Vietnam Project - First Squad of U.S. Troops

    My first 10 U.S. soldiers for my Vietnam project trudge through the jungles of SE Asia

I posted last month pictures of my two test figures for my 28mm Vietnam project, but here's the first look at completed and flocked miniatures. If you remember, I am using the Black Sun range from Crucible Crush, aka Pulp Figures. These are awesome miniatures with a lot of personality in each pose. Only one figure in the first 10 needed any kind of gluing...inexplicably, one arm requires being glued to the shoulder while the rest are cast as one piece. They take a very small amount of flash clean up. After painting all those 3-D and plastic figures lately with my Sci-Fi project, it was nice to get back to painting some good old metal castings (which I prefer). 

    Zooming in on the line of march of my first squad of soldiers from The Big Red One in Vietnam

I gave a rundown of how I paint these in the previous post, but I'll do a quick recap for those who didn't read it. First I brush on white Gesso as a primer, then after drying, I paint the whole uniform Light Timberline Green, a Ceramcoat craft paint color. Once dry, I paint the web gear, ammo pouches, canteens, pack, and other equipment a sage green craft paint. I do this so that there is some contrast between the uniform and gear, and the details stand out more. Next, I paint the poncho and camouflage splotches on the helmet cover a medium green craft paint. Once those have dried, I dry brush the equipment with a very light gray. Then, after that dries -- lots of stages that require waiting to dry with this painting recipe -- I paint it with "wash" that is a mix of Vallejo clear matte varnish and a darker, "Military Green." This settles into the folds of the uniform and gives it a nice, blended look -- much better than on my dry brushed test fig. Then, I paint the weapon Iron Wind Steel (with Pewter highlights) and black, while the boots are black with dry brushed dark gray. 

    African-American soldier with M79 grenade launcher and an NCO (?) directing the squad traffic

For flesh tones, I'm trying to give a nice ethnic mix of soldiers. The first batch of ten includes five Caucasians, four African-Americans, and one Hispanic soldier. It helps that Crucible Crush has painted examples of each pose on their website, so I can tell which ones are "supposed" to be which, although I won't feel tied to that. I have not painted any rank insignia on these figs, though I may go back and add that later once I start playing some games with them. The intention is each of my players will control four or five U.S. soldier (or so), and the game will be cooperative. The Vietnamese foes will be directed by the game A.I. (Event Cards and activation failures). If this sounds familiar, it should. I will be attempting to modify Ganesha Games' fantasy rules set, Sellswords & Spellslingers, for this. I have been given the blessing from owner Andrea Sfiligoi to produce it for publication if it works out. 

    A good look at the flocking for my Vietnam figures, as well as a M60 machine gunner

I'm also going all out on the flocking for this project's figures. Though I begin with my usual mix of Woodland Scenics Blended Turf and Grass, I'm adding in not only tufts, but leaves and bigger fronds of vegetation onto the base, as well. I decided to go with 1" round bases because I wanted a lower profile base. I wanted the figures to blend in with the terrain more than my thicker square bases do that I use for units in Ancient/Dark Ages/Medieval miniatures. The fronds I used were from Gamers Grass, but I was disappointed when I opened the package to find out they're just printed paper. I went out to a craft store and found some plastic plants that will be more realistic and 3-D looking. I'll use those on the next batch, which actually has been started on and is about halfway along on my desk.

    "PBY Streetgang, do you copy?" A radio operator and tattooed soldier take a break in the jungle

In fact, I think I it will be most efficient have one or more batches "in progress" with the way I am painting these Vietnam figures. With all the overnight pauses for drying, I want to make full use of my hour or so each morning that I spend painting. So, right now I have another batch of five U.S. riflemen in progress and also my first five Viet Cong figures. I'll talk more about how I am painting those when I finish that first batch. All of the Vietnamese that I bought are supposed to be VC, not North Vietnamese Army. Once I'm sure my Sellswords mashup is working, and we are having fun with Vietnam gaming, I'll likely buy some NVA. 

    I love the details on these figs, like the pack of cigarettes in the helmet band on the M16-armed fig

Despite the pauses for drying, the two batches in these photos actually painted up very quickly. I think these are easier to do than, say, Saga Ancient figures. The decision to use the Vallejo paint wash, if you can call it that, really speeds things along. There is only one step that goes slowly and that is when I am painting the equipment prior to the green wash. I can see me getting this project ready for the tabletop within a month or so, I hope. Conventions tend to slow me down, though. I had Buckeye Game Fest last weekend, Drums at the Rapids in Toledo May 16-17, and Origins Game Fair June 18-21. I am game mastering at all three, so there will be no morning paint sessions on those days. After that, I have off till Historicon, a month after Origins. So, if the project is not completed by Origins, I fully expect it to be in the wrapping up stages by Historicon. I know that's ambitious, but as quickly as these figures go, I think it is doable.

    The fig on the left was my test figure for simply dry-brushing these - I prefer the "washed" method

I was very happy with how these first 10 figures came out. They have actually been done and partly flocked for 3-4 days. However, Ohio unleashed one of its mini-monsoons on me (appropriate for Vietnam, eh?). I was unable to spray coat the figures in the high humidity. That's one thing a miniature painter learns, usually to their chagrin, relatively early in their career. Humidity equals fogging, so I sat there and looked at the minis all ready to go and were unable to post about them until the skies cleared yesterday and the humidity finally died down. My friend Jason in South Carolina has actually given up on spray coating his miniatures because his humidity down there is even worse. It is so much faster that I haven't given up on it here, though. 

    Another look at the first two batches - two player's worth of troops - humping through the bush

So, what else is on my paint desk at the moment? As mentioned above, the next five U.S. and first five Vietnamese soldiers are partway through. As for terrain, I did paint up another couple pieces of Sci-Fi scatter from A Critical Hit, as well as a Menards die cast semi-tractor trailer. Those are actually completed, so expect to see pictures of them soon. I am also priming up some random scatter to take up to Drums at the Rapids and sell in the Flea Market. We'll see how much I get done -- May 16-17 is coming up fast!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 143
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 70 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 19
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 22

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 54
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 55