Well seeing that I might have gotten your attention…
Here is my Pibber Viet Nam river boat. I just added all of the photos in no particular order. But you can see my build in progress. I always like to add a little bit of a sub story
so in the second pic from the last, the Captain said reload and Private Jones reloaded the beer cooler. The jungle photos were taken outside my front door in the bushes during a rain storm. (don’t ask why). The first photo was taken after I watched Godzilla.(never ask why). I just do these things. Well have fun and enjoy.
California Steve
13 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Bernd Müller said on November 9, 2014
Great work Steve, the photos in the swamp are very realistic. Whats in the bottles ?
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
No worries Bernd, It is only Miller Lite. You know the model came with these decals for the bottles. But I don’t think they had Miller Lite in 1969 or so. Gosh I hope I don’t get slapped down and ridiculed and sent to the land of non prototype bad modelers. Haa! Haa! Who knows?
Thanks for the nice words. Now I am just kicking back and waiting for more posts from the model show.
California Steve
bob mack said on November 9, 2014
so call it 1973
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
OK it’s 1973. That was a easy fix. Thanks Bob.
California Steve.
Tom Cleaver said on November 9, 2014
Actually, in Vietnam we only had cans, which you opened with a “church key” for those whio don’t remember, and “lite beer” was a good 7-8 years away from polluting good beer.
You kidz will never know that stuff. 🙂
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
You know in hindsight. The model came with bottles and these cool beer decals. It would have been very easy to make cans out of plastic stock and attach the decals to them. Heck I could have added a bunch of crushed cans laying about. That would have looked cool.
Now…do I have to go to the land of non prototype bad modelers? Haa! Haa!
California Steve
Simon Whitney said on November 9, 2014
Looks good Steve, as Bernd said, the pics in the swamp look really cool.
You can just hear the sound track to Apocalypse Now in the background.
Well done mate.
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Thank you Simon. One morning I stepped out my front door after a downpour and said to myself “looks like a swamp out here”. I ran to get my camera and model and just started clicking away. Too much fun.
California Steve
Morne Meyer said on November 9, 2014
I like this one Steve!!! Is that Pibber out on Lake Placid? That croc looks very much like the one from the movie. 🙂 Well done!!!
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Thank you Morne. I purchased the Crock in Florida on a visit as a souvenir for my son. He hates this thing staring at him. So it lives in a closet.
Thanks for the nice words.
California Steve
Gregor d said on November 9, 2014
Great work Steve.gotta love that off the wall imagination of yours. Really good mate.
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Thanks Gregor. Maybe it’s the lite beer. Naaaaaa.
This is a great kit to build.
California Steve
Bill Koppos said on November 9, 2014
Goggone it! Meyer stole my Lake Placid comment. Snooze you lose….
The “jungle” shots are highly imaginative indeed. More greatness from CS.
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Thank you Bill. I’m getting in the mood to go back and watch Apocalypse Now. That’s a long flick. I guess I will have to stock up on popcorn first.
Thanks for the nice comments.
California Steve
Rick Wilkes said on November 9, 2014
I just wonder if Ed Woods or Ed Carpenter didn’t influence your youth Steve? Regardless you do have a twist to the weird and wonderful… 🙂
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
I hope you are referring to Plan Nine from Outer Space. and not to Glenn or Glenda! It’s probably from listening to Frank Zappa and Spike Jones on the same day.
I’m glad you like the madness.
California Steve
bob mack said on November 9, 2014
that’s buttkickyous…well done
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Thanks Bob. You know I just can’t leave things alone.
California Steve
AL HOFFMAN said on November 9, 2014
That 1st picture might be the result of too much Miller’s. Your jungle shot looks great. Did those figures come with the kit? I’ve been wanting to do a Vietnam Nam era gun truck & have put it off because a lack of available figures. With some mods those might work.
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Thanks Al, As for the first picture. It wasn’t easy to photograph from a speeding boat with all of the screaming splashing and 50 caliber noise. Actually it is a crappy shot but I just had to add it. The figures from this kit would be perfect for a gun truck. If you add in all of the weapons and accessory’s from this kit. You would have a well armored and stocked gun truck.
California Steve
Craig Abrahamson said on November 9, 2014
I agree with the masses regarding the “jungle” shots…nice photography work, Steve. And yes, Al…those are kit figures.
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Hey Craig, Thanks for the like. The boat driver and the beer loader were from other kits. I know that the beer loader is the radio operator from a Tamiya kit. Still this model presents you with a lot of accessories and figures.
Thanks again,
California Steve
Joe Caputo said on November 9, 2014
Wonderful job, Steve ! I love it !
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Thank you very much Joe.
