Military re-enactment in Japan

A year or so ago, we picked up some Airsoft. I like it for more frequent practice, but there's a whole bunch of folks who like to train, military-style with them, and there's quite an active Law Enforcement training community.

There's also a whole sub-genre of military re-enactors who stage Eastern Front battles using airsoft weapons. Not only do people put a lot of time into making their weapons look like the real thing, but they collect period correct uniforms as well.

Well, when you think "period correct uniform" you think "attention to detail". Nobody, nobody does attention to detail like the Japanese.

The description is brilliant:

Putting my nerd cap on they appear to be going for a mid-1943 impression here, based on the fact that they have an MG42 but have not yet apparently been issued the M43 field caps.

That tickled my funnybone, in a let's-explain-it-all-away sense. But some don't need any explaining away at all:

Listen to the insane level of attention to detail:

This dude was brilliant. Portraying a member of one of the SchuMa [Schutzmannschaft, protection personnel] battalions the Germans stood up from local volunteers in the Baltic states to fight communist partisans. Complete with obsolete WWI M1916 stahlhelm, field flashlight, and feldgendarmerie gorget. Not visible: two foot long braided ponytail, a stylish affectation of many Estonian men at the time.

Everyone wants to be the SS Hauptsturmfuhrer, nobody wants to be the Schutzmannschaft. Well played, sir!

If this tickles your nerd knob (as it did mine), then click on through. It's quite long, with a ton of photos and commentary. I have to warn brother Scotaku that there are a couple of dreamy ladys as Red Cross nurses; it might be too much for some to handle. There's also a link to an Operation Market Garden re-enactment.