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Post by 101steasykid on Sept 10, 2007 19:20:34 GMT -5
Sorry I couldn't find you any para-chord guinness. I swear my surplus store had bundles of it in the back somewhere. Myself, I am (or was before I sold my kit for WWII) a regular USMC Grunt. We use cotton m1 slings. Doesn't matter how quiet your rifle is, when you are a devil dog, you tend to bark!
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2nd Bat
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 10, 2007 21:35:16 GMT -5
The tape was liberally applied to everything. Both OD cloth tape (military issue 100 MPH tape) and regular electrical tape. These were attached to everything. The rifles as shown along with all the sling hardware. and every metal part on your web gear would have been heavily wrapped in tape. Slings were often removed althogether for LRRPs but remained in use by the line doggies. Both line doggies and especially LRRPs often replaced their slings with a simple boot lace. I never saw an elaborate parachord sling as shown but I'm sure it was done and agree it looks real cool. (I want one!)
Guinness you can add alot to your impression with some tape on everything including your L flashlight which would have been taped to your M56 gear. You would no doubt have had a compass / first aid pouch on your web gear (probably upside down) and there always seemed to be a leather sheathed field knife (you guessed it) taped to your harness. Nimlas's smoke granades are taped as they should be although probably more tape would have been used. Name tapes would have been on your jungle fatigues Usually straight but occassionally at an angle along the pockets. Early early war would have been Black and gold US Army and white name tapes but for most of the heavy presence ( 1967 and on) in subdued OD and black. The same goes for division patches. The official change over was earlier but guys kept the look on older unforms and this was a sign you'd been around or were on a second tour. (garrison only) 101st Division patches remained non subdued throughout their presence in country but amazingly were subdued stateside.
Adler looks spot on. ERTLs were common late in the war for Marines and LRRPs but less common with Army line doggies if at all? Rangers were officially reformulated in 1969-70 and went to ERTLs pretty much exclusively although prior to that just about anything went and there was alot of private purchase stuff (both domestically and in theater) Tiger stripe was the most prevalent but I had Duck Hunter Cabellas private purchase cammies (that I had but never wore in the field and only once or twice in garrison) I even had a locally made duck hunter beret. Looked too much like the SEALs! I could have worn them if I wanted to however but the teasing was too much. Your garrison uniform often had pegged pants (sewn tighter and less baggie was the in look) for pants at the time. This was more common stateside but carried over. (baggie was more comfortable and better camouflage however.) Underwear were never worn in the field by anyone as they chaffed so bad in the humidity
I had a knit, zip up the front woodland hooded sweat shirt that was very nice on cold mornings. I think I bought it at K Mart before I went overseas. The woodland pattern was very very new and quite the hot item where ever you might find it. I know it would have been my first item taken if I died! I wore it at a Vietnam event a couple years ago and got chided about it being Flaggrantly Wrong. I didn't bother to correct the zealous young reeanactor as he probably would have argued with me. (Typical reenactor know it all!) Veterans as often as not laugh at your anal obsesions as they appreciate it! (A middle ground here would be my recommendation if you're really supposedly doing it for the vets.)
I had theater made Tigers (I still have the top) The pants are long gone but wouldn't fit me anyway. I had two sets of ERTLs issued and still have one set that almost fits (Top anyway) No patches or unit ID what so ever on the Tigers. LRRPs usually had a field set and garrison set of cammies and the garrisons sets were usually quite emblazoned with insignia. Often quite colorful
One item of kit that adds alot to a Vietnam impression whether you're a line doggie, LRRP or SOG trooper is an OD towel which was practically a must have item. (Worn around the neck)
Watches were either simple OD issue type watches (officers and senior NCOs) or really big bold chrome or gold seikos. Thick leather bands were quite the thing as well SOG operators often wore elephant bracelets which they got from the yards they worked with. If you had a mole on your neck or face it was quite popular to let your hair grow long from that blemish as in SE Asia this was considered quite verile. I think this was SOG LRRP deal.
Camo was applied to every piece of exposed skin as was an art form in and of itself. Even line doggies did it but not to the degree of the LRRPs. It was generally applied diagonally across the face to break up the natural T of the eyes and nose. Today the prescribed pattern is more scientific with dark pattern on all elevated surfaces. Guys came up with a signature look and stuck with it. Applying it virtually the same way each time they went out. Some guys were splotchers, some guys were diagonals some were indians and some were racoons. Some guys just uniformly darkened everything
Some guys who wore regular OD uniforms applied face paint to their fatigues (It contained insect repellant so this was an anticipated benefit.) pant legs were often bloused in garrison with rubber bands or blousing straps which I notice you can still buy. In the field pant legs were often taped to keep out bugs and leeches. (It didn't work!) Pants were both button up and zippered.
Pocket buttons were always buttoned, Leaving any button on a uniform unsecured even for a brief minute was simply not done. This was less commonly probelematic with fly buttons interestingly. Hands were not placed in the pockets except by air force guys. These are way ways to spot guys who never served. Facial hair got pretty lose for some units for fairly long periods if you were in the field although this varied from unit to unit and commander to commander. Shaving cream was a bad idea in the field. For some units a military appearance was more important then soldiers lives.
