Hello all...
Here are a couple of US Rangers on June 1st...Weymouth, England, June 1st, 1944...waiting to board the LCA that will take them to their transports, where they will wait another 5 days until storming ashore on the right flank of Omaha Beach at Dog Green Beach...
These figures are 'special' to me (especially the Captain), even though they're still a work in progress.
They're still awaiting a few items:
A canteen cup for the Captain
Gas Brassards for both
Thompson sling for the Captain
Tie On first aid pouch for the NCO
HS and hand repaints...
...and a suitable 'quay side' base for their display.
You've seen the NCO in a previous post, but the Captain figure actually pre-dates him in my collection...and 'his' story is the one I want to relate...
in 2006, I was still in the Gulfport, MS area...working and recovering from the devestation that was Hurricane Katrina.
I had just started to re-enter the 1/6 arena (I had only started a few months before the storm, in late summer 2005), after starting to replace the higher priority items...
I had also JUST started to use E-Bay as a source for ,then, hard-to-find items...I had started bidding on a rare "Capt.Miller" assault jacket that I wanted to start a bash of a D-Day Ranger.
for the previous 2 weeks, I noticed that I was retaining water in my toes and feet, and had actually gotten 'puffy' over the course of the 2 weeks...
I was continuing my swimming, lifting, and regular excercise regimen so I wasn't too concerned...I finally went to the doctor after not being able to button my pants...after a couple of tests, he rushed me to the hospital where they started a heart cath, 'other' cath...and moved me to MICU...telling me that, I was 'in' cardiac arrest!...(I had no clue...)
after the tests, it was told to me that I had, apparently, suffered a MAJOR heart attack...and that my heart was in such a degenerative state that I was a likely candidate for a heart transplant...(Mind you I still wasn't even 'out of breath')
Apparently, my otherwise excellent health had allowed my body to function somewhat regularly despite the reduced heart function (I had an injection fraction of 10%...technically I should have been dead)
after removing 30 POUNDS(!) of water weight over the course of 5 days...the prognosis became better...and eventually (over 8 monthe later) open heart surgery was performed to correct blockages....raising my ejection fraction to a shade over 60%...Great news...
But my story concerns the time I was caught unaware and was in MICU for those five days...
I had 'won' the assault jacket, the day I was rushed to the hospital...posted by a person then unknown to me...Jason at J-P Hobbies...
I had no way of paying immediately, didn't yet have a PayPal account and, through a third person, fumbled and stumbled through attempts to pay with a personal check (having to do this more than once because of my writing the wrong name on the first check...)
All the while fully expecting to be 'taken to task' by Jason, I kept him informed through my friend, and was amazed at his patience with a relative newcomer to Ebay and his store...
I finally confirmed that he received correct payment and he wasted no time in sending my assault jacket...
I never forgot his patience and understanding during a very unique situation, and since, have held his example 'up' as a GREAT representative of most of the folks that I've since had dealings...
since the fostering of that GREAT business relationship, Jason's been one of the guys I trust to earn my money in the 1/6th world...and I do use the word 'trust' because he's certainly earned it...AND my respect for treating me like a human being during a difficult time and giving me the benefit of the doubt...
Because of this...Jason is the FIRST person I check when I determine that I need a particular part! (I've also been treated GREAT by Paul at Toy Soldier Brigade, Brady at Monkey Depot, and the folks at War-Toys, Echo-Base, and Red Planet!)
But Jason will always be the ambassador to 1/6th that reinforced the good will that I encounter from almost everyone I've dealt with in the 1/6 th hobby...
The Captain in these pics is wearing that DML assault jacket...dyed a darker OD with RIT dye (also the very first 'alteration' I made to any 1/6 garment)
He's got a lot of different manufacturers gear on...representing justa about all the major and minor manufacturer's of WWII 1/6 items...so he's a sentimental favorite...being the bash that he is...
but that assault jacket is the key...and I just wanted to relate the story behind a person who's really helped the image of the 1/6 hobby..at least in MY eyes!
