King and Country: 28th Division in the Huertgen Forest

Before the Battle of the Bulge, there was the brutal Battle of the Huertgen Forest. I attempted to create a mini-diorama of an autumn thick forest using real sticks and leaves. Thought it worked out pretty well. 

I put sand in a solid cookie sheet, stood the sticks up with clay, covered the floor with real crunched up dead leaves, and added some fake little pine trees. 

King and Country WW2 82nd and 101st Airborne Troops

My daughter and I went to Gettysburg a few weeks back. We, of course, stopped at the Gettysburg Miniature Soldier Shop. I managed to find some 82nd and 101st Airborne troops for some future WW2 dioramas. 

Random 1:18 Scale WW2 Airborne Troops

Finally pulled out some 1:18 scale building and troopers. 

Ultimate Soldier 1:18 WW2 German Halftrack and Extra Troops

Been wanting to get this guy for awhile. I found him at the quarterly Annandale, Virginia Toy Soldier Show. Snagged him quick for a good price. The same seller also had a ton of 1:18 carded soldiers. The cards were in bad shape, but I didn't care. Gonna open them up anyway.

21st Century Toys 1:18 XTreme Detail Building Sets

Dug these out a bit ago. I remember stacks of these for $10 each on clearance at Toys R Us back around 2003-2004. Awesome sets. I sold off many for a good profit. This is what remains.

And one spare Marine who sat on my shelf for awhile. I opened him and he joined his brothers.

One Sixth Memories - Utah GI Joe Club - D-Day Diorama

I was part of the Utah GI Joe Collector's Club in the mid-2000s. We typically met once a month, exchanged news and treasures, and generally just hung around and had fun. When I hosted, I decided to build a diorama that everyone could contribute to. Once again, I used chicken wire and paper mache to create Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc.