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Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry , Cassino 1944 .
This figure wears a direct copy of the uniform worn in an IWM colour photograph which Royoboy turned up recently : in the picture , showing Corporal Smith of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry , an alternative hot weather outfit of wool shirt and Denim trousers is clearly shown :
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For those unfamiliar with them , every British soldier was issued with a set of these Denims , for dirty fatigues , and they were virtually identical with the Battledress , but cut looser from washable denim fabric . They could be worn on their own , or over the Battledress , which was sometimes done for extra warmth in Holland and Germany during the winter of '44-45 .
Denims were worn quite a lot in Italy , being much more comfortable than the woolen Battledress in hot weather . It's curious in a way that he's not got a KD shirt as well , which being cotton Aertex was much more comfortable than the itchy woolen shirt : I have vivid memories of having to wear the woolen shirt in the Cadet force , and they were a kind of torture : our ancestors were obviously made of sterner stuff !
Incidentally , the woolen shirt was made of ANGORA wool , not " Angola " as stated in so many books : this typo has been repeated so often that it has achieved the status of fact, but is sheer nonsense .
Here's my version :
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He represents an anonymous Private rather than a Corporal, since I've just done a Thompson armed figure , and wanted to do a rifleman. The equipment is entirely conventional , but the clothing makes an interesting contrast with the usual rig. .
The shirt is the DML one , which is the best we have at present : it doesn't really imitate the texture of the original very well , but I don't think anything in 1/6th could.
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The Denim trousers are repainted DML Soldat " Harry Collins " BD : these are unsatisfactory as BD , but the fabric texture does pretty well for Denims , and I've at last found a use for them : having discovered that they'll take paint reasonably well , I might try doing a whole set ! I did try bleaching them , but they are impervious .
They needed the pockets modifying by removing the two hip pockets and remaking the thigh pocket , and adding belt loops for the leather belt ( the later versions lacked these ) .
The paint to recolour them is mostly Vallejo 920 mixed with white : two thin coats are best to produce the grey- green colour : you might add a little khaki or yellow ochre to kill some of the blueness .
Most Denims were some version of this shade , rather like the German " reed green " , though there were also pinky- brown ones earlier in the war , and some which were more like stone grey : the colour also varied with washing and sun-bleaching.
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The helmet has had a sewn on hessian cover added , which is covered by a large mesh net made from that 1/6th string vest that also came with Harry Collins : another piece of workshop economy.....
The rest of the equipment is my usual rebuilt set , and the SMLE is the admirable BBI one , weathered and repainted : I'm glad I bought lots of these when they were available.
The head was made a while back in response to a remark by my Dad that some of my heads were too heroic looking ... I think this one might meet with his approval !
The 2nd. Battalion , Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry were in the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division , and involved in the fourth attack at Cassino in the early summer of 1944.
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I fear I've got the Italian campaign bug now ( been buying books , always a bad sign ! ) so there might be some more in this vein.
_____________________________________________________________
This figure wears a direct copy of the uniform worn in an IWM colour photograph which Royoboy turned up recently : in the picture , showing Corporal Smith of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry , an alternative hot weather outfit of wool shirt and Denim trousers is clearly shown :
For those unfamiliar with them , every British soldier was issued with a set of these Denims , for dirty fatigues , and they were virtually identical with the Battledress , but cut looser from washable denim fabric . They could be worn on their own , or over the Battledress , which was sometimes done for extra warmth in Holland and Germany during the winter of '44-45 .
Denims were worn quite a lot in Italy , being much more comfortable than the woolen Battledress in hot weather . It's curious in a way that he's not got a KD shirt as well , which being cotton Aertex was much more comfortable than the itchy woolen shirt : I have vivid memories of having to wear the woolen shirt in the Cadet force , and they were a kind of torture : our ancestors were obviously made of sterner stuff !
Incidentally , the woolen shirt was made of ANGORA wool , not " Angola " as stated in so many books : this typo has been repeated so often that it has achieved the status of fact, but is sheer nonsense .
Here's my version :
He represents an anonymous Private rather than a Corporal, since I've just done a Thompson armed figure , and wanted to do a rifleman. The equipment is entirely conventional , but the clothing makes an interesting contrast with the usual rig. .
The shirt is the DML one , which is the best we have at present : it doesn't really imitate the texture of the original very well , but I don't think anything in 1/6th could.
The Denim trousers are repainted DML Soldat " Harry Collins " BD : these are unsatisfactory as BD , but the fabric texture does pretty well for Denims , and I've at last found a use for them : having discovered that they'll take paint reasonably well , I might try doing a whole set ! I did try bleaching them , but they are impervious .
They needed the pockets modifying by removing the two hip pockets and remaking the thigh pocket , and adding belt loops for the leather belt ( the later versions lacked these ) .
The paint to recolour them is mostly Vallejo 920 mixed with white : two thin coats are best to produce the grey- green colour : you might add a little khaki or yellow ochre to kill some of the blueness .
Most Denims were some version of this shade , rather like the German " reed green " , though there were also pinky- brown ones earlier in the war , and some which were more like stone grey : the colour also varied with washing and sun-bleaching.
The helmet has had a sewn on hessian cover added , which is covered by a large mesh net made from that 1/6th string vest that also came with Harry Collins : another piece of workshop economy.....
The rest of the equipment is my usual rebuilt set , and the SMLE is the admirable BBI one , weathered and repainted : I'm glad I bought lots of these when they were available.
The head was made a while back in response to a remark by my Dad that some of my heads were too heroic looking ... I think this one might meet with his approval !
The 2nd. Battalion , Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry were in the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division , and involved in the fourth attack at Cassino in the early summer of 1944.
I fear I've got the Italian campaign bug now ( been buying books , always a bad sign ! ) so there might be some more in this vein.
_____________________________________________________________
