Lord Humungus' Gun Case

[HUMVEE Driver]

I found a wood box that is perfect to modify into Lord Humungus' gun case. I also have the red felt for the interior. What I'd like to do with this thread is consolidate all the info about the badges, pins, etc that he has in the case. What I'd REALLY like would be to have those items in hand so I can put them in my finished case! But, one thing at a time. I think it was Doughnut Dale who said the little silver rectangular thing in the upper left of the case is a match striker; you fit them over a box of matches and strike your match on the metal. I'm going to have to look through the threads to ID some of the medals and pins, but I remember we had a pretty good idea of what they were.

I had asked around about having a gun case made from pictures from the movie, and was told upwards of $600.00. Waaaay too much, so we'll see how it goes when I do it myself.

I got to work on reconstructing the photogragh in the case. By cutting and pasting I was came up with this:



I know it looks a little rough in spots but I don't think anyone is going to look too close. All I have to do now is print one off for my case.

HUMVEE Driver

[PacificMuscle]

The badge over the photo is a 'tin hat day' pin issued as a fundraiser for 'Diggers'.

Post teh rest and I should be able to give you a pretty good idea of what they are.

Pete

[HUMVEE Driver]

I went digging through the old threads and found a lot of information.


First, cueball posted these images a while back:





Then I posted this:

With a big thanks to Cueball for posting those images and a little research on my part, I've identified the large medals in Humungus' gun case.

There are four large medals, with the second one partially covering the first one. Humungus’ medals are just the metal part of the award; they come connected to cloth ribbons but those parts are missing. But with what we can see, one can determine that the first and third star-shaped medals are any one of the following awards:

The 1939-1945 Star, The Atlantic Star, The Air Crew Europe Star, The France and Germany Star, Africa Star, Pacific Star, The Burma Star, or The Italy Star.

These medals are basically “been there, done that†awards, denoting that the wearer was in service during those particular times or places.

The second and last medals (they look like coins showing a man wearing a rounded hat) are either:

- The War Medal 1939-1945. This medal is awarded for 28 days full time service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945.

- The Australia Service Medal 1939-1945. This medal is awarded for 30 days full-time or 90 days part-time service in the Australian Defence Force between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945.

These medals, I am almost certain, are combat awards.

I found this info at http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-medals/overview.htm, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way down.

I am also researching the uniform in the photo, and the smaller medals in the gun case. One of those is a small pin of the Australian country. More to come soon.


And PacificMuscle, you posted this, do you remember?

I think I can help with identifying some of the contents of the case.

The pin hanging over the photo seems to be a 'Tin Hat Day' badge. Each year the United Returned Soldiers fund sold these on the street as fundraisers for ex service personnel. The name comes from the fact that the badge is the shape of the Australian (and British, Indian etc) Army helmet of WWI & II vintage. There were various levels ranging from unprinted tin to printed brass priced accordingly. The pins in the picture are printed in reverse ... blue over brass ... but there were variations each year.

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collect ... ?irn=92473

The middle (blue) pin does seem to be an ANZAC Day pin of some sort ... I've seen many like it ... and it does look like a 'rising sun' emblem in the centre.

The pin on the right is another fundraiser, this time for the red cross ...

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collect ... ges=&c=&s=

Again I've seen numerous variations on the same theme.

As for the military decorations I agree with the possibilities you have come up with. Unless there is a frame with the ribbands visable it's impossible to tell. As an asside the decorations are not Combat Decorations. The same medals went to the paymaster back at base as the forward scout behind ememy lines. In fact the lack of recognition of this difference was a source of frustration to a lot of the Diggers. My father and uncle who were both in WWII used to call them EBMs "Every Bastards Medals".

Syd Hayden 'Curmudgeon' in the compound also wears the strange combination of Australain /British service medals (minatures from memory), a US Helmet and a Japanese sword. In his case the ribbands are clearly visable so would be easy enough to work out. An interesting irony that friend and foe revere the same military heritage ... except the SS Skull.

I would suggest that the soldier in the photo is actually an Australian Artillery Officer or NCO( by the sword). The uniform is the WWI style tunic and johdpurs with a Sam Brown Belt.

Finally we can see a folded piece of aluminium in the upper left of the case. It is a matchbox holder. This is a piece of 'trench art'. During both wars the soldiers had a lot of down time and used some of that time to produce vases, ashtrays, pen holders, picture frames and even planes from either used brass from shell casings or scavenged aluminium. I have a cigarette case made by my uncle from aluminium and perspex recovered in New Guinea from a Japanese Zero which looks very similar.

Hope this is useful.

And:

Here's another pic of a brass 'Tin Hat Day' badge with script similar to the one on the photo.

Note also the method of attachment which is simply that the tab at top is bent back ... just as it is on the one mounted on the Humungous' photo in the gun case.



So am I missing anything?

More pics to be posted soon on my work in progress gun case.

HUMVEE Driver

[HUMVEE Driver]

After about four hours of work, here is my guncase so far:



I think it's coming along fine, considering that I've never done anything like this before. I bought a flat piece of that MDF particle wood or whatever it is, then cut it into three pieces of the correct length and width. I used a drill, a jigsaw, and a Dremel to cut the out a trace of the gun on one piece, and the holes for the rounds. Then on the next piece I cut out the outline of the gun cylinder. Then I nailed all three pieces together and used some spray glue to hold the felt on. I couldn't get the felt way down in the round holes, but you can't hardly tell; the flash really shows it. I might just use some red paint down in the holes.

So this part is just going to fit inside the gun case. Next up is to stain the case much darker, and then glue the felt to the top part of the inside.

I have about $40.00 invested in this project. Not bad, considering that I had quotes of $600 to $2,000 to have one made!

I've already found the 'tin hat' badge and possibly some of the medals. I really need to ID the smaller pins, and then try to find them. Then just print off the picture and I'm done!

So what do you think?

HUMVEE Driver

[the armourer]

Looks great, Dave. What are you doing for the Model 29 and the optics and rings? Did we ever establish the maker of the scope?

[HUMVEE Driver]

I have a replica Model 29, and after a long search I found a rifle scope that was very close. I was never able to nail down exactly what kind of scope it was. There's a thread about it somewhere around here.

Here's the gun I got:



HUMVEE Driver

[the armourer]

8" Model 29 it is. What about the scope mounts? I've been looking at them for the past hour but they are unique and elusive little things. What diameter is the tube, 7/8" or 1"?

[HUMVEE Driver]

Here's a look at the gun with the scope on:





The scope is a hair under 3/4 inch, and the rails on top of the barrel are just a hair over 1/2 inch.

Do you want some good screen pictures of the gun?

HUMVEE Driver

[HUMVEE Driver]

Guess I should have mentioned this; the scope I found is a Tasco, it says 4x15.

It's missing one of the sight adjustment caps. Any chance you have an extra or you know where to find one? I need one about 5/8 inch across.

HUMVEE Driver

[the armourer]

I might be able to come up with a adjuster cap. Let me see what I can do. Are you going to remove the rear sight like the film piece?