Bruce
Here are a couple of US Rangers on June 1st...Weymouth, England, June 1st, 1944...waiting to board the LCA that will take them to their transports, where they will wait another 5 days until storming ashore on the right flank of Omaha Beach at Dog Green Beach...
These figures are 'special' to me (especially the Captain), even though they're still a work in progress.
They're still awaiting a few items:
A canteen cup for the Captain
Gas Brassards for both
Thompson sling for the Captain
Tie On first aid pouch for the NCO
HS and hand repaints...
...and a suitable 'quay side' base for their display.
You've seen the NCO in a previous post, but the Captain figure actually pre-dates him in my collection...and 'his' story is the one I want to relate...
in 2006, I was still in the Gulfport, MS area...working and recovering from the devestation that was Hurricane Katrina.
I had just started to re-enter the 1/6 arena (I had only started a few months before the storm, in late summer 2005), after starting to replace the higher priority items...
I had also JUST started to use E-Bay as a source for ,then, hard-to-find items...I had started bidding on a rare "Capt.Miller" assault jacket that I wanted to start a bash of a D-Day Ranger.
for the previous 2 weeks, I noticed that I was retaining water in my toes and feet, and had actually gotten 'puffy' over the course of the 2 weeks...
I was continuing my swimming, lifting, and regular excercise regimen so I wasn't too concerned...I finally went to the doctor after not being able to button my pants...after a couple of tests, he rushed me to the hospital where they started a heart cath, 'other' cath...and moved me to MICU...telling me that, I was 'in' cardiac arrest!...(I had no clue...)
after the tests, it was told to me that I had, apparently, suffered a MAJOR heart attack...and that my heart was in such a degenerative state that I was a likely candidate for a heart transplant...(Mind you I still wasn't even 'out of breath')
Apparently, my otherwise excellent health had allowed my body to function somewhat regularly despite the reduced heart function (I had an injection fraction of 10%...technically I should have been dead)
after removing 30 POUNDS(!) of water weight over the course of 5 days...the prognosis became better...and eventually (over 8 monthe later) open heart surgery was performed to correct blockages....raising my ejection fraction to a shade over 60%...Great news...
But my story concerns the time I was caught unaware and was in MICU for those five days...
I had 'won' the assault jacket, the day I was rushed to the hospital...posted by a person then unknown to me...Jason at J-P Hobbies...
I had no way of paying immediately, didn't yet have a PayPal account and, through a third person, fumbled and stumbled through attempts to pay with a personal check (having to do this more than once because of my writing the wrong name on the first check...)
All the while fully expecting to be 'taken to task' by Jason, I kept him informed through my friend, and was amazed at his patience with a relative newcomer to Ebay and his store...
I finally confirmed that he received correct payment and he wasted no time in sending my assault jacket...
I never forgot his patience and understanding during a very unique situation, and since, have held his example 'up' as a GREAT representative of most of the folks that I've since had dealings...
since the fostering of that GREAT business relationship, Jason's been one of the guys I trust to earn my money in the 1/6th world...and I do use the word 'trust' because he's certainly earned it...AND my respect for treating me like a human being during a difficult time and giving me the benefit of the doubt...
Because of this...Jason is the FIRST person I check when I determine that I need a particular part! (I've also been treated GREAT by Paul at Toy Soldier Brigade, Brady at Monkey Depot, and the folks at War-Toys, Echo-Base, and Red Planet!)
But Jason will always be the ambassador to 1/6th that reinforced the good will that I encounter from almost everyone I've dealt with in the 1/6 th hobby...
The Captain in these pics is wearing that DML assault jacket...dyed a darker OD with RIT dye (also the very first 'alteration' I made to any 1/6 garment)
He's got a lot of different manufacturers gear on...representing justa about all the major and minor manufacturer's of WWII 1/6 items...so he's a sentimental favorite...being the bash that he is...
but that assault jacket is the key...and I just wanted to relate the story behind a person who's really helped the image of the 1/6 hobby..at least in MY eyes!
Bruce