Home for Christmas...1950

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“Home for Christmas….my A$$.”

History: This is my depiction of the U.S. Marines retreat from the Chosin Reservoir in 1950. Actually, as the Marines put it….not a retreat, they were just “advancing in another direction”. These Marines are taking a brief break in front of a Korean Jangseung…a good luck totem pole placed on the outskirts of a village. They are a makeshift, heavily armed, .30 cal Browning team, supplemented by a BAR and a carbine.

The Scene: November, 1950. General MacArthur promised the Marines on their assault towards the Chinese border at the Yalu River, that they would be home by Christmas. The war took on a whole new meaning with the commitment of thousands of Chinese troops. The Marines fought a valiant rear guard action and heroically brought out all of their wounded, and most of their supplies and equipment. I thought this scene took on a Christmas like appearance…..the seated Marine reading his “wish list” (like Santa Claus?), seated in front of the totem pole (Christmas tree with barbed wire tinsel, C-ration ornaments and complete with the star on top?) surrounded by gifts (3 automatic weapons and supplies!). Maybe a stretch, but I liked the idea!!

The Kits: Legend Productions 120mm resin U.S. Marines. Painted with enamels and acrylics. Verlinden weapons and jerry cans round out the scene. Hudson and Allen Studios barbed wire and Woodland Scenics Snow helped with the backdrop. I added a folded bipod to the BAR, and cut the .30 cal tripod to represent the stowed position.

I still have a few details to add, but I am almost completed. Please share your thoughts and comments. The black and white photos were my inspiration for this scene.
Cheers~ Mike

 

[FigureLover]

H Mike, nice little vignette you have here. Good composition and painting. The totem pole is different, havent seen that before. Love the snow on their uniforms, just add some to their boots as well.
Ben

 

[lock-n-load]

Ben: Thanks! I had to hold the figures by their boots for final assembly and mounting on the base. I will definitely "snow up" the boots when the epoxy dries. Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment.

 

[John Bowery]

Michael,
Great little scene. Looks like here at the moment, COLD and lots of snow.
Cheers
John

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Michael,

A huge amount of work has gone into this vignette, and it shows. Excellent composition, lots of interesting details and plenty to occupy the eye of an observer.

I'd like to see more snow. Not just on the boots, but on the ground too.

And perhaps a few slushy foot prints.

Well done.

 

[DEL]

Michael,
plenty going on here, great composition, good setting without being over-busy, both figures convincingly interacting with each other.
I'm away for a mug of HOT coffee.
Regards
Derek

 

[sd0324]

Very detailed vignette....I like it.

 

[dinovision79]

Hi Mike,

excellent vignette, the figures work well for the idea and the execution is superb!

Thanks
Denes

 

[vergilius]

nice vignette! I like it

 

[megroot]

I also like this vignette. It tells a story and that is important.

marc

 

[Dan Morton]

Excellent! Great story-telling!

All the best,
Dan

 

[eissteban]

hi michael,
singular and nice subject, very good

 

[lock-n-load]

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I felt very pleased with this scene. I had looked at these figures for a long time before buying them. They were so "static" in their pose, I was not sure what to do with them. It was not until I got them partially assembled that the idea started to come together. Then I had decide how to get them to be interacting together, and what they should be doing, just resting and talking did not seem interesting enough. The totem pole came with one of the kits and was too interesting not to use. It was pretty exciting to hatch a plan, execute it and have it turn out pretty nice. Thanks again to everyone, who through this forum motivates me to try harder and get better.