I hope some of these recollections help.
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Post by Guinness on Sept 10, 2007 21:35:17 GMT -5
101steasykid- No worries! I have a great army-navy surplus store by my office so I stopped by the other day. BTW, I sorry, I need to get your stuff in a box and shipped over to you..... 2ndBat- Thanks for the tips! I bought two huge rolls of od and black tape the other day- it was 10 bucks! Thats still about half what you pay online for one roll of od. I have been literally staring at some pics over on ar15.com from Vietnam as guidance, the paracord slings on there range from literally two strands of cord like you said "a shoe string" to smaller and tighter ropes like mine. To get them smaller and tighter you have to spend more time on them and use more water than I did thats for sure lol, so I figured I'd try to land somewhere in the middle of what I saw in those pics. The cool thing about paracord braiding is, it looks elaborate, but its really simple and took me like an hour to do- I took pics so if anyone wants a tutoral I can make one.
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Post by Guinness on Sept 10, 2007 23:25:13 GMT -5
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Adler69
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Post by Adler69 on Sept 11, 2007 1:06:58 GMT -5
And this is one of the rewards of doing a Marine impression
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Nimlas
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Post by Nimlas on Sept 11, 2007 14:40:49 GMT -5
took pics so if anyone wants a tutoral I can make one. I'd like to see how it's done if you don't mind G.
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Post by 101steasykid on Sept 11, 2007 15:34:14 GMT -5
101steasykid- No worries! I have a great army-navy surplus store by my office so I stopped by the other day. BTW, I sorry, I need to get your stuff in a box and shipped over to you..... No problem. I can't wait to get it. I was wondering if I could get those HBT trousers as well. Thanks.
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2nd Bat
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 11, 2007 19:59:52 GMT -5
Guinness. The rifles look great. The braids look terrific. Some of the folks who came to the RECONDO school did up that look. Very impressive.
I paint all my M-16 magazines in the aluminizer with an over wash like yours and I think it enhances the look greatly. In addition everyone always know which magazines are mine and hence I tend to get them back. I usually bring about 50 to 60 low cap M16 mags to each event so there will be no excuse for folks to use low caps. I lend them out to all who otherwise fall short. I do the same with AKs and have perhaps a dozen Thompson and three dozen M-14 mags at any time. Because I leave them flat black even with my name on them they grow legs!
As a final touch on your rifles you'll want to liberally string thinned strands of OD clothg tape or electricians tape on the sling hardware (front and rear) to reduce rattles. It is both functional and authentic. There is nothing more human then the clicking of metallic objects except maybe a cough.
Also using a 30 round mag with the XM177 or M16A1 wouldn't be too inaccurate as by the time the A1s were around they seemed to be increasingly out in folks hands. If you're doing a LRRP impression for the XM even as early as 69 they'd most likely have mostly 30 round mags. The bannana clips as we called them were hot stuff and in great demand. They initially went to the LRRPs and SOG units only and were serious trading fodder for with the line doggies if you had some spare ones.
The 20 round magazines in many ways signify Vietnam very nicely and sets off the impression well especially with the earlier M16 versions. I find in skirmishing the shorter 20 rounds mags are nice when you're low crawing or firing from the prone.
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Post by Guinness on Sept 11, 2007 23:00:24 GMT -5
Cool- thanks again 2nd! I had black 100mph tape on the A1 swivels, but took it off, I will add it back and also on the XM. I haven't 'mod'ed the XM much because well, its such a beautiful gun, I hate to rough her up, oh well, I'll get over that Im sure I also have another question- I've seen some pics that show the pistol grip either wrapped in what looks like white cloth medical tape or something- I've seen black as well- What was that about? did the old grips hurt hands or maybe they got sweaty and they wanted the tape to keep them grippy? I could see that with the white cloth tape, but a couple of those pics its looks like plain 'ol electrical tape...... This one has the cleaning rod attached as well for bonus points! Looks like elecrtical tape on the grip
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2nd Bat
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 12, 2007 1:20:16 GMT -5
Just comfort and silence to again muffle the God awful plastic of a "Mattey Mattel" special. Remember that unlike an airsoft AEG that hold the motor the hand grips were hollow and LRRPs often felt the need to muffle anything and everything.
Note in your bottom picture of the web gear he's taped his flash suppressor to keep crud and moisture out of his rifle. Unlike airsoft it wouldn't impeded performance should the need arise to fire any rounds. It appears he's removed his sling swivel hardware altogether (commonly done) Most people however simply taped them. Also note his web gear includes two, 2 quart canteens for water and two single quart canteen pouches to hold extra magazines. The bananna magazines fit quite well and quietly in them as they had a moulon lining.
His grenades (smoke and baseball) are not taped on his ruck sack which is very surprising
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Post by Guinness on Sept 12, 2007 7:35:01 GMT -5
Yeah- I did just spot that random baseball 'nade just lying there in the dirt!
