Thanks a lot guys.
So, as promised, let’s finally make a start on the figures.
Over the years I have collected various US Infantry sets by different manufacturers and some are better than others, but hopefully the variety will reflect the general weirdnesses of humanity.
This is the pool from which I will draw.
When I started out I had no idea about the variety of uniform possibilities but now I have decided to ignore the anti-gas impregnated HBT (HerringBone Twill) fatigues worn by some units, and go for the wool trousers and M1941 Field Jacket, which will give me some colour contrast between trousers and jackets.
photo - Europa Militaria
Some of the figures in these sets have later style field jackets and trousers with cargo pockets, so there will have to be some carving but I'm deliberately avoiding any heavy conversions, other than for the sake of animation. The action poses will be useful for the guys climbing down the cargo net.
I have already spent many a happy hour sorting out all of the various arms and legs and torsos and heads; the helmets, the packs and the pouches ,the Garands, the BARs and the Thompsons. And I have a whole lot of re-seal bags of individual sets of kit ready with the correct pouches for the weapon etc.
So, as the first figures are going to be the queue of GIs along the deck ,waiting to climb down the into the Landing Craft, I’m going to use the Italeri US Infantry on board because all of them are standing upright.
There are two identical sprues of 5 figures each, and to be fair to the designers they are all SLIGHTLY different, but only if you look closely!
The sculpting is rather disappointing, really, but it’s somewhere to start, and the legs will be mostly hidden behind the
Bulwarks (thanks Henk)
The good thing is they all have the life preservers on, so I don’t have to fabricate those.And the faces are really full of character.....
Hollywood idols or Hornet Heads they ain’t!
Before I start I must remember that the deck is sloping , so they are all going to need to be standing correctly, and to avoid damaging my handiwork I have 3D printed( because I CAN) a small mock-up of the deck and the
Bulwarks.It also avoids having that massive lump of foamboard in my way on the desk all the time.
The slope is hardly noticeable, really, is it?
This is a figure I made a while ago as test piece - clearly his arm is too long, but the principle is good, it means I can pose people leaning over the rail etc without doing damage to the model itself.
So we will leave things here while I have a play with my soldiers....
? 
