Gunm's Toy Blog

3AA Rehel - Dragos Cloven Heart Version

2012-09-25T18:08:00.002-07:00

As the 1/6 action figure market spirals out of control with ever increasing and unsustainably high pricing, I've started to turn my back on the hobby. I've already stopped all Hot Toys purchases for the foreseeable future, and am starting to scale way back on even my core interest, Modern Military.

What has kept a spark glowing in my collecting habits are the offerings of designer toy company ThreeA, which is co-owned by Australian comic book and graphic novel artist, Ashley Wood.

While 3A (as they are also known) hasn't been immune to the rising costs of plastic either, they've kept my attention thanks to their creative and imaginative subjects as well as their unique take on action figures.

I must admit, I was not impressed with the toys at first--I was hung up on realism and Ashley Wood's art tends to be highly stylized and sometimes over-the-top in design. Yet, when Hot Toys decided at the height of their popularity that they could get away with increasing their prices with every single new release, it became clear to me that I was going to get left in the dust sooner rather than later, and I had to re-evaluate the hobby entirely.

Enter the Adventure Kartel! Created by Ashley Wood and TP Louise, the AK was a group of odd adventurers brought together to fight all manner of monsters and robots. Their story is told in short, vague comic strips included with the figures, leaving the rest of the adventure up to the toy's new owner.

Wow...how simple! It's what got me into collecting G.I. Joes and other themed-toys in the first place. Give me some characters and a little backstory and now I'm 10 years old again, excited to crack open my new action figure fresh from his (or her) plastic card and get them posing and beating the crap out of each other!

Today's review is of the 3AA version of the Adventure Kartel's newest member, Rehel. In his spare time, Rehel is apparently quite the musician as he fronts a "Christian Devil Worship" band called Cloven Heart. Under his stage name, "Dragos Eraphis", Rehel rocks out with his dark hooded sweat jacket, metal T-shirt bearing his band's name, and punk'd out hair. Despite his rock god attitude, it seems like everyone in the Adventure Kartel except his buddy Tommy Mission thinks he looks a lot like a zombie!

"Who says I look like a zomb???"

This is just a fun figure. At first glance, he's pretty ugly, but upon closer inspection, you can see a lot of the details that make threeA toys enjoyable. He's got great paint apps, especially with the natural weathering in his clothes and face.

He also has superb articulation, with tight joints and a wide range of motion. Check out the flamingo poses he can do on just one leg:

No wires, no leaning, no stand...just tight joints and balance.

The goofy look takes away some of the sting of Dragos' terrifying appearance, and the figure just ends up begging to be played with and put into funny situations.

Give him a 1/6 instrument, and he's ready to party! Even a slightly underscaled bass guitar might work.

Maybe it's a violin? A metal violin!

All in all, a great fig from threeA!

Rock on!

Crazy Dummy One Year Anniversary： US NAVY SEAL TEAM 8 GUNNER WITH MK48 MOD1

2012-08-23T11:59:00.001-07:00

Today, I'm featuring a great military figure set from CrazyDummy (CD). The "Anniversary" edition SEAL Team 8 gunner features a highly detailed MK48 Mod1 with desert camo and real metal parts. CD invested a good bit of time and money on their own MK48 series and while their efforts have lead to a rather large glut of the guns on the market, seeing it included here is not such a bad thing.

Honestly, there are a number of good things in the box, starting with the HS. While some might bemoan yet another 1/6 representation of actor Brad Pitt, CD did a nice job of sculpting his likeness and the paint apps are solid with clean execution and realistic tones overall. The gear is solid as well, with very little QC or general quality complaints at all from me. The AOR works well to me, especially if you use the included "RealTree"-style camo jacket, which really rounds out the look of the BDUs and makes it stand out from other modern desert unis released recently.

Perhaps the only thing that didn't quite work for me was the tan Oakley sunglasses. While I appreciate it as an added value accessory, I don't think it looks right with this set. I ended up using my own shades and will keep the Oakley's for another bash.

Overall, another winner from CD, who continue to crank out nice Modern soliders to keep Soldier Story and Toys City on their toes.

The camo jacket is great IMO!

I left off the drop down and some other bits for this shoot. The MK48 is, like the other CD MK48s, very good.

