My Vietnam Rifleman and Gunner loadouts
 

Hello,

Heres some pics of my recently completed Nam Loadouts.

Classic Army M16VN and TOP M60 VN.

Say what you think!

Note, things that might be off:

1. flower petal on M16: I heard that was phased out quite quickly in the war, but I love the thing so godamn much I kept it. Stands out from all the usual M16/M4 variants too.

2. rank stripes: probably taken off before heading to combat zone, but what the hey, I like them.

Apparantely the CA VN isnt the 'proper' VN Style or something, but Im not an expert on Nam things So I cannt prove if this is right or not. Looks pretty good anyway. I dont see a flower however.

Is the watch vietnam era too? :D

But seriously, nice loadout. Love the ammo belts

Ever gamed the M60?

Does it work? (Those top guns are built.. very.. odd)

Forward assist might be wrong for such an early model.

I am also wondering about the flower.

Perhaps its the style of flashhider?

nice loadout

Very nice, I dig the ammo belts and that m60 really suits your look.

I'm thinking the same thing, its the only thing that stands out in the pics. It looks very cool though.

you kinda look like seth rogen (when he played in superbad). except with brown hair.

cool nam loadout

i love those old A1s... looks like a spear

Very nice. I too love the old A1 look. And the M60 too.

You should have photoshopped yourself in a jungle though. lol The hallway just throws the look off...

No that flashhider was pretty common back then for awhile until it was replaced due to mud and other debris blocking the barrel.

Cheers for the feedback guys,

As far as i know the watch is authentic, its a copy of a service watch of the time, cheap metal and a green canvas strap. actually very durable!

I have had a lot of fun with the TOP M60 on the airsoft field, I have put nearly 30,000 rounds through the thing and it is still going!

The reputaion it gets seems to be exaggerated: I bought heaps of spares (gear sets, pistons etc) downloaded all the repair guides online all just to be ready for when the eventual brealdown occured. Nothing has happened. Still going strong!

Talking to other TOP users I found out 2 factors of the AEG F**king up:
1. using a 9.6v battery
2. holding down the trigger constantly till all 1200 rounds are out of the hopper.

just use 8.4v (bring 2 for the day if necessary, a 9.6 is too powerful) and give your support fire in steady bursts, not a constant stream (more realistic anyway).

Only one thing, flack jacket!

That, 200 rounds of 7.62 and the pig = good workout!

Not sure what you mean Sepulcrum, the Flak jacket is authentic late 60's early 70's model!

It is indeed a work out Scheer, I usually swap over to the M16 mid day as the belts of ammo, the 60 itself and the Flak jacket usually take their toll quickly! (helps fight the flab though)

Oh sorry, I didn't magnify the gunner pics... you should wear it with your rifleman kit too

Still the pigs that wee bit more impressive than the M16, especially when it's pointed at you (as I can personally testify) See you 2moro Beastie & you'll get to see my COD4 gear:D

The forward assist was added during before production was ordered on request of the Army. The Air Force ordered it initially without the forward assist, in it's original design.

hey, could you show off some kit on here? some of us wont be there...:D

The M16 had no forward assist, and the three-prong flash hider. The M16A1 had the "birdcage" flash hider and a forward assist.

Personally I don't have a problem with how the CA VN looks, just swap the flash hider if you're that picky and it's all good.

Other than that, they had the same receiver. That changed when the M16A2 came out, along with many other changes.

Nice loadout there man. Now all you gotta do is get some pics in the Boonies :).

Only the Airforce and very early M16s did not have the
forward assist . The birdcages were changed out after
the REMFs listened to the grunts (which rarely ever happened).
My first Matty Mattel I was issued had a forward assist and
a three prong tulip flashhider.I even saw a few really early
experimental four prong flash hiders(not in service though)
along with displayed ARs with burst barrels.

Nice load out though takes me back to my youth.

Very nice, the go-to-hell rag is a nice touch

Cheers for the generous feedback guys, its good fun to play in and suprisingly comfortable. You sweat buckets with the ammo bandoliers and flak jacket on though, and the TOP M60 doesnt help, but the "ooooh" factor from noobs and even the more seasoned players more than makes up for it.

Also helps that the CA "M15 Vietnam" is a really solid gun (no wobble at all and I have fallen on it twice) and excellent to shoot, although the TOP M60 with the 1200 round hopper is so much fun its silly!

The helmet also makes a very satisfying metallic "ping" sound when BB's strike it!

Ive had that happen to me at a WW2 game recently. 450fps sniper somewhere picked me right in the helmet with the same PING! sound. My ears rang for a bit after that.

Nice work. Where did you get all the gear? Going for any specific look or just liked the 25th Infantry patch?

Nice stuff. Generally in the boonies your jacket was static, nothing on it other than your unit patch as laundry logistic rarely returned the right uniform or at least the right size and rank. For re-enacting though, it's fun having your name, branch, rank and unit on it. Around 1967-68 the transition from colour to OD was going on, so it's accurate with colour 25th Inf patch but OD rank.

Depending on AO generally flak jackets were left behind as humping 80lbs rucksacks, 15lbs of web gear and all the other weight it produced heat causalities. M16 = 3 prong "flower/tulip" flash. M16A1 has the birdcage flash and the forward assist. I think Classic Army just copied the TM version.

M60 gunners pretty much have the same web gear as riflemen but would store other items in the ammo pouches. Is the canteen cover an M1967 with 4 vertical stitches or like the modern with 2 horizontal stitches? You should also have a 1st aid pouch somewhere too. M60 gunners carried an M1911 .45 cal pistol as a backup just in case. As for facial hair either be clean cut, 2 day growth or a moustache.

I've picked it apart to be helpful, don't think that it's bad, the important thing is you're trying and you're learning :)

/\ Wow that's a pretty good eye for detail. I was curious about the name and branch after studying Platoon almost frame-by-frame trying to see if they are there during any scenes beyond the arrival. Your info explains a lot.

For any others looking for lots of good info on Vietnam era gear check these sites out. Been a world of help for me so far.

http://www.vietnamgear.com/
http://david.brubakers.us/Vietnam/in...l#UNIFORMSHIRT

Now I need weapon info :D

Cheers for the feedback bud, but I assure you my impression has come on in leaps and bounds since I posted this in 2008!

Good spy on the canteens, they were indeed the newer versions, but have since been changed to the nylon vertical stitching ones.

The towel is now a legit Nam era US army towel, not that horrible day-glo green monstrosity in the pics.

I am not sure how clear it is in the pics but I have a black holster for my .45 and a pistol mag pouch on the belt.

I have first aid pouches on bothe sets of webbing, for my Rifleman and Gunner impressions.

I now have no facial hair! :D

I will post some pics soon on my more up-to-date look!

Great loadout. Working on a 'Nam Grunt impression myself.