How to make POW figures?

[aferguson]

I want to make some wwii airmen POW figures for my luftstalag. What figures would be good to use? I thought of the BBI P-51 pilot but forgot that he has a life vest on. I need allied airmen figures without harnesses or life vests.

Any ideas?

[Dauntless]

You might be able to use the Patton figure. He looks like he's wearing a bomber jacket. Change the head with another figure? http://www.sshqdb.com/18/displayimage.p ... =283&pos=1

[aferguson]

that's a good idea.

i wondered about using one of the jeep drivers, usaaf airmen were still army and they wore alot of the same stuff.

I really, really wish the bbi pilot didn't have a life vest on, he would have been perfect. I still have the crusher hat i can put on another figure, if i can find one.

On a related note: i've been watching old episodes of Hogan's Heroes on youtube every night. I used to love that show when i was a kid. Now much of it seems silly but it's still fun to watch. The uniforms in it are nice though. Quite authentic for both POW's and especially the luftwaffe german guards and officers. The camp itself is nicely done too. They couldn't have reused the sets from The Great Escape, as that was filmed in Germany.

[aferguson]

A bit more off topic, here is some interesting info about some of the actors in Hogan's Heroes.....some of them had very close contact with the nazis.

The actors who played the four major German roles—Werner Klemperer (Klink), John Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (Burkhalter), and Howard Caine (Hochstetter)—were Jewish. Furthermore, Klemperer, Banner, Askin, and Robert Clary (LeBeau) were Jews who had fled the Nazis during World War II. Clary says in the recorded commentary on the DVD version of episode "Art for Hogan's Sake" that he spent three years in a concentration camp, that his parents and other family members were killed there, and that he has an identity tattoo from the camp on his arm. Likewise John Banner had been held in a (pre-war) concentration camp and his family was exterminated during the war. Leon Askin was also in a pre-war French internment camp and his parents were killed at Treblinka. Howard Caine (Hochstetter), who was also Jewish (his birth name was Cohen), was American, and Jewish actors Harold Gould and Harold J. Stone played German generals.

As a teenager, Werner Klemperer (Klink) (son of the conductor Otto Klemperer) fled Hitler's Germany with his family in 1933. During the show's production, he insisted that Hogan always win over his Nazi captors. He defended his playing a Luftwaffe Officer by claiming, "I am an actor. If I can play Richard III, I can play a Nazi." Banner attempted to sum up the paradox of his role by saying, "Who can play Nazis better than us Jews?" Ironically, although Klemperer, Banner, Caine, Gould, and Askin play typecast World War II German types, all had actually served in the US Armed Forces during World War II — Banner[17] and Askin in the US Army Air Corps, Caine in the US Navy, Gould with the US Army, and Klemperer in a US Army Entertainment Unit.

[tmanthegreat]

Interesting read about the actors...

In terms of figures to use, you could try using some of the US Army tanker figures (with different heads). They have the Army-issue jackets that when painted wouldn't look too out of place in terms of a POW pilot. Certainly as good as a Patton or Jeep driver figure. You could also track down one of the original P-40 pilot figures that came with the AVG, RAF, and Langley P-40s back in 2003-04. They only had the jacket and not the life vest or parachute straps.

[aferguson]

the tanker figures are a good idea. The figures don't have to represent pilots, just aircrew of any type (gunners, radio operators, etc) and a tanker figure might look pretty good with a jeep driver head and a bit of paint.

I have an AVG pilot figure tucked away. I'd forgotten it doesn't have the life vest. I'd be reluctant to paint over the logo on the back of the jacket, but if i can't find anything better i will. So now i've got 3 basic figures. It would be nice to get a british looking figure or two as well.

I'm going to use some greatcoat germans as guards, repainted in Luftwaffe blue. And an old first series officer plus an open greatcoat for the commandant. I need to find a good german shepherd dog. The only one to scale i know of is the GI Joe one and it sucks.

[aferguson]

does the belt around the waist of the bulge Patton figure come off? It looks awful.

[Dauntless]

That's a cool story about Hogan's Heroes.

You might also be able to use the Indy figure. The one where he's wearing a brown leather jacket.
Though it doesn't have the sheep fleece trim, you might be able to modify it and change the hat wearing head out. He does sort of look like an aviator.

Hogan (Bob Crane) wears one without the fleece. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... CBkQ9QEwAg

[Jesse James]

Indiana Jones... I'd start with him. The jacket's close, the shirt and pants can be used well for a project like this... Some head swapping and things. Could work.

[savage213king]

You could also use the Han Solo (unfrozen carbinite) figure

[Razor17019]

the tanker figures are a good idea. The figures don't have to represent pilots, just aircrew of any type (gunners, radio operators, etc) and a tanker figure might look pretty good with a jeep driver head and a bit of paint.

I have an AVG pilot figure tucked away. I'd forgotten it doesn't have the life vest. I'd be reluctant to paint over the logo on the back of the jacket, but if i can't find anything better i will. So now i've got 3 basic figures. It would be nice to get a british looking figure or two as well.

I'm going to use some greatcoat germans as guards, repainted in Luftwaffe blue. And an old first series officer plus an open greatcoat for the commandant. I need to find a good german shepherd dog. The only one to scale i know of is the GI Joe one and it sucks.

I noticed the age of the post, but was wondering if you still need a German shepherd dog?
Pm if you still need one.
Razor

[aferguson]

power team makes a good one, so i'll snag one of those when i get a chance.