Subscribe Today

• Subscribe to Armchair General Magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!
 

We weren’t the only group in the building business: dominating the tree line in one corner of the re-enactors’ area was a church which certainly got everyone’s attention and ‘grew’ every time I passed it. Further down from there, the Vietnam boys had erected their sandbagged watch tower and other huts, and everywhere people were digging foxholes, scraps, and trenches, or working on various elements of their displays. 

The 514 Trucking Company had their converted American Red Cross Clubmobile manned by Cara and the girls all week for tea/coffee and doughnuts.	Another pic of the 514th showing how much stores they lay out to indicate a fraction of the logistics moved after D-Day.

Crewed up ‘Tiger’ reversing into its parking place. Not easy to achieve with so many people standing around.	Another group who chose a snow effect did it in style. Not cheap – but very effective.

Our particular addition to the event took us two days of solid work, including endeavours late into the night with the help of night lighting rigs. It was four days crammed into two really, so we were pleased but exhausted by the time it was completed. However, over the course of the event, there were so many positive and congratulatory remarks, including some from those who make their living building such sets, that we felt we had achieved at least one of our aims. The ‘icing on the cake’ came when Greg Cottie arrived with a JCB to dig the ‘mortar’ hole’ in front of it. After suitably dressing the set we shot several scenarios, the results of which you can see in the ‘Gallery’ section of the website.

Many groups asked us if they could have their photos taken on the set and it showed that we had chosen a very versatile theme for our construction, as we had Vietnam infantry, downed US aircrew as well as a selection of civilians and our original theme of WWII British soldiers in a variety of scenarios.

[continued on next page]

Help Armchair General by bookmarking to