Thanks John, as usual a wealth of good information!
-G
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2nd Bat
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 15, 2007 0:06:27 GMT -5
Another nice accessory that sets a Vietnam impression up nicely is the cardbord canister that grenades originally came in. They were black cyilinders and twisted apart in the center. Late in the war guys started salvaging them and taping them somewhere on their web gear or rucksacks so they were nice and secure. Sometimes they were stuffed in the rucksacks outer pockets, or carried in the butt pack. Because they were hard sided and well oiled they protected the contents quite nicely and even provided pretty decent waterprooofing. Delicate items could be stored inside and wrapped to further protect them and silence them. Blood units or bags of CS powder were item sometimes carried inside. They were often attached horizontally to the back side of the H harness or occassionally vertically to the front. I'll try to find a picture. It's a nice touch. Not sure where you might find them for sale but God knows the army throws away a zillion of them.
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Adler69
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Post by Adler69 on Sept 15, 2007 0:14:12 GMT -5
2nd Bat, i think i have a spare Smoke grenade cardboard container in my Vietnam stuff, i'll look for it and it's yours if you want it.
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alban
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Post by alban on Sept 27, 2007 22:06:18 GMT -5
Hey all I figure I might as well put up some pics as well and say everyones look awesome!!! I am the one on the left. Father and I after a long D-Day game. I quick photo edit, was feeling abit bored. Being bored again. ;D
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maccrage
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Post by maccrage on Oct 11, 2007 13:12:51 GMT -5
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Post by Guinness on Oct 11, 2007 13:20:58 GMT -5
Looks great Maccrage! Alban! BTW, your dad looks like a younger Elliot Gould
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maccrage
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Post by maccrage on Oct 11, 2007 13:23:47 GMT -5
Dang, he really does, doesn't he
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Post by Guinness on Oct 11, 2007 13:40:59 GMT -5
BTW Maccrage, I'm sure we'd all love to see some pics of the MP44- There is no such thing as 'too many' MP44 pictures Slainte! -G
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maccrage
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Post by maccrage on Oct 11, 2007 13:45:57 GMT -5
Will do. And the little bad quality video too Any particular thread for it?
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Post by Guinness on Oct 11, 2007 13:52:13 GMT -5
'Axis Impressions" seems like a natural fit Thanks Bro- Our fearless leader, Gordak made possibly the best (so far that Ive seen) video way back in the 20th century of the young lady shooting his MP44 showing the impressive recoil of the gun, so yours will be a welcome addition to the archives. Slainte! -G
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YankeeDiv26
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Oct 11, 2007 14:15:42 GMT -5
awesome impressions maccrage. I'm not very familiar with modern british equiptment by any means, but is that a Falklands impression?
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maccrage
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Post by maccrage on Oct 11, 2007 14:26:25 GMT -5
Yes it is. The King Arms FAL converted with real steel parts to L1A1.
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alban
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Post by alban on Oct 11, 2007 16:37:29 GMT -5
Wow maccrage awesome stuff!!! I love the Falkland impression the most and was actually think on a Flakland island imp. myself. Where did you get your uniform? Also I'll have to tell my dad that he looks like a younger Elliot Gould, I am sure he will get a kick out of it. Funny that someone would say that, he actually was mistake for Al Pacino one time, I guess that what happends when your Italian.
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Post by binarypunisher on Oct 11, 2007 17:38:56 GMT -5
Amd I missing something? I dont see an MP44 Yeah, GREAT looking Falklands impression though!
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Post by Guinness on Oct 11, 2007 19:43:46 GMT -5
Amd I missing something? I dont see an MP44 Yeah, GREAT looking Falklands impression though! "Will do. And the little bad quality video too Any particular thread for it?" -Maccrage "'Axis Impressions" seems like a natural fit Thanks Bro-" -Guinness
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maccrage
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Post by maccrage on Oct 12, 2007 13:17:41 GMT -5
Wow maccrage awesome stuff!!! I love the Falkland impression the most and was actually think on a Flakland island imp. myself. Where did you get your uniform? Also I'll have to tell my dad that he looks like a younger Elliot Gould, I am sure he will get a kick out of it. Funny that someone would say that, he actually was mistake for Al Pacino one time, I guess that what happends when your Italian. I got the the 68 Pattern DPM and 58 Pattern webbing at www.surplusandoutdoors.com
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Post by Roska on Oct 13, 2007 5:57:30 GMT -5
Heh, now that I have started posting pictures, it's time to post here too... Our SAS squad from a Falkland themed game. Sadly this one is very small, I'll try to get bigger picture from the photographer. Oh, and we're yelling something, that's why we look so silly. I'm in the second row, second from left. Finnish army Sissi (~guerilla? ) from Berget 5 scenario last summer. This is the only photo of me during the whole game. I am drinking MRE coffee, I think this was the 4th day of the game. My russian gear, ignore the incorrect helmet. I'm muddy, since it's muddy in Chechnya too all the time, so... And here we are in middle of combat. I'm the one showing that nice ass. This is all I could find... we'll see if I'll get any more photos some day.
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