Yes, another rendition of Mr. Angelina Jolie, but it's well done.

Sideshow Collectibles 1/6 Star Wars Clone Wars Commander Bly

2012-08-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

SSC continues it's Clone Wars line with Commander Bly, who most notably served under Jedi General Aalya Secura in the Star Wars prequels and Clone Wars animated series.

As with other Phase I and II clones in the series, Bly comes with a huge assortment of accessories, including a number of different posed hands, both styles of clone helmets, as well as an unhelmeted portrait. There isn't too much to say about the figure itself beyond the fact that it is a generally well-made, and well-designed set with high production values, as are pretty much all the clones that Sideshow has released so far. The bodies and some other technical aspects were partly done by Hot Toys through both companies' mutual design and distribution partnerships, and this shows in the great articulation and posability of the figures despite the armored nature of the costume. As far as accuracy to the films and media, SSC has done a pretty good job of keeping with the look of the character, giving him his unique features like flip down visor/HUD and distinct armor colors and insignias while staying mostly within the molds and template of the clone figures.

If you're into Star Wars Clones, you're going to get this for your collection and likely won't be disappointed.

I chose to use the Phase II helmet, but you can also select from a Phase I, if that floats your boat.

Flip down visor and long rifle...check.

Can't really blame him, he was just carrying out orders.

Project BM Medicom Gokaiger Red No. 62

2012-08-16T02:32:00.000-07:00

The original Go Rangers from 1975!

I picked up this "web store exclusive" version of the Classic Red Ranger from the old Japanese children's TV show, "Go Rangers" (which was a precursor to Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers).

These special editions are on the high end of 1/6 collectibles, so I'm a bit afraid to take this guy out of the box, lol. I did manage to snap some pics though. Maybe when I'm feeling a bit more confident, I'll put him in the display shelf...

When I first saw this, I was so bummed it was only available through the Medicom Japan website.

Honestly, my favorite Ranger was the Green (Midori) one, but beggars can't be choosers for a show that came out 37 years ago!

Not a lot of accessories, but a good-looking figure IMO.

Hot Toys MMS178 Avengers Black Widow

2012-06-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

All I can say is: Oh Em Gee!!!

Femme Fig Photoshoot of the Day

2012-06-12T18:49:00.001-07:00

Just a few pics of my Resident Evil Extinction Alice kitbash. It's the Afterlife Alice head on a TTF body with Brother Production Zombie Killer clothes. Just need to add the holster, weapon grip hands, and give her a few weapons.

Still missing some bits. I'll add later and update.

A shot at a different time of day. Whoa it's bright out there.

Light glamour pose. :p

Hot Toys DX09 1989 Batman

2012-06-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe for old timers like me, but Tim Burton's Batman came out almost 23 years ago! At the time, it was quite a revelation. The film was arguably the first true successful comic book-to-movie adapation that wasn't aimed solely at children, earning both critical acclaim (including an Oscar) and box office gold.

Fast forward to 2012, and Hot Toys is ready to honor the movie with it's own MMS DX figure set! This one features the PERS movable eye system that allows users to change the angle at which the figure is looking for even more dynamic poses. While there aren't too many accessories with this particular DX, it does also include the interchangable face plate system that allows you to change the expression of the mouth from a more passive look, to a scowl, to a battle-damaged look with some blood trickle at the mouth corner.

Perhaps the most impressive feature IMO, is the cape. The cape has a couple of black rods that can be placed in the character's hands to allow some interesting poses of the cape unfurled and spread open, just as Batman did in the movie to intimidate his foes.

The set also includes a grappling hook attachment that fits onto the arm and fist, as well as some different hands and a heavy base.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this figure and would recommend it to fans of the film.

Solid packaging as per the Hot Toys DX series.

Upon opening, you will see the figure along with the hands and 3 swappable mouths.

Underneath, you'll find the cape, base, and accessories.

It looks great, even in static poses.

Kind of looks stiff, but Keaton's suit was the same way in 1:1 anyways.

Nice job by HT of capturing the actor's likeness, even in the costume.

ZCWO Shimei Biker Girl

2012-06-02T15:59:00.004-07:00

ZCWO has thankfully been avoiding the usual fetish-y female figures lately, so I've been more receptive to their newest releases in return. Today, I'm featuring Biker Shimei, one of two motorcycle-themed ladies (the other is named "Azami" and is clad in black leather with slightly different accessories).

