I've nothing else to add and the overall figure setup is very nice!
Thank you very much for the great review and piccies, itchybitz! :thumb

 

Btw, I could use the Robert Stack headsculpt as Capt. Stu Hamilton bash
as a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter pilot from the move "Fighter Squadron". He looks the part too!
Anybody notice the young actor behind Robert? He's Rock Hudson, who would also play pilot characters in other movies. :thumb

 

Fantastic photos and very useful review - thanks!! You could put a moustache on the HS - I think he'd look quite British then.

 

So, the cap still looks as crap as it did in the previews; they still used the horrible velour material for the Service Dress (pleated and scalloped breast pockets will never be done right with this kind of material), the skirt of the SD jacket looks wrong, too short; the bellows pockets are just plain awful; the trousers look bad too and the shoes are an eyesore. The colour does not look right (looks close to the old Action Man colour which was far too light), the Irving jacket looks to be a bit on the short side (understandable if they were judging it against the their own SD Jacket and period photos) but they have at least fixed the fur.... but again there are no matching trousers for the Irving jacket. All in all another, I'd say another missed oportunity by a manufacturer who really doesn't understand his subject matter. There are a few parts I may pick up loose but on the whole I feel vindicated in not buying this figure!

This is a figure that requires either DiD's or DML's seamtresses, it's never going to get done correctly by a smaller start-up!

Nigel thanks for the review buddy, but I'm afraid I remain unimpressed by the actual figure!

 

So, the cap still looks as crap as it did in the previews; they still used the horrible velour material for the Service Dress (pleated and scalloped breast pockets will never be done right with this kind of material), the skirt of the SD jacket looks wrong, too short; the bellows pockets are just plain awful; the trousers look bad too and the shoes are an eyesore. The colour does not look right (looks close to the old Action Man colour which was far too light), the Irving jacket looks to be a bit on the short side (understandable if they were judging it against the their own SD Jacket and period photos) but they have at least fixed the fur.... but again there are no matching trousers for the Irving jacket. All in all another, I'd say another missed oportunity by a manufacturer who really doesn't understand his subject matter. There are a few parts I may pick up loose but on the whole I feel vindicated in not buying this figure!

Wellll...ummmm...glad you liked it.

@itchy,

Thanks very much for the review. It looks like a fine figure to me.

The lined boots are excellent and the Robert Stack sculpt is pretty much a ringer.

Love the flight jacket, too.

:thanks

 

Great post Nigel, the flight gear and boots look great but the uniform and cap look way off to me and the irving jacket looks too short and snug.so we're still looking for a correct RAF service dress uniform and S D cap, but like I said the helmet, gauntlets, boots , goggles, life vest and mask look excellent.

 

Many thanks for sharing a hobbyist's POV, and an honest review, Nigel. I was glad to see Joe describe the sculpt as Robert Stack, as that was my impression, when looking at his left profile. Stack played a Yank in the RAF, in Eagle Squadron (1942).

Warts and all, I like this figure, and give KT a "Good Try". Certain types of headgear seems very hard to capture in our scale. It's seldom that we see uniforms live up to the standard of fellow hobbyists like Tony Barton. Companies just cannot seem to justify finding just the right materials. That said, he certainly looks much better than nothing at all, and could be far worse.

 

Many thanks for sharing a hobbyist's POV, and an honest review, Nigel. I was glad to see Joe describe the sculpt as Robert Stack, as that was my impression, when looking at his left profile. Stack played a Yank in the RAF, in Eagle Squadron (1942).

.

Not only did he play a Yank in the RAF he Played a Pole in the RAF in Ernst Lubitsch's classic Comedy, To Be Or Not To Be - one of my all time favourites.

 

Looks pretty good! some nice bits for sure..

I sure do hate that Microsuede material though! It looks odd and it is ne of the worst offenders for bleeding color onto soft plastic items like hands and heads, so be careful!

 

I have to agree with some of the comments, but overall, I think he will look good sitting on the shelf...

 

He looks good to me, and I can only judge him by the BBI Keith Gordon I have.

CHEERS!

 

Here's a couple of shots in natural light to try and show the true color of the uniform. I have added the helmet, which I painted with Humbrol 96 (RAF blue), for comparison and put him next to the Action Man uniform which, IMO, is a perfect match.

 

Thanks for the additional piccies, Nigel! The figure really is not too bad at all, not
perfect but it really looks the part. I will be purchasing a second set for my Lancaster
bomber pilot bash as Wing Cmdr Guy Gibson and his dog named "Trigger". I've a custom made
chest pack parachute harness and will finally get to use it for this bash. Now if
Kings Toys could only give us a 'Sidcot' flying coverall next time, I'll be in Cloud 9 for sure! :lol

 

The head sculpt looks very good. If I see this parted out, I may pick up the head sculpt and make my own Robert Stack as "Eliot Ness" from THE UNTOUCHABLES classic TV series.

Great job on the review.

 

Here he is wearing the BBi BD jacket and OSU cap.

 

Nigel, is the peak cap by OSU still available for purchase? Thanks mate.

 

Itchy, have you got a tripod, bud?

 

the head sculpt looks different from the preview at onesixthexpo 3 years ago, does anybody have the link to the onesixthexpo? parts for me only

 

Thanks for posting the pics and review.:thanks. I definitely plan on getting at least 1 or 2 of these.

 

Looks to me like he's given a number of reasons for his unfavourable review......

 

unnecessarily nasty review?

Tell me, what planet do you live on? As OneSixthPolice said I've pretty much listed my reasons for my disappointment with this figure. How that translates as 'unnecessary' or 'nasty' is something best explained xxxxxxxx.

