Dog Green Sector, Omaha Beach, June 1944

stona

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I knew about the steel "Czech Hedgehogs" some of which have of course survived.

But had no idea that they built such large wooden obstacles. I found some rather bad pictures of them online and they were huge! Is this one of Cappa's pictures?

You live and learn

Cheers

Steve
 
K

Kressy13

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Great looking figures ron, a great idea for the build also. They did use quite a few of those on the beaches steve, another one that they used is the Belgian gate. http://users.skynet.be/jeeper/belgiangate1.jpg

http://users.skynet.be/jeeper/avre1.jpg

http://users.skynet.be/jeeper/belgiangates1.jpg

The second is a Churchill AVRE clearing one of these obstacles.

The third is a line up of them on omaha beach,

Cheers

Kresten
 
G

Greg147

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Nice work on those figure alterations, Ron. You make it sound easy; I've tried that method before, and the end result was a particularly short looking soldier around half a centemeter smaller than his comrades. :tongue:

I like the look of the log-ramp as well. Make sure to remember that only one in every three had a mine on top, in case you decide to do a few. I don't suppose you've got any plans to try a Belgian Gate, have you? ;)

Edit: Was about to post a pic, but looks like Kresten saved me the effort.
 

spanner570

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Thanks for the pictures Steve.

Yes, that is one of Robert Capa's surviving shots. All his surviving Omaha shots are blurred because of the balls up in the photo lab. If you Image Google his name, you will find all his Omaha pictures there and some more up to his death in Indo China.

Edit:- Sorry Kresten and Greg, I posted my reply to Steve not seeing your posts.

From what I have read, they were built by the Belgiums as anti tank barricades in 1939/40. Then used mainly by the Germans in Belgium as road blocks, although they were indeed used in the 'Atlantic Wall'.

I can't find any pickies of them on Omaha beach (Thank goodness!) so I will pass on making them! lol

Thanks all for the input fellas, I'm learning new things and seeing new images with almost every post...

Great stuff!

Ron
 
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Ian M

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The Wooden beams where intended to be hidden by a high tide and rip the bottom of landing craft open as they sailed onto the end. I was unaware that some of them where mined!!!

Ian M
 
G

Greg147

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Indeed they were. There are also records of some Czech hedgehogs having mines lashed to them, as well as on the vertical sections of the Belgium Gates. In the second picture Steve posted, you can also see some single logs, pointing up at a slight angle. These too had a Tellermine 35 strapped to each one. Their scondary function was to cause the landing craft to weave around them, hence slowing their advance and making them easier targets for mortars and artillery.

An interesting note is that some of the log ramps were fitted with sharp iron 'blades' running down the main beam. 'Tetrahydras' were another form of obstical with this function, also rarely seen in photos.
 

spanner570

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Some of the log ramps not only had the iron blades running down the main beam, but had mines sandwiched between the 'rails' and the beam, so if the blade didn't work, the mine would be set off by the weight of whatever ran up on to the structure.

It's no wonder certain landings had such a rough time of it. Very brave and resilient men, every one of them...

Ron
 
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Neill

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Your Model build sounds extremely interesting. I have had the privilege of visting all of the landing beaches. It has to be said that some of the bunkers are in a very sorry state paticularly in and around WN62 at the Coleville end of Omaha beach. I would love to see the French invest a little bit of money trying to preserve them a bit better. I have also visited Austwitz, Remagen Bridge and Arnhem but nothing comes near the peace, beauty and tranqulity of the American cemetry at Coleville Sur Mer. Heroes each and everyone.
 

spanner570

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\ said:
Your Model build sounds extremely interesting. I have had the privilege of visting all of the landing beaches. It has to be said that some of the bunkers are in a very sorry state paticularly in and around WN62 at the Coleville end of Omaha beach. I would love to see the French invest a little bit of money trying to preserve them a bit better. I have also visited Austwitz, Remagen Bridge and Arnhem but nothing comes near the peace, beauty and tranqulity of the American cemetry at Coleville Sur Mer. Heroes each and everyone.
Thanks Neill and Adrian.

Niell.

My son and his family are off to the landing beaches again mid. April this year. he managed to get a good travel and accomodation deal to the place he stayed on his last trip over there :- Return ferry and a nice modern static caravan for 7 days, close by Sword beach, all for under £200 !

He was in bits the first time he saw the Coleville sur Mer cemetery, and he says it will be no different this time. He too said he had never seen such a peaceful and as he put it, some how 'happy' place with all the young lads resting together....

Sounds a strange thing to say but I know what he means.

The Cambridge American Cemetery at Coton nr. Cambridge which contains 3,810 headstones and a huge wall with the names of 5,127 m.i.a. has the same feeling. I had to take a minute when I visited it recently.

Ron
 
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spanner570

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Hi all, I have had a go at painting the soldiers. I have tried to get the soaked through, tired look into their appearance.

