Mu06 - Iwo Jima USMC

posted by roman, jarhead, kong



Another Miniature Unpacked (Mu) rolling in during these hot days...you can find more in the upper navigation bar on the left.

I got flashed again - in my brain, in my soul and in my heart - this happens sometimes, yes - that it still happens makes me really happy and being happy is always good. I don't know why i am writing this in here but Mr. RwW i found something great - the ideas behind the Arky are growing... jipppiiieee, finally :) - ahh ok, i got flashed, really it did hit me hard and i will tell what happened to me now...

As i don't have a television i find a lot of time during my days. No televisions doesn't mean i don't want to enjoy a movie or a good series, i just can't stand a lot of shit that television brings to joke our brains.

Sometimes when i got struck by a good series it can deeply touch my soul. This has happened again while i did watch the latest HBO Series by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg called "The Pacific". You know those two guys really are great in the things they do, but i guess you know what i mean. I saw the series "Band of Brothers" some years ago and i am not a fan of war at all i was fascinated by the touching portraits of the men who became soldiers there, how they're life did change during these days and what their sacrifice meant for history... i still can't believe such things did happen only 70 years ago and i have the deepest respect for those who fought, who died and those who are still alive of these gentleman. I don't want to do a political statement here about the reasons of the wars humanity did fight in the past, this is not my goal. I just can say that i do greatly respect the portraits of men shown in such series... whatever reason they had to fight and had to die in such big numbers. I don't want to lose anymore words about who was evil and who was not, everyone should have learned from this horrible days of humanity.  I am simply touched by the past and what this time periods did to people, families and friends. I am intrested in history that's all.

I was touched lately by the Miniseries "The Pacific". It is about the war the US fought against the Japanese in the WW2 and brings some background of the events and a closer look on individual soldiers who fought there, it is also commented by some of the real persons who have been there and survived.

Here is the Intro to the series which i really love by looking at the visual impact this brings!
Here you can find a trailer to series, by HBO

If you are intrested in some background to these events i could only recommand to you the movies by Clint Eastwood, who takes a closer look at the battle of Iwo Jima from the view of the Japanese and the Americans. It is really intresting. Here are two more links:

Letters from Iwo Jima
Flags of our Fathers

I don't see these films as action movies or something like that - personal for me it is some kind of education, hope you get me right with this one. It is important to me that you get me right, that is why i am telling you all the time :)

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Ok now i am getting to the point... while i've watched the series i always thought of painting something from this time period and then suddenly a parcel arrived and i've opened it...

With this Miniature Unpacked i want to take a closer look on a 1:10 bust of a soldier of the US Marine Corps (USMC) of the battle of Iwo Jima by Young Miniatures, master sculpted and painted by Young B Song.

First impression - wow that is some delicate and exquiste box packing, i really was stunned by that and already felt that i might have done a good investation. A real big and hard cover box, when you open it it looks like this, there has been some foam on top of the parts too - just removed it for the photo.

Taking a closer look on the parts, you'll get:

1x helmet
1x body with backpack
1x sleeping bag or tent i am not yet sure, i guess i'll have to read a bit more
1x the face
1x part of the bajonet knife
2x parts of the helmet leather belts
1x round piece that can fix the model on the socket
1x cigar

The quality of the cast is very good in my eyes. There are no really mentionable mould lines, some tiny air holes on the helmet but that's all. Nothing i couldn't deal about with this technique.

On every main part you have some casting rest that has to be cutted and the place shall be cleaned afterwards. I recommand using a breathing security mask while working with sandpaper on this kind of resin, as it is for sure not healthy - take care of your health so you can longer paint miniatures in your life. Security comes first.

I did start the cleaning with a gripper first to cut away the big pieces and worked to the detail cleaning with my scalpel to sandpaper. Part by part.

While doing so i also took some photos to explain my impressions to you. Here you go with the tiny parts - those have to be cleaned from casting remains. It goes well - take your time and attention because these parts are really thin and could easily break:

There have been 2 areas where i was not really happy about - sure this can happen and i could let them away but i try to be as truthfully as i can be in here. First, was the preparation of the fitting accuracy helmet to head. I had my problems here to clean the inside out of the helmet as the angle is really hard to so. I did manage it, but it might bring some problems to those who are unexperienced. The second area really made me shake my head - here i have to clean and resculpt the place - so it is for sure not an easy process.

Kong's Closing words

After i did prepare and glued the pieces i have to say it is a really adorable bust. For sure not an easy thing when it comes to preparation but everyone with a bit experience can manage these obstacles. I wouldn't recommand it to real starters in the hobby.

The sculpt itself is really wonderful, full of character, full of a vision to be fullfilled. The service around this cast is great (boxing, cover art for inspiration). I simply miss a paper sheet that explains a bit of the background.

After having a talk with Raffa about the bust he told me that some things are not 100% perfectly historical, like the form of the dog tags around his neck. They should have been more like this. Another point Raffa did inform me about is the bucket in his chest pocket. This was not allowed by the US Army, as when they got hit in this place it could bring more danger by making metal fly around. For sure it is not easy to say that every soldier did what he was supposed to do... so these are the 2 points of criticism, but in the end i am really happy with this bust...

...and i am looking forward to make him look like he has survived Iwo Jima. I do like the painting master a lot, but from my personal view this guy is way to clean and did not land on a vulcanic sandy beach... i will try to catch this vision - more soon, maybe :)

Keep on happy painting! Semper Fi!
Best Regards
Roman

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