Big Red One in Vietnam (Empress civilians 8/2/25)

[mikedemana]

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

Hi everyone! I have been dropping comments on other threads about how I took the plunge and decided to go ahead and get into 28mm Vietnam skirmish gaming. I sought out advice from LAF members and decided on the Black Sun line from Crucible Crush, aka Pulp Figures. The figures are gorgeous and have a lot of character.


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

I wasn't 100% sure what method I was going to use to paint the U.S. uniforms, so did two test figures. See my Lead Legionaries post specifically about that, here:
https://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/2025/04/test-figures-for-28mm-vietnam-project.html
Basically, I was going to do either a dark olive drab with light O.D. dry brush, or I was going with method 2. That was to pre-mix Vallejo clear matte varnish with a darker "Military Green." This would be applied over two shades of light green. One is a light O.D. for the uniform and the other base coat is a sage green for the equipment.


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

I ended up liking the wash method. Check out more photos of these excellent figures on my "First Squad" post on my Lead Legionaries blog. There is also discussion of how I will approach this project and the new flocking method I'm using for SE Asian jungle. LOTS more photos and discussion there. I will add to this post as more get completed.
https://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/2025/04/test-figures-for-28mm-vietnam-project.html

Thanks in advance for any comments!
Mike Demana

[carlos marighela]

Looking good Mike! Those have turned out well.

[FifteensAway]

Yes, nice.  And I really like how you tone down all those 'tropical' plants and avoid the shiny plastic look.  Well done.

[HerbertTarkel]

Awesome looking figures and terrain - well done!

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Nice work on the figures.
The greenery looks good as well.

[Ash]

Excellent start. Great job on the little blokes, and the jungle is looking superb.

[Sunjester]

A really nice set up Mike.

Blimey, just how many era/themed collections to you have? (Says the self-confessed wargaming butterfly!  )

[mikedemana]

Excellent start. Great job on the little blokes, and the jungle is looking superb.

From an artist like you, that IS a big compliment. Appreciate it.

And Graham, Vietnam is "this year's" new project. Last year, I did two: Star Wars/Sci-Fi and Zombies. I am trying to pare down my collection, too, selling off scenery or miniatures I no longer use. On the chopping block are my 28mm gladiators (and two arenas), which I will take to the next couple flea market's till they sell.

That said, despite the paring down, I admit I do have a lot of irons in the fire here... 

Mike Demana

[carlos marighela]

Not paring down, merely recalibrating. 

[CapnJim]

Nice job on those, Mike.  My WW2 GIs are from the Big Red One.

As they say - If you're gonna be one, be a Big Red One...

[mikedemana]

Nice job on those, Mike. 
As they say - If you're gonna be one, be a Big Red One...

Thanks, Jim! There were several reasons I chose them. Probably first, one of the first accounts I read to do my research for the project was from an officer who served in the Big Red One. Next, I picked up a publication from George Nafziger which documents the units engagements in Vietnam. Finally, well...that unit shoulder patch is really easy to paint!   

Mike Demana

[carlos marighela]

Don't badge the uniforms and they can be whoever you want them to be.

[CptJake]

If you're gonna be one, be a Big Red One.

Somewhere I still have that t-shirt...

[mikedemana]

Next batch of five U.S. soldiers is complete. I've started a system where I have in three batches moving along the pipeline simultaneously. For example, I am priming up the second batch of Viet Cong today. Next along the line is a fourth batch of U.S. soldiers. And closest to being finished (in the flocking stage) is my first batch of Viet Cong.



The reason for this is discussed in my blog post. Check it out for more details on the hows and whys of painting these guys:
https://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/2025/05/second-3rd-really-batch-of-big-red-one.html



I'm definitely enjoying painting these 28mm figures from the Black Sun of Crucible Crush (Pulp Figures). The details are crisp, they are metal (YAY!), and there's a lot of personality, I fee. The fact that they paint up relatively quickly compared to the other minis in this scale that I've been painting is another bonus.



Thanks for all of the comments so far -- I appreciate them!

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

Those fellas look good, too, Mike.  Keep it up!

Have you decided on rules yet?