1:35 U.S. vysílačka - Vietnam

Communications in the growth of Southeast Asia

In Vietnam the radio operator was one of the busiest and most endangered men in a squad. He carried the device on his back, the whip of the antenna gave him away from a distance and without his reports neither artillery support nor a helicopter for the wounded would arrive. Portable sets of that time already managed to work in dense growth, where the previous generation of devices failed, and that is why they became a fixed part of the image of American infantry of the 1960s and 1970s. The weight of the set with its batteries was at the same time one of the heaviest burdens an infantryman carried on patrol.

The accessory is prepared in 1:35 scale and consists of two parts that make up one complete device. It comes into its own on the back of a figure, laid on a truck bed or leaned against sandbags in a command post. Signalers also commonly set the device down on a fender or between spare jerrycans, so as to have it at hand while on the move.

Placement and painting

If you carry the device on a figure, check the slope of the back before gluing, otherwise the case will stand off. The antenna can be imitated with a thin wire or a bristle, because a round cross section comes out more convincingly than a flat part.

The case tended to be in matte olive green, and it pays to suggest the controls and the lettering on the front panel with a dark wash and a careful dry brush. The edges of the corners were scuffed by vegetation and equipment, so small lighter scuffs at the places of greatest friction will give the device a convincing age. Rather only suggest the lettering on the plates, because text written out literally looks unconvincing at this scale.