Small Scale Military Headquarters

I need an NVA gun crew for my 37mm aa gun but don't know what figures to use. I have asian heads but no good bodies to represent North Vietnamese army regulars. Any suggestions for what i can use? Any good Joe figures? (The NVA figure that 21c put out a few years ago is no good because of the RPG pouches on the torso).

just a wild suggestion here (don't know much about the NVA) but could you possibly use some DAK figs?

aferguson wrote:I need an NVA gun crew for my 37mm aa gun but don't know what figures to use. I have asian heads but no good bodies to represent North Vietnamese army regulars. Any suggestions for what i can use? Any good Joe figures? (The NVA figure that 21c put out a few years ago is no good because of the RPG pouches on the torso).

You might wanna look into some of the Pirates of the Caraibean figs that are currently out. Someone on here had posted custom Nva figs awhile back. Hope this helps.

They were Viet Cong customs. They looked pretty good, but they weren't uniformed NVA regulars. I'm hoping that they come out with some with the launch of their Platoon line.

Based on the picture below, I want to say you could get away with using XD Japanese soldiers, save with some of the gear removed and modified helmets.



It won't be nearly perfect (the pants legs are way off on the Japanese soldiers) but may just be passable

yes, that is my back-up plan if i can't find anything better...

Long time ago 21st released a NVA 1/18 figure. have you tried that one?

75th Ranger said:

Long time ago 21st released a NVA 1/18 figure. have you tried that one?

I am assuming you mean these?
http://www.sshqdb.com/coppermine/index.php?cat=85

Those figs are hard to find these days.Nobody wants to part with them since they were the only decent NVA figs put out.

G'day Aferg'

How about using those Star Wars 30th Anniversary Rebel Honor Guard figures with 21stCT IJN or VC/NVA head swaps?

hey, not a bad idea Spudkopf, thanks!

Just checked my loose figures and the Starwars Sentry uniform is real close to NVA uniform since a gun crew wouldn't have web gear on while manning the gun. Pretty close to the color too. The WWII Japanese heads are close but a litte thin for a real NVA. Different racial look altogether. Remember that the NVA/VC were all clean shaven with no long hair so that leaves out the Pirates figures. Speaking of which the Pirates figures are on sale for $2.98 at Kbee and the top half of the Elizabeth Swan figure and the bottom half of the Tai Huang figure make a great female VC figure, just a little flat black paint. Not my idea, someone else on this board came up with it a while ago and I just copied it. Also the "Hatch" from lost was on sale for $6.40 [50% off the clearance price] and if you haven't picked up a couple you are missing out on one of the best deals on a really great looking ready made diorama ever. Iwo Jima or Vietnam, just add figures. Also not my idea. Have fun. Bob

just picked up three of the rebel honour guard figures......they're going to be dandy. Relatively small figures, good uniform colour, no web gear, good enough articulation....only a bit of work needed in fact. Dandy.

Rylau wrote:Just checked my loose figures and the Starwars Sentry uniform is real close to NVA uniform since a gun crew wouldn't have web gear on while manning the gun. Pretty close to the color too. The WWII Japanese heads are close but a litte thin for a real NVA. Different racial look altogether. Remember that the NVA/VC were all clean shaven with no long hair so that leaves out the Pirates figures. Speaking of which the Pirates figures are on sale for $2.98 at Kbee and the top half of the Elizabeth Swan figure and the bottom half of the Tai Huang figure make a great female VC figure, just a little flat black paint. Not my idea, someone else on this board came up with it a while ago and I just copied it. (Grunt)

Also the "Hatch" from lost was on sale for $6.40 [50% off the clearance price] and if you haven't picked up a couple you are missing out on one of the best deals on a really great looking ready made diorama ever. Iwo Jima or Vietnam, just add figures.
Also not my idea. (Razor)
Bob

Good idea with the SW Rebel Honor Guard figure I've turned a couple of those figures into something approximating a WWII Russian infantry soldier and officer, but I kept the heads the same. A headswap will be difficult with this figure, however. The head on the Rebel Guard is mounted on a fixed "neck" so that the head can swivel in the manner of a ball-and-socket joint. You would have to cut off the "neck" at the base of the shoulders and perhaps drill a small hole to accomodate an XD Japanese figure's head. A little bit of work, but doable

I know it's not the head you want, but it sounds like the same type of head/ball-socket thing I ran across with a superman figure I got to use with one of my XD figs.

this figure might be handy for making a variety of figures of diff't armies.....particulairly for WWI. The biggest problem is the pockets on the lower part of the jacket; most infantry didn't have pockets there (russian, german wwi, etc). It might be possible to turn that soft plastic piece inside out, so the pockets are on the inside and the outside now looks pocketless..

This could prove to be quite a handy figure for custom work...good thing it will probably be a peg warmer.

I know this is an old topic but I just got 1 of these rebel guard figs and was wondering if anyone had sucess turning 1 into an NVA
I'm kinda curious if the 21c IJA heads fit, are they too big? (the accual head not just the peg w/e)
this is the 1st one I've seen and I like em for reasons mentioned above
if they are peg warmers maybe I can find more

they work pretty will but the heads won't fit at all. There's a ball joint in the neck so you have to chop it off and glue on a new head. You also need to find figures with skinny necks......you'll see what i mean when you try it.

Otherwise, i think they make dandy NVA uniforms. You have to trim off the coat tail below the belt, put on an appropriate head, and detail and weather to taste.

Just an idea for you that are trying this. You wouldn't need to cut off the neck to add a new head, as you could use a dremal to add a ball socket for the neck post. That way you can keep the ball joint for the head, that is if you like that articulation.

Also over on the Star Wars forums, most have stressed the dislike of the legs stance. Quick fix if you don't like the wide stance is the boil the legs until soft and hold them to get a closer stance and run under cold water, ie boil & hold method.

Good luck with your customs guys.
momaw nadon

thank you guys for the advice