger diorama that never got made. He is about to initiate an ambush by triggering a Claymore.
I hope you enjoyed seeing these figures.
Cheers,
James
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Thanks for the positive feedback, Tim. Since I am not that great of a vehicle modeler I rely on the figures to tell the stories I want told. By combining my own experiences in the military with events that my Vietnam Veteran friends had experienced, I try to create as realistic of a depiction of the people and events as my skill level allows.
After I completed this diorama, I wanted to have some other things to display at the Tulsa Figure Show, so I knocked out the figures that I show in my reply to Fred. I think you might like a few of those.
Cheers,
James
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Superb, and I’ll take a front-row seat for your tutorial. 
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I’ve never seen these earlier figures, great work! I especially like the guy about to pop the claymores, everything in that scene is correct. Reminded me of one of first lessons PSG taught me, “when you set out claymores, make damn sure the clicker is in YOUR pocket”. Words to live by.
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i have to agree about the guy with the claymore firing device, the wounded guy’s trouser pockets looks squared as opposed to being tapered, but it could be the camera angle… are these figures available yet as i don’t see them on the Custom Dioramics site?
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Original and very well done.
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The trouser pockets are correct. I am very meticulous when it comes to sculpting uniform details, even back in my earlier ventures at sculpting such as with this figure. It must be the angle of the photo because the front of the pocket flap is definitely shorter than the back part of the flap. I will try to get a better photo or perhaps take one of one of the test castings.
The wounded GI and the guy with the claymore probably won’t hit their website for a while. Unfortunately the owner of Custom Dioramics was disgnosed with cancer and is currently undergoing chemo. But, the box art and the molds are ready for further casting once he recovers.
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@SFCJJC ,
I don’t think I had posted the two older figures on here before. I may have posted photos of the original wounded GI figure, but that probably would have been in the early to mid 2000s. I know I never posted any of the guy with the claymore clacker because I hadn’t finished painting him since the larger ambush diorama never came to fruition. Who knows, now that I have more than one of that figure I might make a diorama of at least part of the ambush.
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@Taffy3 , thank you.
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