1:35 Big Red One Full Auto US Soldier

The Big Red One

The nickname refers to the shoulder patch of the 1st Infantry Division of the US Army: a striking red numeral on a khaki shield. The division is the oldest continuously existing formation of its kind in the American army and its name is bound up with the hardest battlefields of the twentieth century. Soldiers were proud of this mark and wore it visibly, so it is a detail that must not be missing on a finished model.

The pose

The figure is captured at the moment it is firing a continuous burst. Such a moment has its rules: the body is leaning forward against the recoil, the shoulders drawn in, the weight resting on the front leg. On a model that is reflected in the taut folds of the uniform and in the inclination of the head toward the sights. The figure therefore works well as the center of a scene, around which the other figures will line up naturally.

Recommendations on building and painting

• the head and the hands tend to be separate, and the joint at the neck is made good with putty
• wash the casting before painting, so that the base coat holds
• build the face from a dark base toward the light high points
• it is better to paint the patch on the sleeve, as a decal breaks on a fold

How to place the figure

A firing soldier needs an opponent. It is enough to suggest the direction the fire is aimed in: a few shot-up planks, an overturned crate or simply an empty space at the edge of the board. A viewer will think the rest out for themselves and the scene gains a tension a model standing on its own never has. The weapon is part of the casting, and further equipment is sold separately.