Frasmet
Mortarman
Rifleman, Polish Army, September 1939
I understand now why there haven’t been more of this subject attempted. It’s a real challenge to come up with proper trousers, and most of the important pieces of equipment need to be scratch built.
The helmet-
So let’s begin with the helmet. This is my third and final attempt. The best starting point is a DML Russian helmet. I turned it around backward, removed the rim, ground the sides down to make them more vertical at the same time cutting a new rim, and built up the crown with Bondo spot putty. The liner is similar to the Russian design and was made from scrap leather and some heavy aluminum. Rivets were made from pin heads. The chin strap is my homemade ersatz leather with a Rio Rondo buckle and a clip made from wire and aluminum. If I ever need anther I can recast this shell. It’s not perfect but it’ll pass. Oh and the “salamander” finish (in real life cork bits mixed into the paint) I mixed leather shavings into the paint.
Inside view
Before and after pics DML helmet on the left. What made this so difficult is the helmet looks a lot like the Soviet SSH40, and Italian M33, and from the some angles like a US M1.
The Rogatywka-
The Square cap from the Human Wave figure needed a new badge. The piece included is for those Polish forces fighting with the Red Army. The eagle of the Second Republic having upward wings among other differences. Most enlisted men wore a embroidered cloth patch on the rogatywka rather than a metal badge anyhow. So I made one from a bit of athletic tape and some squint time painting. The Human Wave cap was repainted to make it a darker brown drab color of the wool fabric used.
The field pack-
With headgear out of the way it’s time to find the rest of the bits for a full gear rifleman. First the field pack which has to scratch built. I made one from athletic tape, but the texture was not right and the brand of tape used didn’t paint well. That was tossed aside and I made this:
The body of the pack was hand stitched. I scavenged the straps from the first effort. Since I hate sewing I glued or taped as much as possible. Hardware for the straps was scavenged from DML German Y-straps, and Rio Rondo pieces. End Tabs were made from bits of aluminum.
Bread Bag-
The bread bag was reworked to Polish pattern from a DML piece. I picked the most complicated style, there are several to choose from. There are no belt loops just hooks and the shoulder strap. I have idea what purpose the vertical leather loops serve other than to make itlook different. Comparison below:
Gas mask bag-
The gas mask bag was converted from a Soldier Story Russian piece. I needed to remove some stitching, and repaint. The new closure is actually a nail. I stuffed the bag with a lump off sculpey and cooked at 150 for ten minutes. Then drove the nail into the mass.
Belt gear-
I used Soldier Story DAK ammo pouched with no changes. The belt is made from an old piece of saddle leather thinned down with a small plane, and a sanding block. That was the easy part. The E-tool, and bayonet needed some extra effort. I used a DML Mauser bayonet and scabbard but ditched the frog because I delusions about being Patrick Lin. And the Polish frog is a bit different anyway.
The E-tool was converted from a DML German piece. I filed the blade to a point, and replace the handle with a piece of Balsa wood. The carrier is several bits of leather all hand stitched. Rivets on the E-tool carrier and Bayonet frog are pin heads, Rio Rondo buckles for hardware.
Messkit
The final piece is a Polish mess kit. While largely similar to the German type the lid is different. And there need to be a vertical loop added to the lid handle because the Poles strapped the mess kit to the pack horizontally.
The Rifle
I was going to use a G98, but research showed a lot of carbines. Alas, a Polish Mauser is different from a German Mauser. So I converted a 1st generation DML K98 into a wz. 29. The barrel forward of the ligature, rear end of the bolt, and barrel forward of the breech to the stock (including the rear sight) was cut away and replaced with bits taken from a 21st Century Toys K98 as those have “crisper” detail. I then filed the front sight to an un-hooded type and carved the groves into the stock, reshaped the butt, and carved a new butt plate, and relocated the sling and replaced the sling
AND Bringing It All Together
Finally the little pieces out of the way it’s time to play man-dollie dress up. The uniform consists of the Human Wave Polish tunic, and Soldier Story DAK trousers (straight leg, baggy and a near match in color). However the color of the uniform was off especially for the wool uniform. The light weight canvas uniform is a light tan color, the wool uniform is a brown drab color and the 1/6th pieces are a light olive green. No good. SO, I repainted, which I would have down no matter the color, and weathered the uniform. Trying for recently soiled, rather than 6 weeks without a shower. The boots are DML German ankle boots, with DiD Russian puttees cut down, A DML body with thinned chest and rounded shoulders, hands of unknown origin and a random DML head and we get this:
Oh the great coat roll is Sideshow piece I think, repainted rolled around a piece of wire and straped down with homemade vinyl straps.
