Beware the Chicken Men - 3/506 Currahees, 101st Airborne, Vietnam

“Beware the Chicken Men” - the name and warning given by the Vietnamese for the 101st Airborne as they (Vietnamese) were not aware of eagles, and likened the screaming eagle patch to a chicken, a bird they knew well. The 3/506 “Curahees” “The “Stand Alone battalion” continued the legacy started by their currahee fathers during WW2, made famous by Band of Brothers. These men trained in the woods of Georgia before shipping out to Vietnam.

These guys, with whom I am blessed and honoured to have some unit veterans as friends, served their country courageously and bravely. They fought for each other over there in horrendous conditions. They lost their brothers, watched as others went home with life changing injuries and even now, the mental effects are affecting them from the trauma.

This is my modest attempt at a small patrol (I got impatient to take photos as I’m actually waiting on 2 more to arrive with lightweight rucksacks etc). Wearing the OD uniform synonymous with US troops in Vietnam with their helmets covered in graffiti, carrying M16s and one with an M60. As said, there are 2 further ones due soon.

I hope that I have done them some credit with my humble 1:6 versions. I have added also an NVA soldier taking aim through the jungle flora and fauna.

Beautifully kitbashed figures. The photos look excellent and I appreciate the glimpses at all these realistic details.

GubernatorFan wrote:Beautifully kitbashed figures. The photos look excellent and I appreciate the glimpses at all these realistic details.

Thanks man. I still got 2 more boxed Cliff Dweller figures incoming….I just change body and head over and makes a damned near perfect figure even better in my eyes. Saw a pic of an RTO using his respirator pouch as cover on his radio hence why mine now doing it haha.

I tagged a couple of my friends who served with 3/506 and L/75 in Nam and best thing ever when said they are impressed and one thought they were real at first glance.

Holy Cow ! So many details. There´s a little bottle weapon oil fixed at the helmet, right ? Excellent

Ephiane wrote:Holy Cow ! So many details. There´s a little bottle weapon oil fixed at the helmet, right ? Excellent

Thanks. Yup one has a bottle of gun oil and one has bug juice

I`ll get the nit picking bits out the way first , as I would rather leave with the praise your figures deserve . Regarding your 60 gunner , the ammo belts should always have the blunt ends approaching the neck , and not the pointed bullets , that way they wont dig in the neck or other parts of the body . I have done the same ting and not realised till after I took the photos . Most C rat spoons are white as far as I know , but of course it could be a personal spoon , and I may stand to be corrected . Other wise to me they look great and a lot of attention and research has gone into kitting them out , none look over loaded , so easy to do with U.S NAM figures . And you can not beat outdoor pics for such figures , I look forward to seeing your other two . Has Your Recon Radio opp left the team , or is that another shouting sculpt ? Good stuff , well done .

Chip wrote: I`ll get the nit picking bits out the way first , as I would rather leave with the praise your figures deserve . Regarding your 60 gunner , the ammo belts should always have the blunt ends approaching the neck , and not the pointed bullets , that way they wont dig in the neck or other parts of the body . I have done the same ting and not realised till after I took the photos . Most C rat spoons are white as far as I know , but of course it could be a personal spoon , and I may stand to be corrected . Other wise to me they look great and a lot of attention and research has gone into kitting them out , none look over loaded , so easy to do with U.S NAM figures . And you can not beat outdoor pics for such figures , I look forward to seeing your other two . Has Your Recon Radio opp left the team , or is that another shouting sculpt ? Good stuff , well done .

Thanks Chip! Ah I will turn the ammo belts around. I wasn’t sure. The spoon came with an ace figure I think. I have another white one, so will use that as makes sense thanks for the tips. Much appreciated and will make these look better!

Yeah, I do love this era. A lot of what I put together is memory from when I re-enacted and got the info from the vets. The one that I’ll be adding in my next team (LRRP) will have their screaming eagles and L/75 scrolls on their tigers….as got told by 3 friends who wore them in Nam that’s what they did. Still got no idea on loads though. Been reading your posts and getting loads of info too, very helpful haha you noticed the headsculpt switch? Had to use meth spirits to get camo off….but yeah, decided screaming down handset would not be something a recon team did. They’d be quiet unless they had been compromised.

Really well done. All the photos have so much life to them. Love the helmet graffiti and the smokes. Excellent photos and figures all around.

My generation grew up on Vietnam shows. It was over long enough to makenits way into film and comics. I still have a few copies of The Nam comics and can still hear "Paint it black" as the opening for Tour of Duty. The rerelease of Snake eyes doesnt even mention him in Vietnam. Your shots take me back. Thanks!

Dienamic wrote:My generation grew up on Vietnam shows. It was over long enough to makenits way into film and comics. I still have a few copies of The Nam comics and can still hear "Paint it black" as the opening for Tour of Duty. The rerelease of Snake eyes doesnt even mention him in Vietnam. Your shots take me back. Thanks!

Thanks. I loved staying up for Tour of Duty. Brilliant show and yes, Paint it Black echoes in my head. I’m going to try my hand at stop motion on these and either going to use paint it black or fortunate son as the background music

Wonder figures, so well put together / Thanks for sharing .

Very nice, like the attention to detail!

Man, I gotta get my Nam guys out for more action.

Thanks all. They were joined by one of the 2 FNGs today. The other will come by end of week\

The FNG looks good. Great use of that head sculpt. I need to find one of those.

I agree, great looking FNG.

Great shots and great figures too, all of them, they have so many little details that bring them to life.

Thanks guys. Not sure why the photos are sideways! The FNG I finally got the equipment right. The first 2, the damned frame for the rucksack broke at exactly same place…the top bar snaps so easily, managed to avoid it 3rd time round lol. Yeah, neem trying to find larger sculpts for the helmets as newer dam heads are tiny..like on my 1st guy. This was the dam tet offensive head, and works really well. It was only when I took a close up of the dog tags did I realise they are printed like the real ones with name, religion etc

I fixed all the pics for you. (The trick I found for this sort of thing is to open the photo in image editing software and "save" it; the pics usually end up upright all the time that way.)

Stryker2011 wrote:I fixed all the pics for you. (The trick I found for this sort of thing is to open the photo in image editing software and "save" it; the pics usually end up upright all the time that way.)

Ah thank you! Weird thing is they are right way up on my phone and tablet haha. Appreciate it! My last guy is held in customs still

Some more pics as my 5th trooper arrived along with subdued jump wings and rank insignia. The black guy is having head replacement in a week as I accidentally wiped his eyes off with methylated spirits when wiping the camo paint off

Except for the poor guy you accidentally blinded (can't you repaint?), your ranks are swelling up beautifully.

GubernatorFan wrote:Except for the poor guy you accidentally blinded (can't you repaint?), your ranks are swelling up beautifully.

I haven’t got the skill but will try to, need tiny brush. And thank you

The new guys fit in nicely . I love that radio but not managed to pick one up . All those details make a big difference . Hoping for some outdoor pics soon .

Nice new addition. This squad is looking pretty cool. Too bad about that guy’s eye. Perhaps he could have been wounded (?) and his eyes is swollen shut.

Stryker2011 wrote:Nice new addition. This squad is looking pretty cool. Too bad about that guy’s eye. Perhaps he could have been wounded (?) and his eyes is swollen shut.

Thanks! That’s a great suggestion! Haha.