Welcome To My Albert Ross Class A Uniform Page

This page is about how I have assembled my Albert Ross figure in the Class A uniform, this is a very nice set and is a figure that I have been after for a while to complete my US paratrooper collection. Using my reference pages I am hoping to have a lot of detail included on this figure, especially with the spare DML shirt I have with the collar insignia and maybe with some changes to the cap piping colour. Note: One important thing I have already found out the hard way with this figure is, don't undo the tie fully if you take it off the shirt, as it can be awkward to knot it back together again.

Headsculpt

These pictures are the before and after I gave the headsculpt a pastel wash, what I like the most from the end result is the way the pastel chalk has picked up on the fine detail for the beard area. This head is a great improvement from DiD as I now have a nice 5 o' clock shadow on this figure. Once I am happy with the effect I want to get, I then give the head a light drybrush of some cream coloured pastel chalk, to both add highlights and to lose the shiny effect. The last thing I do is wipe the eyes with a damp paintbrush to remove the chalk, let it dry and I add a drop of gloss varnish onto each iris.

Note: A sort of tutorial about the pastel wash is on this page.

Uniform

With the uniform itself I have not done any major changes to it as I want to keep it as it is, the only thing I have added is another shirt I had in my spares box which has the collar insignia on it. Note: To get the tie to lay the way I wanted it I put a couple of stitches into the bottom of it through the shirt as well to pull it tight. I have also had to add some slight padding to the front chest and shoulders, this is because of the drape of the jacket in that area just does not look right to me.

The above picture is one I took of the medal images that were sent to me by Paul. I have first tried them out onto normal printing paper first to check for the sizes. And then printed them out onto some sticky backed cotton paper at the highest setting. I have also replaced the oval badge that the airborne wings came fixed to, because I felt that the badge was overscale with the sewn edge. The airborne wings were fixed back onto the oval I made, by again backing it with some double sided tape and pressing it in place. I wanted to replace the rifle and the US insignia on the collar, but at the moment I am leaving them as they are although I may give them a coat of gloss varnish.

Note: Be careful when you are taking the jacket on and off because on my figure the epaulette insignia on one of the shoulders came off. This was not a problem because all I did was put the insignia onto some double sided tape, cut around it, pulled off the backing and re-applied it to the shoulder. Also be careful of the crossed rifle insignia, as this is only held on by the centre I believe.

Printable Medal Images

These images above were very kindly supplied by Paul for me to use with my figures, and I have asked for his permission for them to placed here to share with our fellow modellers. I have resized them and they can be printed out as they are for use on WW2 US military uniforms.

Note: To save these images to your computer, right click on each of the images and select Save Picture As, they are not for any commercial use and they remain the copyright property of Paul.

Boots

The boots on this figure did not look the part to me so I tried to see what they would look like if I used some dark brown shoe polish on them. This has added a flat even overall colour to the boots covering both the stitching and the laces, the boots were then polished to get a shine with my Dremel drill with a polishing cloth attachment.

Trousers

The trousers were ironed to put a crease in them and then bloused out over the boots with the help of the small dental rubber rings as shown on this page. A quick explanation about how I did the blousing is in the pictures below. To start I put some of the rings on the bare leg, I then have pulled the trouser leg down so it is inside out on the leg, I then put two of the rings over the trouser (as they are prone to breaking) and then pull the trousers back up as normal. I then fit the boots and tie the laces, I then pull the trouser leg bottoms down on to the top of the boots adjusting the turn up to length.

Once that is done the trousers now look like the above pictures, with the them bloused out over the boot tops.

Garrison cap

This has been a trial and a half to try to get the piping correct for an officers cap, as I have tried various ways of replicating it, and in the process I have already ruined one cap. I asked a question about the threads and how I can get them small enough on the OSS forum. And from the excellent help I received I was pointed to a sale on ebay for some very thin black and gold elastic bracelet cord by Neil.

I have received the my order of the cord today and to say I am amazed is an understatement because it is an exact fit in replacement for the white piping. And it is far smaller than anything that I could have twisted together from thread. The picture above shows my best attempt at twisting the threads together, compared to the elastic cord that I bought

The pictures above are of how I sewed the elastic cord onto the cap in place of the white piping, to make sure that I did not ruin the hat I used a piece of plastic to protect it when I was cutting the piping off with my model knife. The cord was then laid in place and I put a few stitches of black cotton to hold it in place. With the cap badge I took off the insignia bar which I think is glued on, this was then put on some double sided tape and cut out, the backing was removed. This was then placed back on top the new cap badge, which was printed out on some cotton paper because I felt that the DiD badge was overscale.

This is the finished figure with the altered cap and the medals applied to the jacket, also a shoulder patch that I printed out as well. And once again I would like thank Paul and Neil for all of their help with making this figure.

Since I first started this website I have governed myself with three basic rules. 1. Always give credit and add names to the items and people who have helped me. 2. Try to help as many modellers as possible. 3. Try not to show off about any of my figures. Note: But I am afraid that it is with deep regret that I have to break my Third rule, as I have just received some badges from Paul for my figure here, and I just had to show them in the photos above.

As they are the hand made Presidential citation badge in the middle picture, and the Rifleman badge in the picture above right directly below the silver wings. I cannot begin to describe my thanks and admiration to Paul for these items, because to be honest I have never seen such craftsmanship made before in any scale. And now this figure has taken pride of place in my collection.

Many thanks to Paul (.308) and Neil (The Ulsterman) for their very generous help with my figure.