The Hornet's Nest: Manila, 1945

Gallery Article by Micah Reysio-Cruz on Aug 24 2009

 

This vignette depicts one of the many banzai charges that the Americans had to contend with as they cleared Manila of Japanese. The American patrol has walked up to a gutted ruin within the old walled city, and is shocked to discover that they have disturbed a hornets' nest of Imperial troops. As a break from my usual aircraft modelling, I had long wanted to build a diorama. I finally chose one that is set in the very city I call home.

The Liberation of Manila was a violent maelstrom of aerial bombardment, artillery barrages, and close-quarters fighting in which the 300 year old city was almost completely destroyed. Over 100,000 Filipino civilians are said to have perished, many being executed by the Japanese, who were ordered to treat anyone left within the city as an enemy combatant. Tough luck for those who had nowhere else to go. The battle is still quite significant to many Manilenos, who have "Liberation" stories told and retold by their families. Here's ours: When news of the Americans' approach seemed definite,  my grandfather sent his family (including my dad, who was then 12 years old) off to a nearby province, but stayed behind to keep an eye against looters.  Soon enough, Japanese patrols arrived, looking to round up all men and boys. My grandfather had heard that there would be no good in accepting such invitations, so he chose to hide between two large pianos on the ground floor. For his personal defense, he had an antiquated rifle with one bullet in the chamber. A couple of Japanese marines came in, searched all the rooms and, finding nothing, lit an oily rag and threw it into the house. As the wooden house caught fire, my grandfather ran out the back, and into a group of women whose menfolk had just been rounded up and taken away. They covered him in a skirt and shawl, and he made his way out of the stricken city dressed as a woman. It is fortunate that my grandfather got out when he did.  During the peak of the battle, their neighborhood of Singalong, Manila became the site of numerous atrocities committed by an army who had been ordered to annihilate everything in their defense of the city. 

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The vignette is constructed of a considerable number of kits. The soldiers are modified Tamiya and Dragon sets. WES resin sets provided the food bags and sacks. The twisted bicycle is form Tamiya. The building and low wall are made from sculpey modelling compound, while the charred timbers are basswood charred over a candle. Everything rests on a base of bathroom tissue mixed with white glue and mashed to a pulp. The groundwork is made up of crushed brick and cement from our yard, while garden store dried moss is handy for the touches of vegetation scattered around the scene. I do not regret following modelling guru Shepherd Paine's advice to spray a bit of ground color onto the figures' legs, to give the scene a certain visual unity and realism. A spray of clear flat also helped tone down shiny spots on the paintwork for added realism.

Thanks for dropping by to look!

Micah Reysio-Cruz

Photos and text © by Micah Reysio-Cruz