Hey guys, I'm embarking upon my first historical figure ever (previously I've only painted minis). I've chose the Think 180 Studio's Marine with the M249. I had a few questions about the figure and the paint scheme.

First off, here is a link to the review of the figure so you can see the pieces I'm questioning. Click. I can't figure out if there is a set position for the three pouches included in the kit.

Second of all, I'd like to do a forest style camo for the vest and a desert pattern for the suit. Is this appropriate? Can I do the "chocolate chip" style fatigues? If not, what is the correct style?

Thanks in advance for the help. If you would like to see my fantasy/sci fi stuff my link is here.

Most US units (and I think all USMC units) were issued with woodland pattern MOPP suits. The only guys who had the DCU MOPP suits were some replacements who joined their units a little later into the invasion. The vest and body aarmour would also be woodland.

Regarding the position of the pouches, IIRC, they are part of a modular system, so soldier can place them on any of the loops on their Interceptor vest to suit their needs. I would put the big square pouch under the figure's right arm, as displayed on the box front. The smallest rectangular pouch (the one with a button closure--a first aid dressing) is usually carried high on the left side of the vest, almost even with the armpit. The slightly larger rectangular pouch (an ammo pouch) can go pretty much anywhere else that fits (below the aid pouch, for example).

As for the color scheme, David's guidance is generally on target, especially for Army soldiers in OIF. If you want to depict a Marine, you have a couple of other cammo choices available to you (and one that is generally not, as far as I know). Nearly all Marines had the woodland cammo MOPP suits, so that is standard. Some Marines, however, were issued khaki-colored Interceptor vests during the early stages of the war. The khaki-colored vest is the Marines' desert version--nearly all Marines on the ground now have them. I would guess that they become more widely available as time passed. In addition, I have seen pictures of Marines wearing three different helmet covers--woodland cammo, desert three-tone cammo, and Marpat cammo.

The above info means you have several possible combinations to choose from: woodland MOPP suit (standard), khaki or woodland Interceptor armor, and woodland, desert, or Marpat helmet cover.

Hope this helps.

woodland camo vests on top of DCUs are okay. there's a feature on historicus forma of a vignette done by mario matijasic. it shows the OIF figure with a woodland pattern vest and DCUs. i think the figure was airborne though. but as already mentioned, marines also wore similar garb. click on this link: https://hfmodeling.kitmaker.net//features/802 there are also other features there on painting other uniform camo patterns so check them out.

It would depend on when during OIF you want to depict the Marine. The Marines wore the MOPP suits pretty much constantly for the first week or so of battle, as the fear of Sadam using biological weapons was very real. The MOPP suits they wore in the initial battles were woodland, with woodland Interceptor vests.

The tan colored Interceptor vest is called Coyote Tan, which is a light reddishbrown looking tan. (See first picture, taken on 09/01/2003)

The figure that Rovic refers to is wearing the DCU uniform, which is very different from the MOPP suit.

If you want to paint the MOPP gear in the DCU pattern, then it would have to be after the initial battle, although I am not sure that the Marines wore them very regularily after the initial battles.

I am almost 100% sure you can paint the helmet cover in DCU's though as thats what they had from the start. until they were replaced by the new MARPAT camo.

Here are a couple of pictures of Marines:

09/01/2007
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/ae82f18a8e1b160b852568ba007e7e5e/c431f883d81fe3f5852570790063101f/$FILE/Doc%20-%20High%20Res%20-%201.jpg

NBC Suit
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/ae82f18a8e1b160b852568ba007e7e5e/35e9c680248eac0e85256fa5007627e5/$FILE/NBC3.jpg


Hope this helps a bit with the uniform colors.

Anders is correct. Mario's fig was wearing utilities and not the MOPP suit. I once painted a MOPP suited fig in 3-tone desert pattern 'cos I'd never painted that cam before, and while there might have been a few replacements wearing this, it's not at all typical. Here's the fig I mean, depicted as a member of the 7th Cav.

Thanks for all the help, especially with the pouch placement. I think I'm just going to go for the 3 color tan MOPP gear and green camo IBA- though an improbable combination, it is still possible, and I find it a striking scheme. Now lets hope I don't get too slammed by my courses so I can get to work on this!

sorry about that jake. i didn't bother to check out the link to the figure you were building. guess i was too excited to share the link to mario's vignette. i had just seen it the day before your post and i really liked it.

anyway, thanks to anders and david for pointing this out. the info on the MOPP suit will come in handy some day.

Actually,the color is not Coyote Tan, but Coyote Brown.

Aah thats right!

My bad, I thought it looked weird after I typed it but couldnt figure out what it was. Good call, thanks for correcting me!!