The project: planning
Although my first two “Easy Company” miniatures were scratchbuilt, I have moved towards converting stock kits and to smaller scales for simplicity’s sake. Because of this, I’ve found it necessary to closely study 1/35 and 54mm stock kits of World War II paratroopers and GI’s. But before selecting a miniature, it is of greater importance to thoroughly research the subject to be depicted.
The most important part of the planning phase is research, which can be broken into three related areas. First, when depicting a specific person in miniature, one should first learn as much about him as possible, particularly his life and exploits during the war. This will give you a “feel” for the person, thus focusing your energies on the project and making it more enjoyable. Second, research on the time period in which you are depicting the person is just as important, paying close attention to uniformology and the location you are depicting. Third, searching for pictures of the person’s face is essential in creating his likeness in miniature.
Each of these three parts is of equal importance. Failure in any of these will likely result in a figure that looks like any other soldier instead of the person you are depicting. Sufficient and accurate research will result in not only a convincing likeness of the person, but in a figure that has enough unique details that would set it apart from other figures of the same era. For this project, I relied on books, magazines, the “Band of Brothers” miniseries, and the Internet. When working with World War II U.S Army ariborne subject, I have relied on one single book: "Geronimo! U.S Airborne Uniforms, Insignia, and Equipment in World War II" by Bill Rentz. Just about any detail about airborne uniform, gear, and weaponry can be found in this book; the wealth of color photos this book contains is far beyond whatever I've seen in any other three books on this subject combined. For historical background, relied on Mark Bando's book "Vanguard of the Crusade, World War II magazine's "Band of Brothers" special issue (which contains color photos from this period as well as interviews with Easy Company veterans), and, of course, Dr. Ambrose's book. Episodes 6 and 7 of the "Band of Brothers" miniseries helped me get a feel for the land and what they looked like in the most deadly environment they ever faced.
Nevertheless, the Internet provided the most importnat references I needed for this project. Some sites gave me the chance to ask general questions about the 101st. Airborne in Bastogne, such as Mark Bando's "Trigger Time" (
www.101airborneww2.com). Other sites gave me specific information on Easy Company, such as Jake Powers'
www.e506.com and Chris Langlois' site dedicated to his grandfather Eugene "Doc" Roe (
www.tricuit.com/bandofbrothers.html). But the most fruitful site was Gino Guarnere's "Wild Bill Guarnere Forum" (
www.wildbillguarnere.com). It was here that I found the pictures necessary for creating Sgt. Guarnere's likeness - front portrait, 3/4 portrait, and profile. I was also able to ask specific questions about his uniform and the gear he carried into Bastogne; in a couple of cases, Sgt. Guarnere responded himself (you can't get more accurate than that!).