Shimei sports an interesting, if a bit loud, blue leather-like outfit. While the colors evoke the import tuner scene, Shimei is ready for the road with long pants, jacket, boots, and a rather well-designed helmet that has both a flip-up visor as well as a fold out top for ease of attaching or removing the helmet from the head.

The materials as a whole are a bit on the cheap-side, but I had no real QC issues with my copy overall. ZCWO bodies are well articulated, but the outfit does restrict posing somewhat. Paint apps on the face could be a bit better, but are decent overall.

On the whole, I'm pleased with her. I just wish I had a blue sport bike to pose her with.

TTL "Baby" Female PMC

2012-05-30T16:08:00.002-07:00

Let's be honest here. Most female 1/6 action figures on the market today come in two varieties: character-based themes that are based on films or other media, and decidedly male-oriented fantasy/fetish figures where the figure has revealing, BDSM-themed, or otherwise "stripper-ish" clothing.

Luckily, TTL has seen fit to release some sets that kind of fall outside those categories.

Today, I'm lightly reviewing the "Baby" female PMC set. PMCs, or private military contractors are professional soldiers for hire and have become an important part of modern military and defense support around the world.

TTL's female PMC features a long-sleeved turtleneck, tactical harness, jeans, ballcap, goggles, weapons, and, for whatever bizarro reason, a creature-hoodie (in this case it looks like a polar bear).

Cutsey jacket aside, Baby is a pretty straight shooter who appears ready to handle herself in sticky situations.

While it's a nice-looking and welcome change of pace for a female figure, I do have a couple of problems with this set. My biggest peeve is with the chest rig. This thing is horrible. The molle is sewn poorly and is really difficult to loop the pouches to. The next issue is the boots. The silver color just looks comical and wrong compared to the rest of the outfit. I could paint it a better color, but why do I need to do this in the first place?

Despite the complaints, I like the figure overall. TTL's bodies are well-articulated and the headsculpt is one of the better ones they've done in recent years. I also appreciate a design that isn't aimed squarely at 14 year old boys who have no experience with real women beyond their mothers.

From this pic, you can see that the head may be a bit small and the hands too big for the base body.

A good head sculpt with solid paint apps highlights this figure.

It's nice to have a fighting female in the mix once and a while.

Unfortunately the chest rig is crap and the boots look hideous. :p

DAM 75th Ranger 1993 Somalia Grenadier

2012-05-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

I actually passed over this figure initially despite wanting to continue collecting DAM/VTS's Black Hawk Down tribute line. The reason for this was that I ended up with two copies of the Matt Eversmann Team Leader set due to a miscommunication with someone I was trading with on an action figure forum.

After unsuccessfully trying to get rid of the extra copy, I decided to just keep the set and pick up the loose parts necessary to complete the Grenadier version. Luckily, I was able to secure the head, vest, and weapon for a good price and quickly went about slapping it together.

I'm happy with the result, as it's only a bit off from getting the actual set.

In a way, it's kind of sad that the primary differences are just a few key parts, but I still love it.

No real problems with this set. DAM has been reported to have some QC issues with their stuff, but I was lucky to have had things as they were intended to be.

Can't wait for more BHD from DAM!

DAM Operation Gothic Serpent 75th Ranger Chalk Leader

2012-03-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

DAM Toys takes on the movie Black Hawk Down and Chalk Leader Matt Eversman is the first soldier to be released as part of this new action figure line.

Starting with a well done headsculpt with solid paint apps and a great likeness to actor Josh Hartnett, DAM provides a near movie-accurate set with nice gear and accessories appropriate to 1990s Delta Force operators. I found the quality of the accessories to be good overall, although the canteen pouch snaps on one of my sets (I ended up with two) were missing.

The body is good as well. It holds poses very well with tight joints and is capable of a wide range of realistic motions.

Overall, I think DAM has hit a home run with their Operation Gothic Serpent movie soldiers and I'm excited about the rest of the figures they've announced.

Looks like Josh Harnett as he appeared in Black Hawk Down to me.

I like the quality of the gear.

It's a bit of a challenge to work with the alice harness and those tiny clips, but the results are great.