This one is a sample. I've given him a life jacket (some were issued with around the waist types) and he's been shot in the shoulder and arm and is soaked through, cold and in shock.

I hope he looks o.k. to you. It was difficult to imagine the colour his uniform would be after a swim and probably covered in diesel fuel from sunken landing craft.

Cheers,

Ron

View attachment 30258

Omaha Beach 015.jpg
 

yak face

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Excellent pose ron , the poor bloke really looks like hes tired out and dazed, the uniform colour looks fine to me,as you say it would have been soaked through,covered in sand,muck, diesel,blood, so would have been very far removed from the original dry colour.Keep it up mate , i see a story unfolding already, cheers tony
 
N

noble

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Nice work Ron this guys looks like he's had a bit of a bad day, lovely surgery on the troops.

scott
 

stona

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He doesn't look good does he? Which of course means you've done a top job on the poor chap!

Cheers

Steve
 
R

rogue-one

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hi ron. 3 dio? thats some work for a few months! looking forward to seeing them all progress. the figure kits look a good choice. i've just got myself the U.S. soldiers kit by tamiya too. i've now just popped back on the forum for a quick look and realised your all doing a normandy beach G.B. i have a few of my own wee models planned but now i'm tempted to leave them and join in on the build!
 
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spanner570

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Thanks for your positive response to my 'Test' figure chaps, I can now happily proceed with the painting of the remainding ones.

Bobby, because I intend giving the landing diorama as a surprise to my eldest son, it needs to be something special (In my eyes!) so I'm focusing all my efforts into this one.

The remaining two will be nowhere near as involved, being smaller. So hopefully I will have enough time....sez he!

Nice to read you might be joining the party.

Ron
 

spanner570

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Hi all,

The painting of the figures is progressing, but I need a break from them, so I am making a start on the base:-

I found an old 300x380 picture frame in the garage, (Sorry boys, no Pound Shop or Wilkinsons this time!) to this I fitted a piece of 5mm plywood and siliconed it into the rebate.

For the initial work on the water/beach, I have used builders red sand. Luckily, this is as close as damn it to the colour of Omaha beach. Incidentally, the sand on Utah beach, although only a fairly short distance away is a very light, almost golden colour.

The obstacle is there to give some idea of scale. I still have work to do on these things.

In my minds eye, things are starting to come together a bit more now, and I'm getting fresh ideas too.....

Thanks for looking,

Ron

View attachment 30275

View attachment 30276

Omaha Beach 016.jpg

Omaha Beach 017.jpg
 
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K

Kressy13

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Great work on the figure Ron, The surgery looks great. The dirty clothes look great and he appears to be in a bit of pain. MEDIC!!!! lol, had to do it. The sand you've used on the base looks very realistic. Your son is a very lucky man to be receiving something as good as this.

Cheers

Kresten
 

spanner570

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Thanks for the nice comments Kresten. Don't worry about the casualty, help is at hand....

The sand is only laid out roughly so I can get a feel of the thing and start playing around with it.

I hope I can do it justice, so it will be good enough to give to No.1 son!

Ron
 
N

Neill

Guest
\ said:
Thanks Neill and Adrian.Niell.

My son and his family are off to the landing beaches again mid. April this year. he managed to get a good travel and accomodation deal to the place he stayed on his last trip over there :- Return ferry and a nice modern static caravan for 7 days, close by Sword beach, all for under £200 !

He was in bits the first time he saw the Coleville sur Mer cemetery, and he says it will be no different this time. He too said he had never seen such a peaceful and as he put it, some how 'happy' place with all the young lads resting together....

Sounds a strange thing to say but I know what he means.

The Cambridge American Cemetery at Coton nr. Cambridge which contains 3,810 headstones and a huge wall with the names of 5,127 m.i.a. has the same feeling. I had to take a minute when I visited it recently.

Ron
Hi Ron

I take it that they were mainly USAAF crew buried at Cambridge? I live in Belfast and what I only found out in recent years was that the 34th Division was selected as the first American contingent to cross the Atlantic. On January 26, 1942, just six weeks after Pearl Harbor, over 4,000 personnel, primarily from the "Red Bull" division, arrived at Dufferin Quay, Belfast Harbour, Belfast. This division only spent a brief time in Northern Ireland but they went onto serve in Operation Torch in North Africa. I think elements of the 1st and 29th divisions (the first two into action on Omaha on D-Day) were based here as well. It only came out after records and photos were released a couple of years ago that Eisenhower had visited a division based here and that they held a parade in the grounds of a public school in the lead up to the landing. I would recommend Ledger Tours as a good operator for battlefield visits as me and my dad went to Arnhem and Remagen in 2008 and I we had an excellent time (I couldn't get the girlfriend to go so I made the most of the German beer to make up for it!!
 
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