Hi Guys,

First pics of my latest effort; Benieto's 54mm Australian Infantryman, New Guinea 1943.

Painted in Jo Sonja acrylics with oil washes.

As always comments welcome.

Nice one Tony. I am surprised the uniform was so green but I guess that's because I am used to khaki. Makes sense for jungle fighting I guess.

Colin

Cheers Colin,

The uniforms worn by AIF soldiers returning from North Africa and redeployed to New Guinea in 1943 were originally khaki drill in colour, but were died green to make them more suitable for jungle conditions. The dyes used were usually not colour fast and often very bright green in colour and then faded as the clothes wore out.

In the humid conditions of the jungles the light drill cloth, which was better suited to the dry heat of the desert, didn't last very long and rotted within several weeks. They were eventually replaced by heavier cotton cloth materials which were better suited to the jungle.

I'm planning to tone down the green colour and make it more drab in colour and then add lots of dirt and stains to reflect the harsh jungle conditions.

Nice one Tony, I remember a while ago you had painters block, now I think its the opposite!!!!! I guess it is Aussie though so you have to do it
Ben

Looking good mate, nice work..

Looking great so far mate. Geez, you're churning them out at the moment!!

The painting looks great so far Tony.
At this early stage the figure's pose is, well I'm not sure how to put it but , it's not good ,but I'm sure it'll all come together well in the end.
Looking forward to your progress here Tony!

Looking good so far Tony, a wee bit fading here and there should help as you well know. Looking forward to seeing more.
Only question I have is with the shorts in the jungle, is that a standard for your guys?

Don

Correct me if I'm wrong, Tony, but the wearing of shorts wasn't that common by 1943, Don. Perhaps earlier on - I've seen a few images from the Kokoda track, but not the standard.

Thanks Nick, just wasnt sure and I know I wouldnt myself.
Met a few Diggers returning from Vietnam and am pretty sure they never wore shorts in the bush.
Thanks for the photos though, seems they did wear them. Was pretty sure Tony would never have painted the figure if it was wrong, was trying to remember!

Don

Cheers guys, thanks for comments.

Mark the pose looks a bit odd at the moment but it should look OK once I have the figure placed on the base.

Don, shorts were worn throughout the war both in North Africa and in New Guinea. They provided some relief from the heat and were easier to wear especially when you consider most of the men fighting on the Kokoda Track were suffering from dysentery and had relentless and constant diarrhoea. Without getting too explicit, the common solution was to use the bayonet to slice a hole in the back of your shorts and just squat down when you needed to go. Not elegant or heroic but effective and practical.

Thanks for the explanation Tony. I can see the point in N Africa but not so in the jungle. Not being so bold as to argue with every Australian soldier I wanted to find out. Having worked in West Africa, Indonesia and a hell of a lot of sandy and jungle places we were never allowed shorts (modern industry) due to the wide range of things that want to bite a mere human.
We were very lucky that when we got diarrhoea we went to the nearest toilet for a few days.
I will leave the likes of the Kokoda Trail to others, braver men than me.
Thanks for your help.

Don

Wasn't just me that thought it was Bdr "Gloria" Beaumont then Looks good and some interesting stuff there Tony
Steve

He's a little character Tony
Enjoying the history that is coming out as this project evolves too.

Mike

Thanks again folks.

Just one further point on the shorts - they may not have started off as shorts when they were issued. The "shorts" as seen in the photos Nick supplied look to be cut off trousers, a form of field modification to the uniform which is tolerated on the front line but frowned upon by those in the rear echelons. At the front practical necessity dictated comfort.

Very nice tony,I don't know much about this period of war but your figure looks really well done