Vietnam Marines from Tet Offensive one marine pulling the wounded while he keeps firing.
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/never-leave-a-brother-behind
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/never-leave-a-brother-behind
5 Likes
I could be wrong but I thought tucking the pant leg into the boot was mostly an Army thing (I think some units didn’t tuck) and the Marines would blouse them.
1 Like
I take it the flak vest is riding over the pistol belt that the canteens are attached to. If so, the pistol belt needs more detail, as does the flak vest, in addition to being too thin at the bottom. Those things were somewhat bulky.
2 Likes
The one figure looks to be a Navy corpsman and if so, would he be armed with a .45 and grenade?
1 Like
I know nothing about the details but the pose is dynamic and different enough - and welcome I’d a thought.
2 Likes
Don’t know about the grenade but as I recall Corpsman are authorized a side arm and do carry grunt equipment so it is possible to also carry a grenade.
2 Likes
I agree with 18bravo in the flack vest needs to be bulkier. It is not a poofy fashion vest.
Being that it was hot and humid and uniform standards were lax, many vests were unzipped.
2 Likes
Interesting photo. A few months ago while discussing a Vietnam figure, someone opined that you would never see a pack of cigarettes, as the red portion would give you away. 
3 Likes
“Never say never” is an old saying itself, soldiers be messing with modelers since forever. As an example, you’re unlikely to see this on a contest table…
Processing: 1000005164.jpg…
But we’re distressing
The thing was you weren’t the one worrying about being seen, unless you were a Lrrp or something. Wayne
2 Likes
Sounds about right. 
The point is, if you take time to read carefully, it’s not about who you were, it’s that once again folks say things that are patently untrue. Until you point it out. Then they’re silent.
Kylie, you’ve got to wait for it to completely upload before hitting “Reply.”
2 Likes
What movie is the second photo from? Is it “Boys From Company C”?
1 Like
Sorry to jump in, but since I’m here - The Boys in Company C.
3 Likes
Are you referring to the discussion about the LRRP figures from Conflict Miniatures a few months ago. If so, it wasn’t said that a pack of cigarettes would never be seen as it was common practice for regular troops to place stuff in their helmet bands, just that it was very unlikely for a LRRP to have them placed in the foliage band of a boonie hat. Several people pointed that out. It just doesn’t make sense to do that. Granted, as you pointed out in that discussion, the stitching in the band could be cut, but the bands back then were tight against the hat itself unlike there being space in the loops on boonie hats produced in the 1980s and later. For a LRRP or Ranger in Vietnam whose survival depends on their stealth and remaining undetected, a pack of smokes worn on a boonie hat doesn’t make sense for the camo factor (I know you mentioned that it wasn’t an issue for you because the figures were painted without camo face paint) nor the practicality of it. I really don’t see a LRRP taking the chance of the pack catching on a piece of vegetation as he is moving through it and it falling out unnoticed until a VC or NVA dude comes across a pack of American cigarettes indicating the presence of the patrol being in the area. The discussion was more about manufacturers, historical accuracy, and how there tends to be more focus on artistry in the figure modeling genre than in the armor and diorama modeling genre.
For other people reading this who may be unfamiliar with what I mentioned concerning the foliage bands on boonie hats, these two photos are of issue boonie hats manufactured during the war. Notice how the band is close up against the hat. Although the stitching could be cut, it wouldn’t make much room for a pack a cigarettes or much else.
Now, with the boonie hats manufactured in the 1980s and later, the foliage band provided more space between the band and the hat, so it would be possible to cut some stitching to place a pack of cigarettes there, but why? The band is made of a thicker nylon than the original VIetnam era boonies were made of.
The main things I look for when I see figures are how well the details of the uniform and equipment are rendered, is the pose anatomically correct and plausible, and if it is representing a certain type of unit does it have the “feel” for what is trying to be represented.
2 Likes
Whether they did or not, most of the SF guys in my club, several of whom are Vietnam vets, wouldn’t have smoked on patrol in any case. They said the enemy could smell Americans. Many SF/LRRP types didn’t eat anything but local food for that reason.
3 Likes
I don’t know how these figures are assembled in parts, but with DML, Verlinden, Live-Resin, Masterbox, etc. 1/35th scale modern figures, perhaps the helmets, torsos, guns, and gear can be swapped out for more modern appearances. Doing so could work for a fictional movie scene like “PREDATOR” or something.
1 Like
I doubt many LRRPS or Rangers would have either, but I am sure that someone may have. As a Recon Marine in the 1980s and 1990s, we utilized Vietnam era SOPs and TTPs as most of our senior NCOs were Vietnam Vets and the locations we would get sent to were of similar terrain and vegetation. We didn’t smoke on patrols (I don’t remember anyone in my platoon being a smoker in the first place, so that really wasn’t an issue for us) and when we deployed, we did eat some local food so as not to smell like Americans as you well know those MREs have a very distinct smell to them.
Growing up as an Army brat, my dad and all of my friends’ dads were Vietnam Vets, several of whom were LRRPs and Rangers in Vietnam as they were assigned to 5th Army Readiness Group on Fort Sam Houston. When us kids would go out into the woods, sometimes one of the dads who had been a Ranger would go out with us to teach us stuff. It turned out to be quite helpful for the majority of us as most of us joined the military.
3 Likes