Looks good, you’re right not to overdo the “stuff” in your diorama. It’s set in the HQ area of a pretty large base camp. There wasn’t a lot of trash, weapons, ammo boxes and things like that lying around. Even in RVN, it was still the Army, and First Shirts and SMAJ’s did not allow clutter and trash in their areas.
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I would think the mop and broom would be at the rear of the building unless a Joe is GIing the front steps.
I like your “Plat-Daddy”.
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As always, your work takes me right back to my military beginnings. Great trip down memory lane.
J
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18Bravo, I am sure one of those would have been helpful in scraping off the mud if they had one. We had a similar contraption near each of our entryways when I was stationed in Alaska. They sure helped.
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I don’t know how long those things have been around, but I suspect they may have had them back then, A friend of mine who served in Vietnam said they could not even go into a chow tent without spit shined boots - even if they had just gotten back from patrol. I believe if I had been there I’d have kept an extra pair of boots just for that occasion. I don’t let much get between me and chow.
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Dan, thanks, I am glad you like the figure of the Platoon Daddy.
You are correct about the mop and broom being out back. This is the back of the building. You would think the sign was for an entryway out front, but it just identifies which S-shops are located in each of the two wings. The HQ building for 2d Battalion 47th Infantry (Mechanized) 9th Infantry Division once built at Camp Bearcat was an H-shaped structure with the S1 and S4 shops located in one wing and the S2 and S3 shops in the other.
This is a view of the front of the building. There is a kiosk type thing you had to walk through from the parking area in order to go through the main entrance in the middle of the building where someone entering would encounter a desk to be checked in and directed to the right place after credentials were checked if going to S2/S3.
The next few are of the front from the parking area and of the kiosk that one had to pass through. These were taken after the sandbags were added.
And I think this one is of an awards ceremony conducted on the side of the building.
I wish I had photos of the back of the building. All I have are descriptions by some of the unit’s Veterans who are going off of memory, so my depiction is a result of their recollections. It may not be 100% accurate, but it is close enough that any of them who got picked up out back would recognize what it is. If replacements were not dropped off to their companies, they were picked up outside the back door of the S1 shop. The reason they were picked up out back was because powers that be did not want anyone passing by seeing a bunch of guys waiting around out front. Plus they were trying to grow some grass out front to improve the looks of the area (kind of a difficult task with the amount of Agent Orange that was sprayed on that location prior to the construction of the base). The Army! If you know, you know. lol.
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I am sure those things have been around for quite some time, perhaps as early as the Indian Wars as there was an example of one in our collection when I worked at the Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum. They just didn’t have one visible at the building being depicted. I am with you, if one couldn’t even go into the chow tent without spit shined boots, I would have kept a pair for just that, even if I had to buy an extra set. I did’t let much get between me and chow after my guys ate either. Lol.
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Thanks! I didn’t know I was looking at the rear of the building.
I know the Army well!
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Dan, without out scrolling to the top and checking to see what I wrote, I am not sure if I had mentioned that it is the back of the building until now. Since I am only showing a facade of the back, it would be hard to determine as one would think that the entrance to places would be at the front of the building. When I complete the diorama and prepare the title plate, I might add some photos of the building to the sides of the base like I have seen some European modelers do.
One of the things I like about this site, there are a lot of us on here that have been in the military so we are quite familiar with how things function and some of the absurdities that we sometimes encounter. You know, that might be a good topic for a group build - Absurdities encountered during one’s service in the military. I bet a lot of funny things would be depicted.
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I’m sure that you mentioned it and I have forgotten it.
It’s actually a great detail that civilians would not really notice, but former Joes would.
I was at Ft. Stewart in January and actually saw the typical mop/broom set up in the back of a building by the museum.
You could make a 1SG figure as well scowling at the new guys…
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I love that last photo with the variety of uniforms.
Ken
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Have you tried magnification loupes?
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As far as I can remember we never had anything like that. Of course, as engineers, we were always in the mud, dust or something messy. We also had a peniprime crew that always had the oil and asphalt mess. It seems like we had metal scraper things outside some of the hootches to clean the worst of the mud off. But, that’s 50 plus years old memories . Any way it’s looking great. Wayne
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What are magnification loupes?
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Last night I primed the accessories and today I started painting the 55 gallon drum that was used as a trash can. There are several examples of representations of time period trash - an empty tin of Premium Saltine Crackers, a can of Coke, two empty boxes of office supplies (probably boxes staplers came in), a crumpled pack of Marlboros, and some miscellaneous rags and trash. Once the blue paint dries overnight I will apply TRASH to the middle section of the drum with dry transfers. The photos are not the clearest, but they will give you an idea of how it looks. Other than perhaps some chipping around the brim and the bottom and perhaps a light amount of dust near the ground I do not plan on weathering the drum because it was painted recently. I will probably get dinged at a show for not having a heavily weathered drum, but this is at a headquarters building at the 9th Infantry Division’s first main base in Vietnam, so a jacked up drum would not be tolerated by the CSM, just like walking on the grass or having your hands in your pockets. 
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I hope you get a judge that’s an Army vet that knows all the Army BS!
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“get off my grass”! Haha!
Is the blue “infantry blue”?
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Not on my screen, but I imagine it is - it only makes sense.
The Washington Redskins made a mistake when they renamed themselves the Commanders.
They should have called themselves the Sergeants Major. Then the opposing team could never get on the grass.
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Somehow I see the need for some white painted rocks somewhere. LOL
J
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