|
Post by edward on Oct 10, 2006 17:35:34 GMT -5
I know a lot of you guys don't like when band of brothers is used as a reference, but I was watching it, so deal with it Just wondering what happened to the chin straps on their helmets? The ones with the chin cups on them. Any episode where they're not jumping they just have the khaki strap around the back of their helmet and that's it. The chin cup is gone. Also, did all helmets come with that gritty textured paint? If you were repainting a helmet how would you do it? Quickly about the paratrooper uniforms. Atthefront.com lists 2 impression sets, a regular paratrooper and an operation market garden. Why was the switch made to olive drab uniforms? Was is specifically just for that mission or what?
|
|
|
Post by mauser98k on Oct 10, 2006 17:41:08 GMT -5
Ok, here I go.
The A-yolks are the straps that held the chin cup. They quickly served as only a nuisance after the jumps, so they either folded them in their liners, or more popularly, they cut them off. So that is why you see th troopers without the A-yolks.
That texture in the paint is cork. they ground it up and mixed it in with the paint. The way I did it to one of my helmets before was this. I painted the helmet. I mixed in the cork and painted another layer over it, and then painted over it again with just the paint.
And the uniforms, they switched the m42's to M43's(the olive drab uniforms) in 1943 (For paratroopers late 1944) and for a lot of reasons.
It was stronger Had bigger pockets Was a lot warmer Way more comfortable It was better camouflage than khaki Etc.
Hope that answers your questions.
-Mauser98k
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 10, 2006 17:59:43 GMT -5
Excellent job answering the question Mauser. This is one area (there were many) where Band of Brothers did a great job from an authenticity perspective. The series went to great lengths to be as authentic and detailed as possible. They of course weren't flawless but did a far better job then most features. I agree that movies and TV shows shouldn't be used as reference material but BoBs is about 98% there in my book. When Major Winters commented casually that the dikes he saw in the dailies were taller. Tom Hanks who directed that episode relocated the whole shoot to another location. Incredibly expensive thing to do and very rare in a movie shoot based on a minor detail and off the cuff remark.
|
|
Nimlas
Master sergeant
grumpy
Posts: 1,594
|
Post by Nimlas on Oct 10, 2006 18:15:16 GMT -5
That whole scene where he shoots the German soldier is FUBAR, the crickets the used in the movie were pretty bad repro's as well, but I digress.
Great job Mauser, I knew you was smart! I've seen many original jump liners with the A-yokes cut out, like Mauser said, they are a huge nuisance. The M43 were introduced in September 1944, but some 'troopers kept their '42s. This was especially common in the 504th PIR of the 82nd AB. Some members retained their M42's well into the Battle of the Bulge. Another reason behind the M43's was layering. The M43's were made to be loose fitting so extra layers could be added or subtracted. This is how the current Army's cold weather gear works, 'cept they call the layers "levels"
Jack~
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 10, 2006 23:48:31 GMT -5
"The whole scene where he shoots the German is FUBAR." Jack, Explain that? I am confused? I know there were a variety of sources for the crickets. (There wasn't a single identical source for the whole division) So what was the boo, boo in the way they were depicted? I have seen whole threads where people pick apart all the little details that were wrong throughout the movie/ series but hadn't seen those two mentioned.
|
|
Nimlas
Master sergeant
grumpy
Posts: 1,594
|
Post by Nimlas on Oct 11, 2006 5:44:45 GMT -5
Well John, The scene I'm refering to is the scene where they al charge across that open play and up over the dike(I'll be damned if I can remember the damn) and Winter's shoots the young German that's supposedly just sitting there. In reality the Winter's saw the German, grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin and threw it. However, he forgot to take the friction tape off of the spoon(You can see him wrapping them up at the begging of the episode actually). The German saw Winter's and promptly tossed a grenade over, it was a dud! After this it's not totallly clear to me, but I'm pretty sure Winter's ran over and shot the German like in the movie, but he wasn't just sitting there.
I;ve heard from certain well known "airborne experts" that the crickets used in the movie didn't make a proper "click clack" but I don't have one, so I can't REALLY be the judge of that.
Jack~
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 11, 2006 12:00:50 GMT -5
I know that there were several variations of cricket toys used by the 101st so that might explain the diffence in clicks and clacks, although visually the crickets depicted appeared to be the more common brass toy used. I have a friend who has a real Normandy common cricket and perhaps to solve this mystery I could compare it's sound to that heard on the show but honestly is this really time well spent? Holly smokes? ?? I know from first hand interview that when the BoB boys assaulted across the open field in Holland, what saved them was that the young German tasked with watching in that direction had apparently slid back down on the other side of the dike and simply wasn't keeping watch. Had that not been the case Winters entire element would certainly have been killed or captured. Following the night mission as depicted, the element was stuck in a ditch surrounded by open terrain and had little choice but to take their chances and advance. Winters started running with the other elements who were orderd to move with smoke that they didn't see (or chose not to) Consequently, as shown, Winters was way, way, way out front as he got to the dike ridge. It was I thought one of the better scenes in the series and based on eye witness accounts pretty spot on. Movies have to by their very nature compromise on occassion to tell a story. It bothers me when they do (for no apparent reason) such as the final scene in We were soldiers once and Young. The Dawn Bayonet Assault never happened) But BoB for the most part went to great lengths to tell it accurately and well. I have an autographed copy of the original book from Guarnier, Mularky, and several others from Easy Company. They were quite pleased with the series and the produced desire to "get it right."
|
|
Nimlas
Master sergeant
grumpy
Posts: 1,594
|
Post by Nimlas on Oct 11, 2006 14:28:27 GMT -5
The cricket thing is not my reason for disliking the series, I just remember hearing it and for some reason it stuck in my mind.
I guess what I had heard about that assualt was miss-information then! I think an eyewitness beats my account!
I beleive we just hi-jacked this thread John, whoops!
|
|
2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
|
Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 11, 2006 19:30:30 GMT -5
We sure did and frankly your versions may very well have been accurate as well. I only heard about the part leading up to Winters getting to the dike rim way before everyone else and finding himself facing a huge number of guys eating morning chow while the sentry was out of position but closest to him much as depicted in the series. According to my source Winters emptied three clips immediately and perhaps then syruggled with the grenade as you described. A grenade sounds like a good call given the sheer numbers of guys but direct fire to your most immediate threat seems most instinctual.
What does it say in the Ambrose Band of Brothers book (eye witness narrative, not Hollywood) about that incident? I don't recall. I just remember the story I heard which was about him being so far ahead of everyone else and them all initially thinking it was an insane move.
|
|