THE FROZEN CHOSIN

[Cadman]

THE FROZEN CHOSIN (Part 1)

 

This project was inspired by a documentary I watched on Youtube around one year ago;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH-xJxBNuVM

It’s not called “The Forgotten War” for nothing, so here’s a brief recap.

 

The Korean conflict began early on the morning of Sunday, 25th June 1950 when nearly 100,000 well-trained and well-equipped troops of the Korean People’s Army flooded across the 38th parallel that divides South Korea from Communist North Korea.

 

Unprepared and overwhelmed, the Republic of Korea’s defense force was almost destroyed and within days the city of Seoul fell to the invaders.

 

On 15^th September, United Nations forces, primarily American, made a daring amphibious landing at Inchon and the tide of war began to turn.  Within weeks it was the North Korean army that was almost destroyed, fleeing the cities they had taken earlier that year and falling back in full retreat behind the border of North and South.

 

The divided peninsula of Korea is located between the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.  Its only neighbor lies along the north-east border of North Korea.  That border is the Yalu River, and that neighbor is China.  Fearful of an American sweep into the North following the successful landing at Inchon, Chairman Mao Zedong issued a warning that if the UN sent troops into North Korea; they would be confronted by the armies of Communist China.

 

On 9^th October 1950, the first elements of American military units crossed the 38^th parallel to take the war home to the North Koreans.  Five days later two Chinese Armies based in Manchuria and consisting of 12 Divisions poured over the Yalu River.

 

The UN offensive officially began on 24^th October.  As the United Nations began their push to the Yalu, the 1^st USMC Division moved northwest crossing the rugged Taebaek mountain range toward the Chosin Reservoir, intending to link up with the main Allied forces. That was the plan, but the plan hadn't factored in two unexpected obstacles: -

Between 120,000 and 150,000 hidden Chinese Communist troops and the appalling winter weather, the worst in 100 years.

 

Almost from the word go, the UN was taken by surprise -- by an unbelievable swarm of Chinese soldiers.

The drive toward the Yalu and the border with Manchuria ground to a halt. 

 

Within days the CCF (Chinese Communist Forces) destroyed the ROK 2^nd Corps, leaving the UN without flanking cover or general support. It then became apparent that the soldiers and Marines at Chosin were facing an enemy who outnumbered them by more than 10 to 1.

 

On 19th November the men at Chosin, desperately fighting off massed human wave Chinese attacks were ordered to fall back to evacuation ships waiting in the Sea of Japan at the port of Hungnam; a 275 mile six-week withdrawal, constantly fighting off Chinese attacks in severe, almost arctic, conditions.

 

On taking this image....

 

..."LIFE" magazine photographer David Duncan, himself a Marine Corps veteran of World War II, couldn't help asking, "What would you like for Christmas son?" 

The simple reply was; "Give Me Tomorrow."

 

On 11th December the last UN troops arrived in Hungnam for evacuation to the South.

 

Despite their utmost efforts, the Chinese forces had failed to crush the 1^st Marine Division.  In a deliberate retrograde movement that has become one of the most-storied exploits in USMC legend; they fought their way down a narrow, fiercely contested, and vulnerable road; and through several desolate mountain passes, all in the most atrocious winter weather; until they reached the waiting transport ships at the coast.

 

They came out as a still-effective fighting force, bringing their equipment, their wounded, and most of their dead. At the Chosin Reservoir, they established their own legacy...not one of retreat...but one of survival against incredible odds through tactics and tenacity, in the highest traditions of the Corps.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

 

[Cadman]

THE FROZEN CHOSIN (Part 2)

 

The vehicles:-

Tamiya Pershing

Tamiya M20

2 x Tamiya Jeeps

1 x Italeri Jeep

 

The figures:-

A mix of DEF Models, Tamiya and Miniart

Several replacement Hornet heads were used

 

The frozen water:-

Magic Water from Unreal Details

 

The groundwork and foliage:-

Various sources including Precision Ice & Snow for the....ice & snow

 

Stray mutt:-

Can't remember

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

 

 

 

[Cadman]

 

 

THE FROZEN CHOSIN (Part 3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The diorama isn't quite finished as I'm still waiting for 4 x additional figures and 2 x additional sets of chained jeep wheels to pop through the letterbox, plus I need to add some junk strewn around; bust weapons, old jerry can's, empty ration boxes and so on, but that won't take long to do.