Very cool soldier.

Soldier Story US Navy EODMU-11

2012-03-12T01:15:00.000-07:00

I recently received the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Mobile Unit Eleven figure from Soldier Story and finally had some time to put it together this weekend. Well, most of it anyway.

EODMU-11 operates out of Washington state. The Navy has a number of EOD mobile units. Why Soldier Story picked 11 specifically is unknown to me. According to the EODMU-11 official Facebook page, this figure was never even sanctioned by them. About all I can assume is that the 11 group had the most Internet photos.

In any case, what we have here is a pretty well-researched bomb disposal guy in tan flight suit, complete with breathing apparatus.

While the rebreather is probably the standout set of gear in this set, unfortunately, it has some problems to it, despite a pretty good design. One of the issues I had was with the mask--it has a lot of straps on it that are difficult to work with. In addition, the lenses are not clear, but a speckled translucent. It kind of wastes the headsculpt, which is nice and well done.

Another big issue I had was with the hose that runs from the mask to the air filtration device. The type of plastic tubing they used is really too stiff. It comes out of the box straight, but needs to be coiled in a way that bends around from the front of the face back around to the soldier's back. I tried heating and freezing, but there's no way to get the hose to keep it's shape without either running a metal wire in the tube itself, or just taping/strapping the tube in the shape you want it.

Overall, however, it's a solid figure with a slightly different theme than the norm, so I think this set might be worth a look for experienced collectors.

Nice, colorful boxart. I think they lifted the background image from the Internet though.

This is the only reference SS provides on how to gear him up.

I'm not sure if this guy is supposed to resemble anyone famous. He doesn't, to me.

It looks pretty good to me. I didn't add some bits, but maybe later...

The whole breathing device is a total pain in the ass to put together.

threeA Pathfinder Oya Impressions

2012-02-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

threeA (or 3A) is a Hong Kong company founded in 2008 that produces books, prints, clothing, and toys primarily based on the designs of Austrailian artist Ashley Wood. It has a small, but rabidly loyal fanbase, along with Wood himself.

When I first heard of the 1/6 and 1/12 scale action figures from threeA a couple years ago, I really wasn't impressed. While once a mainstream artist for the likes of Marvel and DC, Ashley Wood is now an independent creator, and his original graphic novel and comic book works have a very distinct artistic presence characterized by simplistic, highly-stylized faces that I felt just didn't fit in with the kinds of action figures I was interested in collecting at the time. In addition, because the company itself is relatively small, they only sold their toys through their website, and in a very limited ordering process that was inconvenient to follow to say the least. Fast forward to 2012, with the rising costs of 1/6 scale figures and the predominance of Hot Toys and others pushing ever closer to hyper-realism in toys, what is a jaded collector to do to keep his interest in the hobby alive?

You guessed it, as I re-evaluated my spending habits and collecting tastes, so too did I need to revisit threeA and see if there was indeed something I missed.

As it turns out, I seemed to have missed out on a lot. These figures, from a purely collectible standpoint, are great! Despite the simple character designs, the clothing, and paint jobs are outstanding! Granted, they do have a very strong smell, but I think it's just a natural consequence of the super weathering techniques used by the factory (or "hatchery" as it is affectionately called by threeA fans) to give these toys the post-apocolyptic dirt and grime feel of the art and comics they are based on. The figure bodies have a lot of articulation and the tailoring--from the screen-printed t-shirts to the oversized hoodies--is just fantastic.

My first threeA figure is the Pathfinder Oya made for the Hong Kong toy store BBCIN. Overall, it's a fantastic figure, but I do have a few quibbles: the first is that the hands don't grip the weapons too well. The gap seems a bit too big and the swords just sort of slip out if you're not careful.

Is that it? Yup, the figure comes fully geared, and ready for display out of the box.
Just add swords.

The jacket is a little tough to work with for posing, but pretty sweet otherwise.

These toys have a distinctive look to them, no doubt. Time for some stabby fun!

Ahhhhh! Yeah I don't know he's doing either. :p

Another issue is how much the heavy jacket/hoodie restricts movement in the arms. You can take off the jacket for more dynamic poses, but I think it's a bit of a waste of such a nicely done item of 1/6 scale clothing.

