Was wondering if I could use this Miniart villa in a Vietnam dio.. or would it be way off?



Thanks
Hisham

Hi Hisham,

I’d say you can get away with it, but one thing I would definitely do is remove the ionic ornament on the front façade (on top of the ‘column’). You can add some Vietnamese signs and or posters to create the right atmosphere.

Hope this helps a little

Best regards,
Mark

I have not been to Vietnam, but from the photos I have seen , seems like they have a lot of balconies and second floor porches. I think that this building might pass for one in Vietnam. If it were me using it, I would patch up and or eliminate some of the battle damage and disrepair. Instead, dirty up the walls from the ground to about three or four feet off the ground.......................Al

Hi,
Lots of French influence in the architecture in Vietnam, the use of primary colors is big, blues,yellows with painted signs advertising Cinzano,various beers (Tiger comes to mind),soft drinks (be sure you find period correct artwork for Coke & Pepsi), the occasional political signage (in the bigger cities)and sidewalk cafes. Vendor stalls were everywhere, selling everything. French/Vietnamese ladies walking cats on a leash,motorbikes, 3 wheel Vespa carryalls, QCs -Vietnamese police (sometimes referred to as 'white mice')and the occasional "lady of the evening".

The building and some/part/all of the above will make a seriously cool diorama. Good luck with this, maybe it will inspire others to do something similar.

Jake

Hi Hisham,

To be honest, the building doesn't look quite vietnamese.
I made the Vietnam last March. I was hoping to see some old french colonial houses (we have some very good french movie depicting suh magnificient period like "l'amant" or "Indochine" with Catherine Deneuve), and my grilfriend and I didn't find any, except in Hanoï, where youhave one or two still there. But the country is growing so furiously fast, they demolish all the old style house to build big buildings (too bad).
So back to the subject : If you want to start with this kit, get rid of the balcony, there is no arches in Vietnam. Mark is right, no ionic ornament neither. I could see if I have some pictures of those from my trip.
Best,
julien

Ok forget what I told you.
Thus the importance to be documented first, and never speak too fast
Some pictures below of Hoi An, a nice little town on the see shore, very touristic, which has conserved the old style atmosphere.
You could start from the miniart building, but to do this, you'll need some lego craftsmanship

To do such a building there is an easy option:


https://armorama.kitmaker.net/news/7929

Mark

Thank for all your input, guys! I do have a couple of questions, though...

My impression from julien's pics (and some other pics I got through Google) is that it is feasible that a building like this may have existed in Vietnam during the war.

Alfred.. why do you suggest that I eliminate the battle damage? Couldn't this building have been present in an area that was shelled heavily?

julien.. why the "lego craftsmanship"?

Just trying to get my facts straight before I start building it. All I need to know is... is it feasible that a building like this existed back then?

I mean.. if I do build it, can someone comment and say that it's impossible that a building like this existed in Vietnam in those days?

Mark, thanks for the link.. I had forgotten about those! It's just that I already have this Miniart kit, and I don't do any WW II vehicles anymore, so I was thinking if I could use it in a different context.

Thanks a lot
Hisham

Hisham,

The more pics I see the more I'm convonced that this building is suitable for Vietnam.
But you will need to convert it, that's why I'm talking of some lego skills to upside down the building. From the pictures I posted, the arches would more probably be on the 1st floor rather than at the ground level. Or it you want to keep the Miniart kit as it is, you have to make a café on the ground level.
The way the balcony is made on the third picture I posted (little rectangles and rounds) is very tipical from Vietnam. One thing important : building in Vietnam are not made from big stones, but all of tehm are made from bricks. you will need to correct that if you want to make battle damage building.

Best,
Julien

"I mean.. if I do build it, can someone comment and say that it's impossible that a building like this existed in Vietnam in those days?"
Don't give a [auto-censored] about that. Let the pain in the ass guys talk...
Best,
Julien

Thanks a lot for your help, julien.

I'll check the parts layout and see if I can do some surgery to modify it... if it's not too difficult!

Hisham

You gotta remember that Hue City had a lot of French Colonial influence and that was reflected in their architecture. I say use it with minor mods.

Cheers, Ski.

OK.. now for my next question.. the dio setting..

First : I was thinking of using my HB M706 in some way.

Second : I was thinking of putting some sand bags between the arches on the ground floor (as some sort of make-shift fortifications), and the US soldiers would be fighting off some forces trying to storm their position.

Again, my question is regarding the feasibility of the situation.. as I'm really not up on the historical aspect of the battles that took place there.

So, any opinions would be appreciated.

Hisham

Hisham,

I too, had the very same Vietnam thought when I first saw this building. From some of the architecture I have seen, I would suggest that it could indeed be the centrepiece of a really nice Vietnam dio.

If you haven't read the book "Marines in Hue City", I strongly suggest you do. It will give you a real insight into the streetfighting that took place there along with an idea of how the Marines moved through the streets and used the buildings. There are also some really good "then and now" photos in it.

HTH

Andy

Hi Hisham,
IMHO, I think you would definitely be able to use the Miniart house you are talking about here. As some of the guys have mentioned, just tweak it a little here & there.
The M706 wasn't found in Hue during the Marine battles there but it definitely was found used by the Military Police when they were involved in the bitter fighting for Saigon during the same period as the Hue battle; i.e from January 30th/31st 1968 which is known as the Tet Offensive.
There were plenty of colonial buildings very similar to the one you have found in Saigon at the time.
So, my suggestion would be to replicate a scene of MP's fighting off a VC assault from behind a barricade (like you mentioned, i.e with sandbags) with your M706 armoured car out front.
Mark at Mecmodels has some great decals for an M706, by the way.
Hope this helps.
Joe.

