The Very Model of a Modern...Belleau Wood Marine

Sgt Scale, a Marine from the National Museum of the Marine Corps,  came to the studio today to pose as the model for my Belleau Wood Marines sculpture:

"Lafayette, we are here!"

I started the adventure by marking off the posing area on the floor of the studio, with pastel and tape... it looked like a big target:

 

I put the tape at regular intervals to ensure that all the directions of the compass were covered in the reference photos-- so that the model can be seen from all angles and the resulting sculpture will be fully accurate "in the round"

Then, it was time for modeling!

I started off with the model in PT Gear with the weapon, which is important in seeing the form under the uniform and gear... 

 

 Then Sgt Scale donned the WWI Marine Forest Green wool uniform, picked up the rifle once more, and continued the posing...

 

I realized it might be better for the composition, and give a variety of form to the sculpture, to have one of the figures giving supporting fire with a Chauchat ( officially pronounced "sho-shaw", but almost universally pronounced "sho-sho").

So, "like a Recon Daddy, we took a little trip" to the NMMC Armory where Al,  the Weapons Curator, let us touch and pose with the Chauchat:

Now that's truly "Gangstah!"

 LCpl Reagan Lodge, Combat Cameraman and "Artist Candidate",  also posed for a sculpture--  a contemporary archetype of the infantryman, "The Marine Rifleman":