Marine in Afghanistan as going away presentation for a Friend

[JamesOLeary]

My friend and Director of the US Army Air Defense Artillery Museum, Jon Bernstein, is preparing to depart to a new position as the Curator of Ordnance at the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps. I wanted to make something special for him. Originally I was going to make a pair of Cobra helicopter pilots as he wrote a few books and articles about Cobra crews in Vietnam and himself was an Apache pilot. However, my mom fell and ended up in the hospital with not only a broken leg, but several other conditions that required hospitalization and now is in a Nursing and Rehab center until she recovers. Because of this, I ran out of time to do the pair of pilots. So, since Jon is going to be working at the NMMC, I thought it would be appropriate to do something Marine Corps related. I had this bust in my stash and it was something I thought I could complete before his last day of work here at Fort Sill.


The M4 lacked the detail of the ridge that protects the magazine release, so I made my own with wire. It also did not have a charging handle, so I added one of those, too.


The NVG mount had a piece that was broken off, so I added that with a piece of lead foil.



I also added a portion of the sling using some lead foil that was included in the kit.

 

[JamesOLeary]

Here are some photos of the completed bust. He is wearing the tan Nomex coveralls, Coyote Brown vest and pouches, MARPAT helmet cover, NVG mount, goggles with cover, and ID patch in the center of his vest complete with Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. The bungee thing I assume is part of the sling as I have seen similar, but I think the sculptor used some artistic license with some things on this bust.



Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James

 

[moon puppy]

Outstanding James!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

AWESOME!!