Feldwebel Jakob Blau, 101. Jäger-Division, Malacky, Slovakia April 1945
A veteran who has survived three years at the front, Feldwebel Jakob Blau is marching westwards, hoping to avoid Soviet captivity. Wearing newly issued Leibermuster camouflage trousers (the 101st was one of the few units to receive them), Blau himself looks anything but newly issued…The Jäger-Regiment 228, part of the 101. Jäger-Division, had been engaged in heavy combat while retrating through Slovakia. By the end of April, 1945, the regiment was near the town of Malacky, and was to enter American captivity a couple of weeks later in Bohemia. Jakob could count himself lucky…
The figure is based on photos of surrendering German troops in Bohemia, May 1945, where several wore full or partial Leibermuster camo. Previously thought to have never been issued, there's now firm evidence that it was worn during the last months of the Reich.
This figure took about a week's worth of evenings to complete. Almost everything was tweaked, weathered and/or repainted. The headsculpt was chosen because it captures the war-weary looks of a soldier who has seen it all. Apart from giving the hair an ink wash, I left the paintjob alone, as DiD's painting is quite good. The chest area and shoulder joints were ground down a bit with my Dremel, as the tunic was a tight fit. I would have preferred to use DiD hands, but as they are too hard, I had to make do with DML. The wedding band is real gold (from a rolled gold eyeglass temple), worn on the right ring finger as is the German custom.
The tunic was soaked in a mix of water and white and grey dry pastel dust, which gave it a faded look. Further weathering was made with brown dry pastels, with dirt stains added by dabbing diluted brown ink in appropriate places. CVI insignia were applied, plus a LionRoar photo-etched "Kuban" shield, a tank destruction badge, and a custom Iron Cross ribbon. The buttons were replaced with Battle Gear Toys buttons, and the snaps were removed (on the shirt, too). The shirt and then tunic were sewn shut.
As stated earlier, I weathered and repainted most of Blau's equipment. Custom straps were fitted on the field bottle and mess kit, and the shiny stainless steel handle on the mess kit was replaced. He had ditched his gas mask case a week earlier, as he figured that if the Russians hadn't used gas before, they wouldn't do it now. The rifle was repainted and fitted with a real leather sling. The belt was customized; the original belt that came with Blau had a Hitlerjugend buckle, but as DiD's German belt buckles are too flat and poorly detailed anyway, I filed the front flat, and glued a DML buckle front plate (from a broken buckle) on it.
The boots got new laces, and the gaiters were customized in order to achieve a more snug fit. I prefer to use DiD's gaiters, as those by DML are way too thick. I moved the buckles about 3 mm (1/8") back, then removed about 6 mm (1/4") of the gaiter at the buckle end, and smeared some CA glue on the edge to prevent fraying. The gaiter was held in place with a twist tie while the straps were buckled.
You might note that there's no helmet. Perhaps Blau lost it, perhaps he ditched it. My reason for omitting it was that I thought it would unbalance the composition. This was a fun figure to make, and the timing of both the arrival of the war-weary Blau and the photos used as inspiration was really inspiring.
Headsculpt: DiD "Jakob Blau"
Body: DML
Tunic: DML, with BGT buttons
Trousers: DiD
Field cap: DML, with Jäger badge from "Major Kater"
Shirt: DML
Boots and gaiters: DiD
Belt: DiD, with DML buckle "front"
Y-strap: DiD
Rucksack: DML
G43 rifle: DML
G43 magazine pouch: DML
Rifle ammo pouch: NLM
M39 Grenades: DML
E-tool: Human Wave Figures
Bayonet: Toys City
Bread bag: DML
Mess kit: DML
Field bottle: Toys City
Mug: DML
Blanket: custom
Watch: DML
Wedding band: custom
Insignia: CVI
Medals: DML
"Kuban" campaign shield: LionRoar
Tank destruction badge: DiD tank, custom ribbon
Iron Cross ribbon: custom
Assorted straps and slings: custom
There's still some fight left in him!
....and you're gonna have to pay for it."
