Hey everyone. I took some pictures of my updated collection and figured I would show everyone what I've managed to get a hold of in the past five years of starting in the hobby. My overall focus is on military bolt action rifles and their history but my second passion is collecting US and Japanese militaria. Starting with my WW2 Marine Corps uniforms I have a named 1st Marine Division uniform and a named 5th Amphibious Corps uniform with paperwork showing he was one of 1500 marines who fought at Leyte. Behind them is a graffitied sea bag belonging to a marine who was an AA gunner.
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Next is my smalls display housing two M3 fighting knives (the one on the left belonged to one of my great uncles who was in the Battle of the Bulge) and a USMC marked mk2 knife with a USMC marked Boyt sheathe. Above that is a black enamel canteen with a dog ear flap cover. Next is my Vietnam era display with most of it belonging to my dad who brought them home from Vietnam when he came back in 68. Among the items besides the mannequin with his gear is a bipod for the M16 along with an M16 bayonet and three in country used helmets (one that was used by my dad, the other two are graffitied and named examples). Above them is my dad's sea bag which he wrote his name on and a piece he had made in Thailand showing his unit and when he served. The wood hangings in both the previous posts my dad had brought home from Vietnam as well. -
Next is my favorite part- my VC captured items. Though sadly I only have a handful of them they do mean a lot to me and the collection. Both rifles were purchased directly from marines who brought them home and the flag was my dad's war trophy. Not pictured but it snuck into the last post is my VC canteen I just got.Comment
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Finally we get into the Japanese items. All of my rifles came from either direct vet purchases or family estates. Both swords also came from vets and their families. The pistol was a bring back that one of my great uncles sent home from Burma and both bayonets were vet purchases as well.Comment
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Next up are my two helmets and my table full of gear and medalsComment
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Now are both of my framed flags. The first one I purchased directly from the marine who picked it up out of a dead Japanese soldier's backpack and sent it home. The second I bought online and thanks to everyone on here I found out it belonged to a member of an artillery unit.Comment
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Finally in the Japanese section there is this unissued summer tunic in very good shape. Also I forgot to add these in the US section but here are my named Korean War helmets. I have a named USMC helmet and on either side of it are two named army helmets both assigned to the 6th Army. I hope you all enjoyed these as much as I enjoy sharing them with all of you.Comment
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Very nice collection room! Thats good for five years!
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Very nice collection!
Although I only collect Third Reich now, I started with Vietnam items as a kid because of a serie called "tour of duty".
Really hard finding Vietnam stuff in Norway
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I now the feeling. In my area Vietnam items are extremely plentiful and I can buy whatever I want of them but when it comes to German items they are practically non-existent unless you find a rare obvious repro or the even rarer original piece that is way too overpriced. I stuck with Japanese militaria instead since I can find them relatively easier in my area than I could German items. VC captured items though are very hard to find for me as most of the Vietnam vets in my area are still holding on to what they have and it takes a ton of leg work in order to track down who might want to sell anything.Comment
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