[Gorby]

That is an absolute stunner of a dio! Every aspect is well thought out and executed. Excellent job Cadman!

[Vince1159]

Lovely looking dio Cadman,fantastic job...

[DAG058]

Excellent diorama! 

[stevehnz]

Fanflamingtastic. Great dio, great models & a great history lesson. Awesome & thanks.

Steve.

[cngaero]

What a brilliant and very atmospheric diorama. It's a fine tribute to this campaign.

[Badder]

Superb in every respect... can't wait to see more close-up detail shots!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[Cadman]

Thanks for the "vote of confidence" to all who've responded, it's highly appreciated.

I started putting the Pershing together on 19th May and got the diorama to the stage you see here last night, 4th June; so I fairly romped through all the builds and paint jobs. I was hoping Postman Pat would deliver the additional figures I've been waiting for today, but no luck. I'd think that order will turn up sometime this week though and then I can finally get this one completed. More photos to follow once it's finished.

This is the first of three Korean War projects I have planned, but I've got paint splotches on the hobby room floor, "snow" all over the workbench, odd bits of sprue everywhere I look, various paint bottles and water jars lying around, etcetera, etcetera. So I better get the place cleaned up tomorrow before I make a start on anything else, or I'm going to need to whistle up my very own United Nations Peacekeeping Force

[Gorby]

11 minutes ago, Cadman said:

I started putting the Pershing together on 19th May and got the diorama to the stage you see here last night, 4th June

Hang on, hang on, hang on. Do you mean you started the above models & dio on May 19? This year?

[Cadman]

8 minutes ago, Gorbygould said:

Hang on, hang on, hang on. Do you mean you started the above models & dio on May 19? This year?

 

Yup, I started the Tamiya Pershing on 19th May 2017 and kept a log of the work I carried out and put the images I took up on photobucket. I did think about starting a WIP thread but reckoned that would impinge on the time I had available. I can open one now if you'd like to see the daily updates.

This was the very first photo I took around three weeks ago:-

 

[Gorby]

16 days! Do you not need to sleep? It would have taken me about a year, and it would be no were near the quality you have managed. Makes it even more remarkable in my opinion. 

[Cadman]

15 minutes ago, Gorbygould said:

16 days! Do you not need to sleep? It would have taken me about a year, and it would be no were near the quality you have managed. Makes it even more remarkable in my opinion. 

 

I could've shaved a day or two off if I hadn't bothered doing the internal details on the jeeps and the M20.

 

The jeep dashboards were particularly time consuming.

 

But as always, it was the figures that swallowed up most of my time. Here's the M20 crew at the almost-finished stage.

 

The three DEF Models jeep guys -- still had to blend in the colors of the Sarge's uniform when I took this snap, plus get rid of the satin sheen I always seem to encounter with Vallejo paints;

 

And because I can't leave well alone, I chose to change out the head on the footslogger on the far right in these two photos;

 

 

I'm sure this is too much information, but I had an idea for an additional vehicle while while in the shower about ten minutes ago. It was the thought of the engine detail hidden away in the jeeps that sparked it off and will give me something to do while I'm waiting for the other four DEF figures to be delivered. But it's almost midnight here in China, so I'll take another look at the diorama in the morning and see it it's feasible.

 

Cheers

H

[Gorby]

The only thing I can add is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cadman]

1 minute ago, Gorbygould said:

The only thing I can add is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

And the only thing I have to say is zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Only kidding, but I better hit the sack soon otherwise I'll be useless tomorrow.

If the additional jeep idea is going to work, I'll keep you updated.

 

Cheers

H

[Gorby]

4 minutes ago, Cadman said:

If the additional jeep idea is going to work, I'll keep you updated.

Looking forward to it - more photos of this, the better.

[Cadman]

19 hours ago, Gorbygould said:

Looking forward to it - more photos of this, the better.

 

Well unfortunately these aren't great photos, but at least they show the abandoned Jeep and other junked equipment I added today.

Gouging out a hole in that resin water was a bit of a drag, but I got the stuff out of there eventually, and what I removed provided plenty broken ice chunks to add when I poured in the replacement resin around the Jeep.