At $120 MSRP, this one isn't the cheapest action figure, but compared to a non-Hot Toys brand, it's about in line, considering the amount of work that must have been required to paint and weather all the details.

Femme Fig Photoshoot of the Day

2012-02-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

My one and only Hot Toys TrueType Female base body ended up getting a tear in the rubber torso smack dab in the middle of her chest. :(

As result, I can no longer use the Modern Life custom swimsuit I had intended to use for the figure.

I found a reasonable solution, however. Phicen!

The suit covers the gash in between her breasts, but unfortunately exposes the joints in her hips and thighs.

Yeah, not so pretty from the waist down, IMO...

And the badonkadonk? Yoiks.

Might have to retire this figure body if I pick up another Phicen seamless down the line...

Sideshow Star Wars Infantry Battle Droid Two Pack

2012-02-15T01:21:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of the Star Wars Clone Wars animated series, as well as a fan of Star Wars in general. While there have been some hits and misses with Star Wars 1/6 products over the years, Sideshow Collectibles has been doing a very good job with their Clone Wars action figures recently.

Released the second week of January as part of their "Militaries of Star Wars" 1/6 action figure line, these Infantry Battle Droids are a surprisingly well-engineered product with over 20 points of articulation including telescoping necks, legs that swivel at the hip joint, and gripping fingers.

Nice box captures actual poses possible with these figures.

As with many SSC 1/6 scale toys, the packaging includes a magnetized flap.

The two droids are even able to replicate their "shutdown" state, all folded up when you first open the package.

I was able to secure the "EX" version with an extra backpack screen-printed with the number 1138, of course a reference to George Lucas' first film as a director.

They come with a pair of blasters and removable backpacks.

Overall, they're a pretty cool addition to any Clone Wars fan's shelf.

The only issues I have with these are the backpacks, which don't have a locking anchor point and thus are prone to falling off, and the stiffness at certain moving joints. The latter may be attributed to the final process where paint may have dried into the moving parts, or else a general production side effect of plastics just being tight due to their newness. It can make your first attempts at posing a bit nerve wracking as it can feel like putting too much pressure will break the plastic parts. Just take your time when first handling, and you should be fine.

I'm pretty happy with these, and glad I was able to pick them up. The price might seem a bit high, even for a two-in-one set, but considering these are all new molds and tooling, then it seems to be about in line for the R&D and production of a brand new, licensed product.

Halt!

I'm not sure if these are TV/film accurate--the neck seems a bit short. Roger roger!

Hot Toys MMS 156 Captain America, The First Avenger

2012-02-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Marvel Studios has done a largely successful job of building up hype for it's upcoming Avengers movie this Summer. Starting with the wildly popular Iron Man 1 and 2, and then moving on to Thor, and Captain America. Admittedly, I based my initial reactions to the Thor and CA films on their trailers and felt that the CA trailer "looked" like it would be a better movie than Thor. I was wrong! I ended up enjoying the humor and earnest fantasy of Thor over the more pedestrian Captain America. Still, each were good movies in their own way, and I couldn't pass up a chance at Hot Toys' version of the Captain America action figure.

Unfortunately, like the film, while this figure looked good on the surface, it has some issues that prevent it from being the true blockbuster it could have been. The main problem, IMO is the lack of articulation caused by the heavy, albeit well-designed costume. The prototype photos show the Captain in a number of interesting, and somewhat dynamic poses, but in reality, it is very hard to get the correct range of motion in the arms and legs to really accomplish them. Granted, it is ultimately possible, however, it is generally just too difficult for all but the most patient figure collector to mess around with.

The shield is amazing and real metal as well, but a pain to get properly set in the hands.

Everything else is standard Hot Toys: unreal paint apps, fine tailoring, high quality materials, and that extra attention to details that make these more than just "toys". Ultimately, whether I can recommend this figure to you will depend on how much you enjoyed the movie or appreciate the character as it appeared in that movie, especially given the price.

Hot Toys' shoebox style packaging. Includes blister on the inside of the top cover, full color printed insert inside, and main figure with accessories in the lower box.

Shield and gun--metal, pleather, and other materials.

Well packed in vacuum-formed tray.

If he looks stiff, that's because...he is. :p

The helmet is sculpted as part of the whole head. Really amazing how well the paint job is.