Hisham,

There's been plenty of great suggestions put forth and you can do most anything, but do a web search for reference photos and possibly look up History Channels Vietnam series DVD's or even the VFW series to keep your dio accurate. If you have the capability to freeze the video and capture a frame you can print it too for reference as I did for my "Hue City" dio. Nothing worse than putting in the effort to find the situation was not as portraid. You've got some great materials to work with so you should be able to turn out an impressive diorama, have fun too.

I guess what I'm trying to say is research is really important.

Cheers, Ski.

Hisham,
I agree with Steve Zuleski, use it with confidence. This will work for any city that the French were able to influence the local architecture such as Hue, Saigon, Honoi, and the resort town of Dalat. If you go with Dalat, remove the battle damage. However, I would loose the street lights and use "Custom Dioramics" - "Utility Pole Europe WWII" These are resin and P.E. and look almost identical to telephone poles used in larger Vietnamese cities in the 60's Look to Eric Hammel's "Marines in Hue City- a portrait of urban combat" on Zenith Press ISBN:13:978-0-7603-2521-6. This book is an excelent photo ref. If you like, PM me with your e-mail address and I will scan some relevent images for you.
* Mark is correct, you should remove the Ionic ornaments from the column capitols.
*Alfred, this depends on what time period is being represented. If you model the "TET" 68' uprising, battle damage would be appropriate.
Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Hi Hisham.....Just a reply about eliminating the battle damage. It was just a suggestion. You can portray the scene however you want to , with or without damage and it can still be in a battle area. I have lots of pictures that my father took in WW II , that shows buildings from completely blown to pieces , to slightly damaged to some not even scratched by a single bullet. The issue about battle damage is entirely up to you. For me the building might look more attractive all in one piece............. ...........Al

Hi Hisham.
About your 2nd statement, sandbags indicate a prepared position ( maybe a government buiding) contrary to Hollyweird soldiers don't carry sandbags around with them, they would use whatever was available for cover & concealment. Most civilian buildings were not fortified in 66-67 when I was there, only high value targets, did I say a gov't buiding?

I would pick a time frame, research it, find documented info ( pictures, as julian posted, but from the 1960s/70s) and use some of the earlier info I posted. The M706 would be cool too,but limits your time frame (again research).

I hope this helps with your accuracy concerns, but most importantly HAVE FUN!

Jake

Well, thank you all for helping me get it right!

Alfred.. regarding the damage and the big stones showing. If I scribe some lines to make them look like bricks would that sort that problem out?

Andy.. thank you for suggesting the book. Found it at Amazon, I'll go ahead and order it.

Joe.. If I want to make the figures as MP's so I can use the M706, can I use any Vietnam era figures (like Dragon, Hobby Fan, Bravo 6) and just add arm bands and write MP on the helmet.. or were the MP's uniforms different all together?

Steven.. I remember seeing your Hue City dio (at TL I think?) and I have to say it is absolutely awsome!

I'd just like to add.. I'm not really obsessive about accuracy.. I usually just try to keep things within the realm of the feasible and possible

You've all been a great help.. thanks.. and I'll post pics once I have something concrete to show.

Hisham

Steven... I just checked your gallery... you're quite the figure painter!!

Love the guy trying to put the thread through the needle hole.. the expression on his face is priceless Is that a commercial piece I can buy somewhere?

Hisham

Another question... Hey, you said I could ask

Can any, or all, of these vehicles be used in a Vietnam dio?









By the way, do cars in Vietnam have right or left side steering wheels?

Thanks
Hisham

Hi Hisham,
MP's wore the exact same uniform as the grunts but try to make it appear more smarter as the MP's in Saigon were guarding the Generals & diplomats around the US embassy, etc, & the grunts were hacking through the jungle!
Try to use figures with flak jackets (army & NOT marine ones-army flak jackets have thr 3/4 collar & marine flak jackets dont have a collar).
The MP's had "MP" on their helmets & also a brassard on their left (I think) arm which was black (again, I think) with white "MP" on it.

As to the civilian cars you mentioned, I believe all of these could be used, particularly the 3 wheelers. It is such a pity that no manufacturers have made a Lambretta Lambro 450 3 wheeler in 1/35th because these were extremely prolific, apparently, in Vietnam. I dont know how good you are at this hobby but you could try to scratchbuild one, if you like. I'm not that good yet, unfortunately, so will use the 3 wheelers from Arii! Frenchy sent me some photos of the 3 wheeler you mentioned above so there is definitely photographic evidence of them being in Vietnam during the war years.

Again, I hope all this helps.

Joe.

Hisham....You can scribe and make bricks if you like ,but it would most likely be easier to putty over the chipped stucco and then sand it to look undamaged. As fpr the three wheelers I have one of those from Owners Club that I have been saving just for a Vietnam dio. Now the problem is getting around to starting one.............Best Regards......Al

Hi all,
Nice project..many buildings in vietnam is a French descent. I think you should just adjust the color .. a little more color piercing. it's just my opinion.
I have just a question can you tell me the brand of vehicles ab