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Post by gunslinginotaku on Dec 31, 2014 3:26:59 GMT -5
I think I can finally and proudly add myself after 3 years to the "stitch-Nazi" thread, even has a semi-period backdrop! My Ostfront panzergrenadier impression, I'll have a few more once it wamrs up and I'm out of my M40
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Post by aldrich on May 9, 2015 16:49:51 GMT -5
Picture from a blankfire event I went to last December. The theme was "Battle of the Bulge". I am second to the left.
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Post by insterburger on May 9, 2015 17:14:29 GMT -5
Apart from you all not being filthy, malnourished, or showing unmistakable signs of endless weeks of life-threatening stress, excellent!
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Post by LϟϟAH1944 on May 9, 2015 23:58:39 GMT -5
Picture from a blankfire event I went to last December. The theme was "Battle of the Bulge". I am second to the left. That is, in all honesty, one of the BEST Ardennes SS impressions I have ever seen. bravo, amazing work! No parka sets (which were faaar more prevalent in the Ost), that looks insanely legit.
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Post by luftwelle93 on May 10, 2015 8:36:49 GMT -5
Agreed,very good photograph and kits!Like what insterburger said,if you had been a bit dirty it would of taken me a second thought to realize that this was recent.Sehr gut overall lads!
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Post by ssgjoe on May 10, 2015 10:10:30 GMT -5
Nice job guys! I was always under the impression that you couldn't open the collar of your greatcoat unless you wore a neck decoration. BUT I'm not 100% sure about that. Well done!
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Post by insterburger on May 10, 2015 10:21:50 GMT -5
Nice job guys! I was always under the impression that you couldn't open the collar of your greatcoat unless you wore a neck decoration. BUT I'm not 100% sure about that. Well done! Out in the field, I imagine they could open the collars of their greatcoats whenever they demmed well pleased. Once again, apart from the fact that everyone in the picture seems to be more or less well fed and not miserable, it could be 1944. Kudos.
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Post by ssgjoe on May 10, 2015 10:24:02 GMT -5
This is true. However I haven't many photos of soldiers doing that. But then again, the Ardennes in 1944 is significantly colder than most places in the US
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Post by aldrich on May 10, 2015 11:27:12 GMT -5
You would see a mixture, but you are right in that most did button it up all the way, usually only the top button was undone if it any, but there are even pictures of a guy advancing past a burning us convoy with his coat completely open and another escorting POW's with his coat like mine. This event was very warm for a battle of the bulge event so I had it open. Most the snow was melting and sopping wet and got you soaked when you laid in it, but honestly it has the best atmosphere of any event I have gone to. The air had a slight haze and the roads were muddy with wheel ruts and puddles. From the pictures you could swear it was 1944!
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Post by ssgjoe on May 10, 2015 12:54:01 GMT -5
Yeah. I personally would have buttoned it up as it was the norm, but I could understand with it being a little warmer than the Ardennes.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on May 15, 2015 0:33:21 GMT -5
Very impressive group shot.
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Post by aldrich on May 17, 2015 14:58:22 GMT -5
Some pictures from a public event at the Dakota City Museum this past weekend. Everyone here is also part of our airsoft group. The pak38 is a gas firing replica that creates noise and smoke and is owned by one of our members. Apologies for some of the spectators in the background.
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Ersatzjack
Corporal
"That silly Franz... he thinks we are winning."
Posts: 1,093
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Post by Ersatzjack on May 17, 2015 15:58:34 GMT -5
To the comments about looking filthy and tired and malnourished I believe that the Bulge was an exception to the rule. Many of the divisions had been built-up, rested and resupplied. They were kicking off their last great offensive and would have looked pretty good to start off. In fact some smiles would have improved the photo. First time I've seen Aldrich's post above so I'm late to the party.
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Post by ssgjoe on May 17, 2015 17:06:04 GMT -5
But later in the Bulge, they should look like crap.
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Post by aldrich on May 18, 2015 15:54:36 GMT -5
Some more pics from the event:
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Post by insterburger on May 18, 2015 21:36:01 GMT -5
To the comments about looking filthy and tired and malnourished I believe that the Bulge was an exception to the rule. Many of the divisions had been built-up, rested and resupplied. They were kicking off their last great offensive and would have looked pretty good to start off. In fact some smiles would have improved the photo. First time I've seen Aldrich's post above so I'm late to the party. "Rested and resupplied" is a relative term, especially after five years of war. There were definitely smiles among the German troops at first, and they were indeed better fed as they'd been in ages, but nonetheless sullen and overly lean faces were the rule even then, and more to the point there was that look of having lived under intense stress for extended periods of time that simply can't be faked. For the most part, the German supply system went south fairly quickly during the Bulge, so as ssgjoe says, it didn't take long for them to look pretty awful. At any rate, this is nitpicking one way and nitpicking the other. The impressions are... impressive. No disagreement on that.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on May 18, 2015 22:09:43 GMT -5
Your PAK 38 and Ford Truck are spectacular. Amazing job. How did you do the wheels on the PAK. And what materials were used throughout? Schmitty, Helmutt and I did a PAK 40 replica which were pretty proud of but nothing near your friends effort! The impressions look fabulous as well. Great job! L'est there be any doubt these guys do it top notch zee!
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Ersatzjack
Corporal
"That silly Franz... he thinks we are winning."
