I just picked up the Dragon new Gen2 US Armored Infantry at the IPMS show in Pittsburgh. (great show by the way) How well will these guys fit into a Normandy beach scene? I'm not adverse to a little 'plastic surgery' and I'm always looking fo new figgies for my dio.
Thanks in Advance.

Gday Volfe
It depends on the timing of the scene you have in mind...
The equipment/uniforms AFAIK would be fine... I'd have a squizz at the DML set of the 29thID shown on the beach under fire. If that is what you have in mind then check out any uniform differences. For an established beachhead I'm sure they'd be fine, only not needed in their 'action' poses...
Cheers
Brad

Thanks for the reply, I'll check out the 29th box art to compare the uniforms and equipment.

just curious, what is AFAIK??

Thanks,

I think they would work fine for a beach scene. I don't think they're carying enough though. I think to be most accurate they should be wearing the M-1928 haversack, which would mean minor alteration of the M-1936 suspenders to work. The M-1928 haversack is a simple piece of equipment and would be easy to scratch. They should also be wearing the assault gas mask bag for the M-5 gas mask. These were later discarded when it came apparent that they Germans would not use gas, and are not generally featured on figures.

Overall I think they would be perfect with a little additional gear tacked on to them.

AFAIK stands for "As Far As I Know"

They're wearing fairly early uniforms, though old stocks did appear occasionally through 1944.

They are wearing the M-1937 wools, which were used through the entire war. In about 1943 the army introduced HBT cotton clothing, and that appeared in the same regularity as the wools by thge time of D-Day. In late 1944 and early 1945, the M-1943 uniform began appearing in large numbers as stocks of the M-1941 field jacket began to dry up in Europe. The M-1943 uniform was actually designed to be able to fit over the wools during times of cold weather. The M-1937 wools in conjuction with the M-1941 field jacket remained the standard field uniform of the U.S. army until their stocks were completely emptied and were replaced by the M-1943 uniform.

Wow,
Thanks for all of the information. It's good to know they are accurate for the period. I tend to build for myself but still perfer to be as accurate as possible. Now I have a few more figures to add, I did buy two sets (just in case)

Wolfe

i've also got the dragon Gen 2 U.S. Armored Infantry set, except i'm thinking of puting them in a Remagen dio, would the uniforms work?

They should be fine. The wools were worn through the entire war. Being a late war diorama, you can get away with just about anything in terms of uniforms.