As I said earlier the equipment on this figure looks good but the standout item from any Battle of Britain pilot is always going to be the service dress, it's the one thing the British collectors have been crying out for for years now. And here it is, a day late and a dollar short! But yes "kudos for trying" except that it's been nearly two years between preview and delivery and in that time, people who know a lot about this subject have fed the correct information to Kings Toys and still the service dress and cap are a major let down; and the Irving jacket is too short!

And on top of those disappointments we're expected to pay over $100 for this figure? When I first started collecting figures I was paying $25 - $30 for figures that were about 50% accurate; when I was paying $30-$50 a figure I was happy to accept figures that were 60 - 70% correct. But now, when I'm expected to pay over $100 a figure, then I expect 80 - 90% accuracy. And I don't think that's unreasonable, and neither should you! After all, as anyone in manufacturing will tell you, it costs more to get it wrong than it does to get it right! And when the correct information is being handed to you on a plate then it's just plain unforgiveable!

And is this the first time with this company.... as far as I'm aware both Caltek and Kings Toys are basically the same outfit, they are at least run by the same guy. Look at Caltek's 1940's era French Poilu, that figure is so bad it's just not true. The inspiration for it was derived, in part, from two bashes of a 1940's French Poilu; one by Tony Barton and the other by Frasmet, both of which I believe can be found on this board and on the SAG. Both of those bashes show a Poilu dressed in, an accurate, American Khaki green uniform. Yet the Caltek product came with a caramel coloured uniform! How did that happen! Again, some of the same, well-informed people fed the correct information to the company and it wasn't acted upon. Someone on this board provided the correct measurements of the backpack (taken from a real one in his own collection) and Caltek indicated that they'd got those measurements and acted upon them. Yet, when the figure was released the dimensions of the backpack were still wrong!

We can blame the Chinese companies that actually make these products, we can put it down to a difference in culture, to things lost in translation. But, if I was making these things I'd have my research lined up and I'd be over there in the factories talking to them, face-to-face and making sure they got it right. How much does it cost to bring a figure to market anyway? Who has that much money that he's prepared to allow his investment to operate on chance and without proper management? And yet look at the range of French Poilu items brought out by BGT, they are a rising, 90% correct. When I asked BGT where they got their information on the French items he told me he got onto the French boards and connected with French collectors and asked for their help, he then closely, managed the flow of that information to his Chinese factories! He made it all sound so easy! Look at the Timewalkers WWI German figure, superb! There's a figure I'd happily hand over my money for!

You, and others, can go ahead and accept this Kings Toys RAF figure on the grounds that "I'd rather have something than nothing", (I don't remember DML getting away with that one when they brought out their Peter Markham RAF figure) but I expect better! It is my dollar after all and last time I checked I was allowed to both spend it how I see fit and to express my opinion as to why and how I will spend it!

And for the record, these are a few of my reviews of past figures, and some QM threads on figures we'd like to see made! As you can see I do try to be thorough, I give praise where praise is due but I'll also speak out when I think something is wrong!

DID's WWI Tommy Review

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/...eview-of-DiD-WWI-Tommy-Albert-Brown-FYI-24-pictures-for-those-on-slow-downloads

DML's Pixie Suit which came with their Douglas Kay figure

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/...b4forum/showthread.php?126-Douglas-Kay-s-Pixie-suit-a-repost-on-an-old-post-FYI

1/6th Scale Ford Flat-Head Engine Review...

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/...ord-Flathead-V8-Engine-model-similar-to-that-used-in-the-WWII-Universal-Carrier

DID's John Coleman Review

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/...73-DiD-s-John-Coleman-picture-Review-Warning-picture-intensive-over-40-pictures

Dismantling and reassembling the DiD Vickers Machine gun!

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/showthread.php?1096-Dismantling-the-DiD-Vickers-a-repost

Caltek's 1940's French Infantryman

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/...p?2780-A-photo-review-of-Caltek-s-1940-French-Infantryman-Lots-and-lots-of-pics!

BGT's 1940's French Infantyman uniform pieces

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/...ead.php?4007-Review-of-BGT-s-1940-s-era-French-Poilu-uniform-items-LOTS-OF-PICS

QM thread on WWII Royal Navy Ratings uniforms

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/showthread.php?2198-WWII-Royal-Navy-Ratings

QM thread on WWII Royal Navy Officer

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/showthread.php?2197-WWII-Royal-Navy-Officer

QM thread on WWII British Despatch Rider

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/showthread.php?286-WWII-British-Don-R-Despatch-Rider

A QM thread on a WWII British BSA M20 Motorcycle

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/...vb4forum/showthread.php?26-Someone-please-make-a-BSA-M20-motorbike-lots-of-pics!

QM thread on British Army Combat Uniform of the 1950's and 60's

http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/showthread.php?1566-Combat-Dress-1950-and-1960-Patterns

 

Ok guys and gals, lets keep this one about the figure considering how long some of us have been waiting for it and not comments about or at each other...:thumb

 

PS,
GREAT review. Its always good to hear from those that know whats good AND bad about a fig.
That sculpt will make a great Elliot Ness though!

 

Hey, there's my box art This is the first time I have seen the box - after it was produced that is.

 

Disappointed in this. I was planning to display this with Crazy Dummy's Luftwaffe pilot, but it doesn't look nearly as good. Such a long wait too.

 

Have to agree with others here-some great extras but a real let-down on the main things..colour on the SDs is too light and the trousers sit poorly and has he borrowed
frankensteins shoes or what??
At least its a bargain at only $115...hmmph.