The shield looks wonderful, but is a surprising pain in the rear to get on there.

Soldier Story Felgendarmerie Des Heers 1945

2012-02-02T02:04:00.000-08:00

I try to stick primarily to Hot Toys and Modern Military figures to keep my collection under control.

However, once in a while I'll see a figure that tickles my fancy for whatever reason, and I just decide to go ahead and pick it up. Such is the case for the Felgendarmerie, or German military police, figure from Soldier Story. While I don't much care for what these units did, especially during the time this figure is supposedly fashioned after, it's an interesting and notable theme if you have any interest in WWII military history. The figure comes with the metal gorget that earned these enforcement officers the nickname "chained dogs".

While the set itself does not include too many parts and accessories compared to a Soldier Story modern kit, what is there is generally the same higher-end quality of materials and worksmanship the company tends to adhere to. The paint job on the head sculpt is well done, although almost ironically, it seems to be a passive version of the head Soldier Story used for their Panzergrenadier Wiking version (which you may remember sported a unique open-mouthed expression).

Overall, I like this set, but at around $95 or so MSRP, it's kind of pricey for what you get.

A rather "srs" bit of box art, methinks. Note the blood at the top right. :p

You get a couple different looks with the helmet and field pack.

Aw, only one blister pack for accessories. :(

Yeah, this is pretty much all you get. I guess I'm spoiled by DID and SS modern sets.

He looks dignified despite some of the duties they carried out.

I dunno why, but I like him better with the cap than the helmet.

A passive face for someone even his countrymen's own soldiers feared.

Enterbay RM-5 (Shek Kien)

2012-01-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

I hadn't really planned on it, but I decided to try out the new RM-5 body from Enterbay. The main draw for me was not the new rubber torso, or design of the body itself, but (as with many of my Enterbay interests) the head sculpt. The likeness is of Chinese actor Shek Kien as he appeared in the movie Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee. Shek's character Han puts together a martial arts tournament gathering all the world's best fighting masters in what would be the basis of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and most other video game fighters.

The base figure set from Enterbay is just odd-looking to me. I'm not sure what it is, but it has a strange, hunched-over gait that just doesn't seem to work with the head and the way the eyes are painted looking off to one side.

Does this look normal to you?

How about this?

Sexy and I know it!

Sorry, there is just something about this figure that results in immediate stupidity when posing.

While the figure is capable of a number of interesting poses thanks to the 30+ points of articulation, my copy seemed to have a loose or slightly floppy torso spring. It's not too bad, but I do wonder how long it will last if I mess around with it too much. The joints have a solid design with generous range of motion for the arms, knees, and even ankles. The ankles are similar to the wrist pegs in that they are hinged on the top end and ball jointed on the bottom, as opposed to a double ball-jointed design, but they work well for most poses and have no problem holding the figure up on my copy.

Since I purchased the figure with the RM-4.2, Enterbay threw in a free "Kung Fu" suit. While I'm happy for any freebies, the suit is really cheap. The stitching around the collar was very poor and frayed badly out of the box, and the material feels flimsy overall. The shoes and socks are very good, and the string loops that fasten the top of the suit together are very strong, however.

Horse stance? No problem.

Ohara! You fool!

Chinese boxing?

The figure may have been rushed to market, because there are some paint flaws. The worst one on mine is on the head--a nice black line that cannot be explained away as an errant "hair" on the character's head.

Aw man, a bit of a drip or something here. :(

All in all, the RM-5 came out to $54 shipped--about the same price as a Hot Toys muscle body. I added an additional $44 shipped for the RM4.2 to get the Kung Fu suit free. I would say that if you could only buy one, get the Hot Toys muscle body. You can get the set for $55 shipped from Sideshow Collectibles, and it will be better quality and have a more standard gait for your 1/6 kitbashes.

Crazy Dummy Ranger Gunner in Afghanistan

2012-01-27T12:50:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm featuring Crazy Dummy's US Army Ranger Gunner. This figure sports CD's MK46 Mod0 LMG and comes complete with Gen2 Multicam, RLCS gear, MICH2000 helmet w/PVS-15 night vision, and an original, new head sculpt. Not sure who this guy is supposed to resemble, but it's nice to see a non-caucasian in the mix this time around.

