my ww2 german combat display , start to finish

[bh84]

ok , today is d day , i get my combat tunic , its out for delivery right now usps

so i decided to start posting my pics of my display from start to finish , finish being once i got him all done , probably around this time next year iam anticipating , hopefully sooner


the 1st pic iam posting is my make shift display stand , built from a old cymbol stand bottom , a piece of 1/2 inch conduit , a wooend rod with mineralack , and a old baby bottle to protect the head gear from the end of the pipe ( just for now till i get more phome heads .

[bh84]

2nd piece

the 2nd piece is my hat i got on a trade from a very good friend of mine who has been helping me with this display very much , from locating items for me , to selling and trading me items , and checking out items i want to buy , you know who you are

[bh84]

next

since iam sitting here stairing out the window waiting for the mail man , i took these pictures of some of my equipment that is going in and on my display

please not the back pack , i was not able to locate y straps up to this point , so i decided to use the back pack to hold up belt untill i locate a nice set of y straps


and the other pic is all the little ods and ends items , for the bread bag , pockets and so forth , filler items


this will be the last pic till the tunic comes here shortly

[bh84]

and my tunic

[bh84]

more pics , iam hoping to get a maniquen soon so the display will look better but this is what i have to work with for now

[Adam S.]

Now that's what I call a kludge! You are very resourceful! I always enjoy looking at these home made display ideas.

Did you happen to cover over the rough edges of your copper piping? You should put some tape around them so the edges don't snare your tunic. Also you might want to consider stuffing some empty plastic bags around the tubing to give some dimension to the shoulders. You can similarly stuff the arms if you want.

Congrats.

[CWP]

With all that stuff just hanging like that, you are putting a lot of stress on the tunic and gear. This is not good in the long term. Having items in the pockets and bread bag as well as the extra (Italian?) canteen adds weight that increases this stress. At the very least I would put some padding on the crossbar/"shoulders" of your display stand. You can get virgin polyfill stuffing at a fabric store and use unbleached cotton muslim to hold it in place. You might find that displaying these items seperately rather than as an ensemble may be more aesthetically pleasing and better for the items themselves, until you can get a mannequin or torso form in the right size. As a final note I might mention that the winter fur hat seems a little incongruous with the summer HBT uniform, just my opinion.

[bh84]

I did take all the stuff off the display after i took the picture due to the weight and stress. Iam still trying to find a maniquen or torso to put this stuff on but am having troble in my area . Eventually he will have a winter coat over the hbt that is why he has a winter hat on and it worked as a sub till i can aford a helmet . There is a baby bottle on the top of the pipe to prootect the hat from sharp edges plus i had debured the pip as an extra precation . The cross bar has had the edges sanded smooth and rubber crutch tips added to protect snagging there . The tunic will just hang on it with nothing in the pockets till i get the proper item to display it . Thanx for llooking and as i get more stuff for him i will post pictures and also as i improve my stand i will take pics of that also . This is my 1st display like this iam trying my best with what little i have to work with. Hope everyone enjoys iam very excited about this project this will probably take me till this time next year to complete.

[bh84]

well , here are the new aditions to my combat display

next piece y straps ,

please enjoy

[bh84]

and more pics

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last 2 pics

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if anyone has any suggestions or idea feel free to let me know , or items iam missing , or should look for ,

a better way to display is the next thing , going to get a upper torso maninquin , just have to find one ,


thanx for looking

[bh84]

was taking a nap before the wife and son go home from the store , here a nock at the door , and its the mailman with this large box ,
this came today for my display ,

enjoy

[bh84]

2 more pics