Everything's still drying out of course, and I'm pretty sure I'll have to add yet another layer of "iced resin" tomorrow, but that'll provide the opportunity to sort out the tire on the bust wheel of the abandoned Jeep, plus add a few other bits & pieces. Can't think how I missed the paint on that tire and the inside of the wheel. Must be getting old right enough.

At this point in time I have absolutely no idea how I might add some leaking oil from the Jeep to the surface of the ice, but I'll have a think about it.

  

 

 

 

[Gorby]

Now you're messin with my head here. Less than 24 hours ago you mentioned the possibility of adding another jeep, and now we have gone through some sort of time portal and it appears fully formed and added to the dio. I think I need to add some more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've seen people build as fast as you, but not to this standard. Remarkable!

[Cadman]

1 hour ago, Gorbygould said:

Now you're messin with my head here. Less than 24 hours ago you mentioned the possibility of adding another jeep, and now we have gone through some sort of time portal and it appears fully formed and added to the dio. I think I need to add some more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've seen people build as fast as you, but not to this standard. Remarkable!

 

My apologies.

To clarify what I've done; the Jeep I've added was already built months ago and sitting on the shelf gathering dust.

It was only last night, when I was thinking about what else I could do to enhance the diorama, that I decided to give it a right good hiding and use it as an abandoned vehicle.

I've started blocking in the colors on another figure that was in my stash. He's not perfect for a Winter scenario, but should work okay. Meanwhile, if Postman Pat doesn't show his nose around here tomorrow, then there'll be a somewhat irate call made to Hong Kong along the lines of, "Where's my order with those 4 x additional DEF Model figures?"

Hope your head gets better....

[Gimme Shelter]

this is brilliant modelling and I love the way you have split the diorama into 2 columns with a sheen of ice between them

 

great work - and a good cover story to go with it - its nice to know more about the scene than just what the eyes see

 

John

[Cadman]

1 hour ago, Gimme Shelter said:

this is brilliant modelling and I love the way you have split the diorama into 2 columns with a sheen of ice between them

 

great work - and a good cover story to go with it - its nice to know more about the scene than just what the eyes see

 

John

 

Cheers John.

Have to admit that I posted this far too early. It should have gone into the WIP section as I'm finding myself adding something more each day.

Again, these are not great snaps and had to be taken using the camera flash; but I'll set up the studio lights for the final photos.

 

Got the last layer of resin "ice" poured in today and it should be just about fully cured by tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile, some more abandoned equipment and other trash was strewn by the side of the road, and I added some small details to the Pershing.

I also added 3 x more resin figures to the diorama base. The one walking down the road isn't all that well protected from the weather, but at least he'll be wearing gloves and a scarf once I get him finished.

 

The Medic and the collapsed guy were a nightmare to put together. I only have local superglue and this stuff only gives you one shot at positioning whatever you're joining together, So these two figures involved glueing at five spots simultaneously while holding the joints in place:-

the two arms for the medic had to be glued onto his shoulders, while ensuring his wrists lined up with and were glued onto his hands which were molded onto the collapsed guy -- who's head had to be fixed into the Medic's neck and left shoulder.....and at the same time keeping both figures rock solid steady while the glue "took hold"....aaaaiiieee..!!

Got there though.

 

None of these three additional figures are finished, that's just the first base colors on them with no shading or highlights yet, but I should get them done tomorrow.

 

This'll give me 4 x guys trudging down the road alongside the Jeeps and 5 x more in the space between the M20 and the Pershing. That'll be a fair amount of foot figures without overcrowding the diorama -- I think.

 

Anyway, here's tonight's snaps:-

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2017 by Cadman

[Vince1159]

That wrecked jeep and the figures are a great addition Cadman...

[Darby]

I may have to put my socks on as my feet suddenly feel cold. Another one from the top drawer!

[Cadman]

On 6/7/2017 at 11:29 PM, Vince1159 said:

That wrecked jeep and the figures are a great addition Cadman...

 

Yeah, they're almost like a separate vignette within the overall scenario Vince. I don't have too many references and have to rely on what can be gleaned from the internet. But I think they're accurate enough though, and the larger style of red-cross markings on the second Medic's different color helmet add just that touch of real life non-uniformity that I tend to prefer -- although I probably ought to lighten up the webbing to a buff color or add a very thinned layer of light OD to them.