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Post by CharleyNovember on Jul 15, 2010 21:35:27 GMT -5
I really really need to post my first "impression" or two on here to give people an idea where I am coming from. I really think it would help.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Jul 15, 2010 23:16:04 GMT -5
Starkwethers post is spot on. We really need to know how we come across sometimes and I think he explained it very well. Like CN I'd hate for anyone to see what I looked like at my first couple WW2 airsoft events. Absolutely hillarious. It was start and our group had a great time. Over the years we've grown and improved but looking back ignorance was in it's own way blissfully simple.
Lots of blunders and bad purchases out of ignorance undoubtedly lots of treasures missed at thrift stores cause I simply didn't know. Thanks to this web site and others when I go in a Thrift shop I know what to look for and have scored countless incredible bargains over the years. Probably eight or nine M43s, Two M41s, a like new pair of combat shoes (that fit!) a couple pair of nice double buckle boots, a Tanker helmet, a couple WW2 era footlockers, a 16 bayonet a couple mussette bags and haversack and lots of Nam era stuff. I find something about one in 10 visits
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Post by starkweather on Jul 15, 2010 23:21:59 GMT -5
I got moder war army issue winter boots once that fit like a glove, and better than what was given to me in basic that same year, at the thrift store. Huzza for thrift stores.
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Post by CharleyNovember on Jul 16, 2010 0:14:09 GMT -5
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Jul 16, 2010 13:49:21 GMT -5
Dan,
Don't kid yourself, you looked bad assed and you knew it at the time. The "starter" GI costumes were just that, a way to inexpensively get a pseudo look going in order to get new folks into the hobby. I raided Thrift shops and surplus stores and over time accumulated the stuff to outfit about a dozen GIs. Hellmutt similarly had German setups for about a dozen guys. Without that foundational stuff, local WW2 events never would have happened.
Obviously things have really improved and impressions have become more available and affordable and the quality is way way up. I now have about a dozen pretty darn decent WW2 GI and airborne impressions and their availability still impacts the ability to put on a decent event. At last years Jump to Destiny there literally were a dozen folks on the US side that wouldn't have been there without the cheap rental gear.
Six, seven years ago it cost a ton to put together a impression. It's still expensive and is an incerdible barrier to a lot of interested folks. I still think some costumed items is not a bad way to go.
Seeing the silhouette of German helmets and flashes of grey was a huge jump toward WW2 airsoft when compared to normal skirmishes. It certainly got me hooked. Likewise I'm sure the tan jackets and leggings with netted helmets was pretty cool for the Krauts. In combat, glimses are all you typically get unless the guy is dead or has surrendered.
I love the level of authenticity we have achieved but still remembr those early days as a lot of fun.
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