Posts: 1,093
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Post by Ersatzjack on May 19, 2015 16:46:01 GMT -5
Thanks 2nd Bat. The wheels were tough and all I know for sure is that the builder told me that the gun was his last. He'll make no more. Everything is steel except the outer barrel which is an aluminum flag pole. The truck was my work by and large. It's a frame up restoration. As for the Bulge photos, I don't have a disagreement with anything except to say there is no right or wrong look as at the beginning the troops could be clean and tidy and at the end they were dirty and tired. As a general rule, if you are staging photos dirty and tired looking always looks cooler. I know one reenactor who never cleans his gear. Blood, coffee, food, mud, you-name-it, are on his uniforms and he always attracts the camera hounds at events.
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Post by insterburger on May 19, 2015 16:59:14 GMT -5
I know one reenactor who never cleans his gear. Blood, coffee, food, mud, you-name-it, are on his uniforms and he always attracts the camera hounds at events. I do not recall having as of yet cleaned any of my uniforms in any way, including one that went knee deep into a swamp... at most I've brushed at dried dirt. Since our stuff is lucky to get as much actual, in-the-dirt use in a year as real soldiers would get in a week, and it could be weeks or months between opportunities to properly wash clothes... you do the math. Maybe when the president after the next is elected. Two terms or not.
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Post by ssgjoe on May 19, 2015 20:26:01 GMT -5
I have not cleaned any gear off except for brushing off dried dirt either
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Post by ssgjoe on May 23, 2015 0:37:55 GMT -5
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Jerry-ADK
Private 1st Class
Unteroffizier, Heeresgruppe Nord-Ost
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Post by Jerry-ADK on May 23, 2015 10:29:29 GMT -5
Hey Kommerad! I just joined the 353nd infanterie division 914th Grenadier Regiment reenactment group! the New England version there of. Nice pic of the kit. Hopefully I will be getting mein dirty this weekend! 352nd Infanterie
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Post by ssgjoe on May 23, 2015 10:49:54 GMT -5
Thanks mate! I'm in the 916 GIR too! Lol The 352nd is an interesting unit in terms of equipment. It received a significant amount if DAK stuff from my understanding, and the troops of 352nd were even using A-Frames post D-Day. I have an A-Frame, and I'm gonna wear it. Watch me get yelled at by some elitist, and when I throw that my unit received them, they get mad. Lol
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Post by aldrich on Jun 5, 2015 15:06:53 GMT -5
German infantry, late 1944:
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Jerry-ADK
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Post by Jerry-ADK on Jun 14, 2015 9:34:40 GMT -5
Been working on this impression for my BF unit. But will be using it in my next airsoft game as well. I am protraying a Grenadier From the 352nd Infanterie Division 914th Grenadier Regiment. June 1944 - Sept 1944 D-Day - 6th June 1944 The first soldiers from 352 to spot the invasion fleet, at 05:02, were stationed in the Wiederstandnester (resistance nests) between Omaha and Gold beaches at Port-en-Bessin. The 4. Kompanie, GR914 was manning the defenses in front of the beach areas of Pt.duHoc and took a very heavy toll of the American 2nd ranger Division, which started its assault. The 352ID carried on fighting around St. Lo in July and by the end of July the division ceased to exist. During August 1944, the few survivors of the regiment were sent to Flensburg, in Northern Germany, to form a cadre for a new 914. Regiment. To create the mass of the regiment, replacements were drafted in primarily from the Kriegsmarine, along with some redundant Luftwaffe ground crews. The troops were described as averaging 22 to 30 years old, with limited training and no combat experience. Yet GR914 was again up to full strength and had been allotted 98% of its equipment by the time it launched its attack on December 16th. Sept 1944 - Dec 1944 The 352ID was merged with the 581. Volksgrenadier Division and rebuilt as a Volksgrenadier (People's Grenadier) division in August/September 1944 in the Schleswig-Holstein area of Northern Germany. The 352VGD held a sector of the West Wall before it was sent into action once more as part of the 7. Armee during the Ardennes Offensive launched on the 16th December. The 352's manpower had come mainly from the Kriegsmarine and disbanded units, most of whom had little, if any, experience of combat. The average age of the Volksgrenadier infantryman was 17 and most had only a few weeks of infantry training behind them. After the Ardennes offensive, what was left of the regiment made a slow withdrawal into Germany. The division was once again reinforced with the last reserves of manpower available at the time. This meant Volkssturm border guard and alarm units. It doesn't take much imagination to realize that the regiment had virtually ceased to exist, and that old men and boys incapable of waging a war filled its ranks. From March 1945 the unit was re-designated a Kampfgruppe and fought in the Rhineland battles south of Remagen. The 914. Grenadier Regiment surrendered to French Moroccan troops in South West Germany in April 1945. The Kampfgruppe finally being destroyed on 27th April 1945 whilst fighting in the area of Aasen-Heidenhofen due east of Freiburg.
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Jerry-ADK
Private 1st Class
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Post by Jerry-ADK on Jun 14, 2015 10:58:36 GMT -5
lol! my helmet liner is not adjusted very well so my helmet is setting up high, kind looks like I have a cone head. I fixed that, Helmet sets down lower on my head now! I'm nit picking my own post!
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shiftysgarand
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Post by shiftysgarand on Jun 14, 2015 13:47:11 GMT -5
I thought your helmet looked a bit weird! Other than that, looks great!
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Post by ssgjoe on Jun 14, 2015 14:10:37 GMT -5
I think I mentioned it to you over Facebook, but this looks great. Can the back if your belt e adjusted higher at all? I had the same problem with my old Y Straps. I payed for some new ones a moth ago-they have yet to arrive lol
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Jun 14, 2015 15:10:47 GMT -5
You make an excellent "Gerry" Jerry!
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Post by luftwelle93 on Jun 14, 2015 16:09:32 GMT -5
It all looks so good!All you need left is have that mess kit and gas can roughed up a bit from combat
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