My WW1 Figure Bash

[pzrwest]

I liked the DID Max Muller figure but didn't want to pay the high price of it so I decided to bash a figure. I had a body with I think was a Pieter HS. Ib save about 1/3rd of the price of the boxed figure by buying the individual bits on ebay. In the mean time I ordered a Prussian 1-1 pickelhaube and it arrived today and thought what a great backdrop item to pose the figure in front of. Here are the pics.... as always comments are welcomed.... Harold

[Kurt-Heinrich1917]

Hallo!

It appears (to me) in the photo's that your 1:1 Pickelhaube spike got knocked off center and is leaning to the helmet's left on its friction mounting?

Do you do after-market detail or detail work? If so, you could silver paint the Gew 98's bolt assembly, its barrel's breech end below the receiver ring, the top and side gradiant scales on the rear sight, and butt plate on the rifle as they are "bright" on the original.

For parade, the M1895 Pickelhaube would have been uncovered. For campaign or in the field, it would have the M1892 gray-green cloth cover early on with red cloth, then green cloth (August 1914), then eventually no regimental numbers.

In the field the gray-green M1892 covers were found to quickly fade to dirty tan. In August of 1914 a stone gray version was introduced that was also water-proof. But the gray fabric was hard to produce and in October 1915 it was replaced with one made of olive green, yellow, and blue threads to go with the new M1915 Pickelhaube with zinc plated sheet iron fittings and a removeable spike. That proved just as bad, and was replaced in Janaury 1916 with a new thread color mix of olive-green, field gray, and blue.

ALWAYS nice to see WWI lads!!!

Thanks for putting it up!

[pzrwest]

Yes the spike is leaning to the side a bit as I didn't tighten it all the way and must have accidentally bumped it. I might order a cloth cover for the pickelhaube and put the numbers 16 on the front to match the unit my u-boot friend Edgar's father's unit I got the pickelhaube to display along side his fathers medals, minature medals on a gold chain(fro wearing on his civilian suit), WW1 cap cockades, shoulderboards(Lt.), and sword knot. His father buried the pickelhaube and sword after WW2

[Kurt-Heinrich1917]

Hallo!

Yes, burying things, dumping down farm wells, or tossing them in rivers or lakes was fairly common out of fear of what the American soldiers would do if found while searching houses.

My family also went as far as to burn their uniforms, as well as photographs of family members in uniform.

[pzrwest]

That is exactly why he buried the items, mainly the sword