And that about does it. Any questions?
I understand now why there haven’t been more of this subject attempted. It’s a real challenge to come up with proper trousers, and most of the important pieces of equipment need to be scratch built.
The helmet-
So let’s begin with the helmet. This is my third and final attempt. The best starting point is a DML Russian helmet. I turned it around backward, removed the rim, ground the sides down to make them more vertical at the same time cutting a new rim, and built up the crown with Bondo spot putty. The liner is similar to the Russian design and was made from scrap leather and some heavy aluminum. Rivets were made from pin heads. The chin strap is my homemade ersatz leather with a Rio Rondo buckle and a clip made from wire and aluminum. If I ever need anther I can recast this shell. It’s not perfect but it’ll pass. Oh and the “salamander” finish (in real life cork bits mixed into the paint) I mixed leather shavings into the paint.
Inside view
Before and after pics DML helmet on the left. What made this so difficult is the helmet looks a lot like the Soviet SSH40, and Italian M33, and from the some angles like a US M1.
The Rogatywka-
The Square cap from the Human Wave figure needed a new badge. The piece included is for those Polish forces fighting with the Red Army. The eagle of the Second Republic having upward wings among other differences. Most enlisted men wore a embroidered cloth patch on the rogatywka rather than a metal badge anyhow. So I made one from a bit of athletic tape and some squint time painting. The Human Wave cap was repainted to make it a darker brown drab color of the wool fabric used.
The field pack-
With headgear out of the way it’s time to find the rest of the bits for a full gear rifleman. First the field pack which has to scratch built. I made one from athletic tape, but the texture was not right and the brand of tape used didn’t paint well. That was tossed aside and I made this:
The body of the pack was hand stitched. I scavenged the straps from the first effort. Since I hate sewing I glued or taped as much as possible. Hardware for the straps was scavenged from DML German Y-straps, and Rio Rondo pieces. End Tabs were made from bits of aluminum.
Bread Bag-
The bread bag was reworked to Polish pattern from a DML piece. I picked the most complicated style, there are several to choose from. There are no belt loops just hooks and the shoulder strap. I have idea what purpose the vertical leather loops serve other than to make itlook different. Comparison below:
Gas mask bag-
The gas mask bag was converted from a Soldier Story Russian piece. I needed to remove some stitching, and repaint. The new closure is actually a nail. I stuffed the bag with a lump off sculpey and cooked at 150 for ten minutes. Then drove the nail into the mass.
Belt gear-
I used Soldier Story DAK ammo pouched with no changes. The belt is made from an old piece of saddle leather thinned down with a small plane, and a sanding block. That was the easy part. The E-tool, and bayonet needed some extra effort. I used a DML Mauser bayonet and scabbard but ditched the frog because I delusions about being Patrick Lin. And the Polish frog is a bit different anyway.
The E-tool was converted from a DML German piece. I filed the blade to a point, and replace the handle with a piece of Balsa wood. The carrier is several bits of leather all hand stitched. Rivets on the E-tool carrier and Bayonet frog are pin heads, Rio Rondo buckles for hardware.
Messkit
The final piece is a Polish mess kit. While largely similar to the German type the lid is different. And there need to be a vertical loop added to the lid handle because the Poles strapped the mess kit to the pack horizontally.
The Rifle
I was going to use a G98, but research showed a lot of carbines. Alas, a Polish Mauser is different from a German Mauser. So I converted a 1st generation DML K98 into a wz. 29. The barrel forward of the ligature, rear end of the bolt, and barrel forward of the breech to the stock (including the rear sight) was cut away and replaced with bits taken from a 21st Century Toys K98 as those have “crisper” detail. I then filed the front sight to an un-hooded type and carved the groves into the stock, reshaped the butt, and carved a new butt plate, and relocated the sling and replaced the sling
AND Bringing It All Together
Finally the little pieces out of the way it’s time to play man-dollie dress up. The uniform consists of the Human Wave Polish tunic, and Soldier Story DAK trousers (straight leg, baggy and a near match in color). However the color of the uniform was off especially for the wool uniform. The light weight canvas uniform is a light tan color, the wool uniform is a brown drab color and the 1/6th pieces are a light olive green. No good. SO, I repainted, which I would have down no matter the color, and weathered the uniform. Trying for recently soiled, rather than 6 weeks without a shower. The boots are DML German ankle boots, with DiD Russian puttees cut down, A DML body with thinned chest and rounded shoulders, hands of unknown origin and a random DML head and we get this:
Oh the great coat roll is Sideshow piece I think, repainted rolled around a piece of wire and straped down with homemade vinyl straps.
And that about does it. Any questions?