California Steve
Rob Anderson said on November 9, 2014
Very cool, love these kits and you did it proud. BUT for the record, the “captain” would have most likely been a Chief Petty officer and there are no privates in the Navy, would have been a Petty Officer 🙂 Sorry, the Lifer in me couldn’t let that one go 🙂
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
No problem at all Rob. The CPO tried his luck at spear catching a few clicks down the river. He was not very good at it. So we had to switch things around a bit. The figures in the kit are good but I would have liked some more Navy looking guys. For that fact Rob. When was the last time you saw a set of real Navy personnel in this scale? There are some nice ones for the PT and Vosper series. But where are the round white hats? Ziperini!
Thanks again.
California Steve
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said on November 9, 2014
Another quiet day on the Bassac River, south of Dong Tam in the delightful Mekong Delta! Charlies latest secret weapon is deployed against the running dog lackeys of Wall Street. Surprise! Ehyaaah! Make a great “Z” movie…
Rob got it right, the Brown Water Navy ran the pibbers, and the Monitors and various other Riverine vessels. The Army had Boston Whalers, I remember seeing one with an M-60, which I thought was pushing it, myself.
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Good info Bernard. Now, was the M-60 in the Whaler facing forward to attack, or to the rear to propel the boat?
Have a great weekend..
California Steve
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said on November 9, 2014
Tom: Ba Me Ba/”33″, and Bier LaRue. One of them had a Tigers head on it. The former had formaldehide as an ingredient, and my companions said it would result in visions or incontinence after a couple. I decided to abstain.
I do remember Budweiser, and once, Australian beer, Reschs Pilsner(?). The class 6 was always feast or famine.
You could use the ‘ol P-38 in a pinch, absent the church key of beloved memory.
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
You know Bernard it wouldn’t be that hard to get a image of those products shrink it down an multiply it with a computer. Then print a decal sheet for your own beer cans. Hmmmmmmm.
California Steve
Mike Maynard said on November 9, 2014
Say. isn’t that a North Vietnam “people’s anti imperialistic reptile defensive weapon system and lady’s hand bag resource device” ? Very interesting…..maybe the creature just wanted a Miller Lite.
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
That is interesting. You know Mike, my pal Lefty told me to never,ever feed a crock beer. He’s all right now! Haa! good one.
California Steve
Josh Patterson said on November 9, 2014
Ah, the photographs! Nothing looks like real scenery better than real scenery! (I’m talking to you George Lucas!) Not even looking at the quality of the model, which is great, placing it in a real setting that still looks scale is what sets the two photos off in this set. (Although it is too dark to show any of the details you included, so I’m glad some were taken on the table.)
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Thank you for the nice words there Josh. What’s nice about real scenery is all I had to do is place the model down and shoot photos.
Oh it is dark this deep beneath the jungle canopy. It was a lot of fun.
California Steve
Richard Mcstay said on November 9, 2014
Fantastic mate! Every article you post seems to tell a story. The attention to detail is amazing once again, adding personality to the scene. Once again I am impressed!
California Steve said on November 9, 2014
Well thank you very much Richard. It is a bit fun to add a bit of a back story. Sooooo? What kind of bike are you riding? Looks really nice.
California Steve
Richard Mcstay said on November 10, 2014
I don’t actually have one at the minute, I need to invest in property before I get another one unfortunately.
That one in the picture is a Yamaha R1. It was a good one as well. I had a blue flame racing exhaust system on it bumping it up to 200 bhp, in a bike weighing 180k. It was pretty fast!
California Steve said on November 10, 2014
Sounds like a fortunate move to me Richard. And a smart one.
California Steve
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said on November 9, 2014
Steve:
The vietnamese beer came in glass bottles, and as Tom pointed out, the “regular” US stuff was in cans.Before the pop-top. Thus the church key.
I actually saw bameba for sale in a gourmet(!) store here about 5 years back. I was taken aback. My wife thought I was having a flashback, which I wuz, sorta. Who would have thought?
The “cooler” is a marmite can, used to keep food sort of warm, or other things cold, in the field. You could buy ice, but you’d have to be careful, as the sales people may have gotten the water ANYWHERE. Good old aqua hepetitis and any of a number of other nasty diseases.
I got used to warm.
California Steve said on November 10, 2014
This is probably a lot of guys took to the herbal. I never heard of anyone getting hepatitis for indulging in the local green.
Good information. Thanks Bernard.
California Steve
Simon Whitney said on November 10, 2014
Don`t know what you mean Steve ? 🙂
Laos Green or Cambodian Red?
California Steve said on November 10, 2014
Remember Toledo window box?
California Steve
George Williams said on November 10, 2014
That croc looks high, great stuff, Steve, just what we needed after looking at 500 pictures of aircraft, nice though they are!
California Steve said on November 10, 2014
Thanks George, The photos from the show are really a treat.
California Steve
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said on November 10, 2014
In one of Tim Pages’ books, he mentioned this local VN delicacy, “laughing chicken soup” which was seasoned with that herb Steve mentioned. He and his companions had some, and then giggled their way back to where they were staying. I don’t expect to see Rick Steves doing that anytime soon.