As with CD's first SEAL set, this SAW figure has a ton of gear and details, most of it pretty well done, IMO. One of these details is one that you can't really see--underneath the BDUs is a "bulk suit", designed to make the figure appear more muscular. While I understand the aesthetics behind this decision, I'm not as fond of the execution. Ultimately, the padded suit makes it harder to dress the figure and restricts the articulation in the upper body enough where it's more of a hinderance than anything else. I was pondering removing the suit altogether, but decided to just leave it as is for now.

He certainly looks big enough to tote that LMG.

This is one my first gunners.

I dunno about the general looks of this guy, but he seems determined--it's a good expression for a military figure.

Soldier Story 1st Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment

2012-01-08T23:24:00.000-08:00

Don't have much to say about this one. Overall it's a great figure, but there are few oddities that I decided to address. One, the guy sports a goatee--something a real ranger wouldn't do. Second, the metal alice harness and rabbit extractor is nice, but a bit too heavy and ultimately not something I really wanted to use on the figure.

So, away went the Edward Norton "American History X" head, and in came the Soldier Story marine in Tarawa to take its place.

Also left behind was the extractor set and here is the result:

Oops, I forgot to attach the drop down holster, lol.

I have to say, even with molded boots, he looks ready to go.

Just like the Toys City Marksman Overwatch dude, the Soldier Story Ranger helmet features little bungies to secure the NVG.

Femme Fig Photoshoot of the Day

2012-01-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I recently came across a Cy Girls AJ. These Cy Girl figures are very well done. I regret missing out on them when they were in production. Fantastic pose-ability, nice headsculpts with good paint apps, and good costumes and gear. Perhaps the only issue is that the actual sculpts are reused across multiple figures (with different combinations of makeup and hair implantations).

Anyhoo, here's my take on AJ!

Toys City NSW Marksman Overwatch Operation

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Toys City's latest modern release might be it's best yet. This guy comes stuffed to the gills with gear, including some new-to-this-scale AOR2 (after a long wave of desert colors), but the highlight has got to be the Opscore "FAST" bump helmet.

This thing is a little scale masterpiece with air vents, various rails and mounts, and even little bungie-style elastic cords to secure the NVG.

AOR2 paint scheme to match the uni.

The velcro stickers match the air vents very well.

The elastic mini bungies are pretty sweet. Yes, it's fragile, but still fun to put together.

Despite the obvious fragility, TC did an excellent job designing the build of the helmet--I found it very easy to assemble, with minimal fuss. A great job of engineering and 1/6 design, IMO.

Another well-designed item is the Mk11 sniper rifle. Highly detailed with a movable mount/stand, you can even read the manufacturer logos printed on the side.

The rest of the set is a hodge-podge of other items. Perhaps to cut costs, TC used AOR1 for the pouches, vest, and chest rig. Not sure if that all is supposed to match, but it looks acceptable to me.

The body is solid with no major complaints from me. The head sculpt is good-looking, with a good paint app. I don't know who it is supposed to resemble, if anyone, but I've heard the likeness being compared to everyone from George Clooney to some french actor I'm not familiar with.

Overall, this is my favorite figure set from Toys City so far. It combines some new elements, with some older elements in a good value package that is fun and relatively hassle-free to assemble (considering the details involved). I'd highly recommend the figure to any modern military figure collector.

This guy looks ready to provide some cover fire.

Perhaps an odd mix of camo?

So much detail.

No idea who this face is supposed to resemble.

Inflames/Headplay Metal Boss

2011-12-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a figure I didn't think would get released: The Inflames and Headplay collaboration, "Metal Boss" boxed set.

From the distinctive Yoji Shinkawa-eque box art, down to the costume and accessories, this is an amazingly blatant carbon copy of a certain video game character renowned for defining the "stealth action" video game genre.

Licensing issues aside, what we have here is a pretty impressive action figure. The body has solid joints and is able to hold poses fairly well despite being clothed in a skin-tight black undersuit. The costuming has great tailoring with both a solid color and camo-variant set of BDUs. Accessory-wise, it includes CQC knives, pistol with holster, rifle, belt, alice harness, pouches, and even a crazy detailed crocodile head mask!

