vietnam dio - "saving comrades"

[pastafarian]

Hey folks,

This diorama idea came from several books on the Vietnam War that I've read over the last year or so. Most of the books were from the American side of things with several going into the Bright Light missions of rescuing downed pilots. So, the ground level of the piece is going to depict several LRRP's picking up a downed helicopter pilot.

The underground aspect came from Dang Thuy Tram's diary Last Night I Dreamed of Peace. She was a doctor for the VC that was ultimately killed

and her diary recovered by a US soldier. From a historical viewpoint, the diary is pretty interesting. Tram wrote about her feelings on the war, relationships that she had, and some medical circumstances (brief descriptions of her facilities and a few mentions of treatments). From a narrative viewpoint: although she was 27, her diary was like something I would expect from a teenage girl. My gosh she droned on and on and on about some guy that she had a crush on. bahhhhhhhhhh. LOL

Anyway, here's where I am so far. The 4x4 section is from some leftover lumber that I had out in the shed. Thought it was appropriate given the Vietnamese reputation for savaging absolutely anything. :)

main hole is going to be the clinic and the smaller hole in the side is just a tunnel opening

doc and patient -I'll probably redo his hands or stick something in them. her arms are positioned to tie off his bandages.

the squatting guy is another soldier checking on his pal.

above ground:

Most likely I'm going to take away the machete and move his arm to help the pilot up out of the brush.

Open to input and suggestions. :)

[pastafarian]

Made a bit of progress.

I used joint compound to smooth out the hospital walls and provide landscaping on top. Paint are tamiya acrylics with a blend of brown and a smidge of red in an attempt to get close to the red dirt of Vietnam.

--approximate positioning of LRRPs and helo pilot up top. I'm going to throw up a bunch of vegetation around the guys (it would be sort of stupid for my pilot to just sit out in the open like that haha).

--these two facing out are supposed to be keeping the trail covered. Carpet monster ate one guy's hat, so I've had to replace it and haven't painted it yet.

I kinda like having the hospital cavern run all the way through so that the viewer can spin the piece to see both ends of the room. I haven't decided yet, but I was thinking about placing a dim LED in the ceiling of the room, or maybe sticking it in a lantern. Without the flash of the camera, it is pretty dark in there. What do you folks think?

John

[HOLMES]

John,

I think your idea for this Diorama is very exciting and look forward to seeing it as it progresses.

I think the camouflgae painting is looking quite impressive...Way to go.

Once the vegetation and bush is placed it will look like the jungle atmosphere that you need.

your work looks very good so far.

...and John is it worth getting the book " Last Night I Dreamt of Peace " written by the VC Doctor, TRAM...

I like reading > :unsure:

Edited June 23, 2012 by HOLMES

[pastafarian]

Thanks Holmes.

Going to experiment with several ways to mimic bamboo (read about a fac that hid overnight in a stand of bamboo). The book on the fac was A Lonely Kind of War by Marshall Harrison. After reading it, I found out that the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech in the middle of Lubbock has a bunch of his stuff from the war. Might swing over there next week to check it out. :)

It was a pretty good book and I would recommend it. For the price, you might as well pick up a copy. I think this comes out to 2 cents. LOl

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1846040582/ref=dp_olp_used_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=used

John

[HOLMES]

Thanks Holmes.

Going to experiment with several ways to mimic bamboo (read about a fac that hid overnight in a stand of bamboo). The book on the fac was A Lonely Kind of War by Marshall Harrison. After reading it, I found out that the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech in the middle of Lubbock has a bunch of his stuff from the war. Might swing over there next week to check it out. :)

It was a pretty good book and I would recommend it. For the price, you might as well pick up a copy. I think this comes out to 2 cents. LOl

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1846040582/ref=dp_olp_used_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=used

John

John,

...And may I ask what that might be.... I think this little Vietnam Dioarama is going to be quite interesting and if you are heading off to see the Vietnam ARCHIVE AT Lubbock, will they{ the guys at V.A } let you take some close up photos that might help you with your build....I have visions of bamboos and undergrowth where they hid...

Keep up the good work and let ME know how you get on..

And finally,

... well who am I to pass up a chance to buy a book that is only worth 0.01pence....I still have to pay for postage but heck this is by far the CHEAPEST used -very good BOOK I hve bought to read, thanks for that!!!

SEE you

bye for now.....

HOLMES

[pastafarian]

They have Harrison's K-Bar that he carried with him in the cockpit along with some of his other stuff. I'll take some pics and post them here when I visit.

A couple more very cheap, very good books:

West Dickens Avenue: A Marine at Khe Sanh Slightly more expensive at .63 haha

Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills ---about Carlos Hathcock. This one is also about a penny.

As an aside, can you fill me in on how "councils" work over there? It seems like they almost act like local governments, but with more responsibilities. I've heard of "council housing," which I'm guessing is akin to "housing projects" over here. Also, the council also seems to pay out "workman's comp" if someone is injured. -----granted, I'm getting my info from British tv (Doctor Who and Shameless mainly), so this may be completely off. haha

John