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

[mikedemana]

Those look pretty sweet Mike 👍🏻

Thanks, Gareth! I'm looking forward to getting my games rolling, soon...now, to finish those rules... 

Mike Demana

[mikedemana]

Here are 10 more Viet Cong finished up. I'm down to 3 packs of five figures each to paint up...woo-hoo! Progress!! 



I'm mixing up the uniforms a bit, not doing all figures in the trademark black pajamas. I like the irregular look and think it will improve how they appear on the tabletop, too. For lots more photos and discussion of the project, check out my Lead Legionaries blog:
https://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/2025/06/two-more-batches-of-28mm-viet-cong.html

Thanks in advance for any comments...
Mike Demana

[carlos marighela]

Nicely done!

Mix 'n' match is arguably more realistic. Regional units liked to look as military as possible, using locally made uniforms, bits of stolen kit and civvy items. Even the local peasantry wasn't 100% outfitted in black peasant costumes, western style clothing had been around for a century or so.

[FifteensAway]

The blonde soldier? 

Why, Lance B. Johnson of course. 

Who, says some of you?  The surfer in Apocalypse Now.  The "iconic" California surfer is blonde (even if they aren't all in reality). 

Says a very long time Californian - but not a surfer.  And a dirty dishwater blonde - or was before the gray started creeping in.

Or, you can just name him Charlie in counterpoint to Kilgore's "Charlie don't surf" comment!    . "Oh, yes I do!  Watch me."  And off he goes.  But then you need a surf board.   

[mikedemana]

Agree 100% on kit stolen or scavenged. So, it should likely be mix and match more than I am doing. While doing my final batch of VC this morning, I finally figured out what a piece of equipment was hanging off some of their belts. It looked for all the world like binoculars.

However, I now believe it to be a par of Chinese "potato masher" style grenades. Should I go back and re-paint them?? Sigh.

Thanks for the comments...
Mike Demana

[carlos marighela]

I would, it adds  little extra colour with the handle of the stick grenade.

[Ash]

However, I now believe it to be a par of Chinese "potato masher" style grenades. Should I go back and re-paint them?? Sigh.

This may be of some use...

[mikedemana]

Perfect! And exactly not what I painted them to look like... 

I guess I should have asked on here before painting that bit of detail instead of waiting till my last figures with it. That's definitely what is modeled, though. Thank you, Ash!

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

They look good, Mike.  Don't sweat the "Oops".   Fecal matter occurs...

[mikedemana]

So, with these two batches of U.S. soldiers and the one batch of Viet Cong below, I am done! The initial purchase from Crucible Crush's Black Sun range of 35 U.S. infantry and 25 Viet Cong are all painted up. I'm very happy with how quickly this got completed. Sixty 28mm miniatures in roughly two months is progress I can be pleased with!



I will be purchasing more figures, but that is likelyl about a month away when I go to Historicon. I'm hoping some of the manufacturers there will be carrying some (though I will begin research into that very soon).

For closeups of these three batches and discussion of what's next for the project, check out my latest Lead Legionaries blog post:
https://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/2025/07/28mm-vietnam-figures-done-for-now.html

Mike Demana

[FifteensAway]

Took a peak at your blog.  Nice work.

On the number of Vietnamese figures, I don't think that should be an issue at a skirmish level.  I'd say you actually have a surplus of figures for all but a stand-up firefight - which the Viet would try hard to avoid.

[mikedemana]

Took a peak at your blog.  Nice work.

Thank you, sir! I am now into terrain mode. Here's the first of the production -- two Vietamese farmer's buildings from Miniature Building Authority. Originally produced by Acheson Creations, which explains why they seemed so oddly familiar to me as I was painting them up... 



Along with six, 3" bases of jungle scatter I scratch built. I put a plastic palm tree in the center of each base, then drilled holes for various plastic plants from the local craft store. I really like the variety they'll add to the table!



For a step by step and lots more pictures, check out the latest entry on my Lead Legionaries blog:
https://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/2025/07/miniature-building-authority-vietnamese.html

Thanks in advance for any comments...
Mike Demana

[Hoagie]

Great stuff Mike! I just started making my own jungle terrain pieces, having a look at yours for inspiration!

[FifteensAway]

Nice to know some of the Acheson items have found a new home; if anyone knows where other of their items went, I'd love to know, especially their 15 mm offerings.

Those jungle bases look really good and I like that final coat effect.  One caution though, store those bases flat to prevent them warping over time.  I am in process of experimenting with buying sheets of plastic and cutting them into irregular shapes to avoid the warping issue - bases for more than terrain but buildings and larger scatter items as well.  And planning on ordering a bunch of 2" steel discs as well to provide weighted bases for taller trees.  The roundness won't be ideal but it will allow storing more in a smaller space.  Of course, I might end up combining the two to get both the irregular shape and the weight, might lose magnetic force but not sure it will be needed for trees.  I have a bunch of even larger wooden discs (5-6") with trees on them I've had for years and, so far, so good, no warping but I'm 'religious' about storing them flat.

Keep inspiring us with your work. 

[mikedemana]

Good advice -- they're sitting flat, now, in my terrain closet. They were about an inch too tall to fit in drawers of my rolling cart where I store most of my scatter. I may need to put something underneath, though. Thank you!

Mike Demana