Never heard of Inflames before, but I do know of Headplay. Headplay, as the name implies, specializes in 1/6 action figure head sculpts and here they've done a decent job capturing our cold-blooded friend's likeness. I still think Headplay's sculpts are a bit undersized and the neck looks a little too long as a result, but the overall effect is acceptable. The wires in the head band that can be posed are a nice touch though.

On it's own merits, this is a fun and worthwhile figure to own. I recommend it if you can find it for the MSRP of $150 or less. Anything more and you're better off waiting for Hot Toys to make their officially licensed product.

I can't tell if this is an homage or if they took an actual bit of artwork. It looks fantastic, either way.

Two uniforms, and...check out that caiman head!

Some nonsense writing on the back, lol.

Changing to the camo outfit isn't too difficult, just remember how the straps were connected before removing.

To me, the head is a bit too small.

This is a fun figure to mess around with.

Classic hand-to-hand pose.

Dragon Models Limited Soviet Infantry w/Mine Detector - "Vladimir Petrovich Koslov"

2011-11-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

Due to limited budget, I try to stick to collecting just modern military figures or Hot Toys. However, once in a while, I'll come across a WWII-themed item that is just either very inexpensive, or else too cool to pass up.

The latter would be true of his unusual re-release from Dragon. "Vladimir" is a Soviet infantry rifleman circa 1941-45. The box claims he is part of the Eastern Front 1943, but what really makes him stand out is his Mosin-Nagant rifle modified with an unusal and (I assume) not very common VIM 210 mine detector and mine probe! Good luck finding much about this facinating piece of WWII military gear--although there were no doubt sappers assigned to fight along side regular infantry rifleman, I had a hard time finding anything about these guys in my limited research. Kudos to the team at Dragon for finding any reference material on this subject!

Back to the figure itself, Vladimir uses the latest 3.5 Dragon figure body, and sports an updated headsculpt featuring newer, more subtle paint techniques. I think Dragon did a nice job on this one as their paint application goes very well with the pale tones of a young Russian fighting on the Eastern Front.

The outfit and gear are very simple in this set, with just a belt with a couple of pouches, cap, and backpack designed to hold the mine detection unit. The Mosin-Nagant is typical Dragon with solid constuction and working metal parts. The mine probe is a bit tricky to assemble since it just kind of sits on the end of the rifle barrel with no real way to secure it other than friction and gravity, but it's pretty cool.

At around $80 MSRP, this is not much of a value, and overall, I would say the only real draw would be the rifle and mine detector. I would only recommend this set to those with an affinity for WWII Russian themes or those who appreciate interesting WWII relics.

PLAYHOUSE 5th Anniversary Edition - U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES (CJSOTF-A)

2011-11-12T00:02:00.000-08:00

First off, to all those who are or have served in our Armed Forces, THANK YOU for your sacrifice.

Today I'd like to go over the recent Special Forces CJSOTF-A figure from Playhouse. It's been five years since Playhouse came into the 1/6 action figure scene, and they are commemorating this milestone with another well-made military set highlighting an operator from the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan.

This guy features a plethora of parts, including a relatively uncommon 1/6 scale Glock gen 3 pistol, MK18 Mod 1 rifle with Spectre DR Combat sight, Tru-Type combat shirt and BDUs, MICH-2000 (mesh camo) with a really sweet AN/PVS-15 night vision google attachment complete with covers and working slide mechanism, plus a whole lot more. The helmet set is one of the better ones I've seen and even has velcro stickers so you can secure the light and Ess Land operation goggles if you want.

The CJSOTF-A figure uses the newly improved S1 body and I think it is a bit better than the overly stiff one used for their last Navy Seal Team 10 guy.

I'm still putting this one together, but so far, I'm very impressed. Here's the photos I took so far:

Nice graphics

Like most boxed 1/6 military figures, there's no instructions so you have to rely on the box or the Internet for reference.

The box features a nice slip cover with raised gold lettering and artwork.

Lots of interesting accessories you can gear up with.

The helmet is awesome. I also like how Playhouse reinforces their straps to make it easier to loop in the molle.

Dude isn't the handsomest-looking chap, but he has the beard to cover that up.

Joe Cool--a work in progress.

Stay tuned for a future post when I finish putting all the junk on him!