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Okay, got a show to do, been mostly a WW2 figure fan for decades, trying to do some half way decent Modern stuff now.
Years ago I bought as a "speculation piece" the Toy Soldier U.S. Navy Explosive Ordance Disposal EOD boxed figure set ( got it very cheap, somebody bought it, started working with it, and sold it off along with his collection to a second hand store when he lost his job ). At AWOH 2012 in Columbus Ohio, I bought an Armoury Designs Desert Rat Operation in Iraq set 1005-C-c to use in my Trunk Monkey mini video series.
So I though this week, better get some Modern Figures ready for the VAD this year this weekend. Wanted a nice US Modern figure, and a nice Modern British figure (SAS?) working together in some fashion, to go along with my SCUD Hunter forces both US and UK.
Big surprizes when all the cussing and superglue fumes cleared the room.
Lets get to the pictures ...
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Here are some crappy pictures comparing the Armoury Design SA80, and the "worked on by me" PTE SA80. The Armoury Design SA80 is the one with the silver magazine, the PTE is the one with the black magazine, neither gun lets the magazine be removed.
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The PMC figure that looks like he might be Stallone or his half brother, is the Soldier Story body that came with the Toy Soldier EOD figure set. The other 2 figures are PTE figures from various sets, one of which is one of the SAS sets they put out this year ( not much different than years before, just less stuff included for more money, but still under $20 USD ).
The TS body is made of shiny hard plastic, using a lot of screws to hold him togther, and has his bendy gloved hands locked into a deep groove in the wrist area, can't be changed unless you unscrew the lower arm, and then what do you change it to? A very muscular body, shorter in overall height than a lot of figures, and not a lot of articulation, rather floppy in the upper chest region. Think in terms of a not as well designed Bandai Power Ranger figure, or the fantastic but with a cartooney head Ryotsu figure. The head supplied is rather nice, had to do a little touch up on the beard area, and is rather small compared to so many other companies' figure noggins. The bendy gloved hands are a major pain to bend, think lots of hot water, cussing, and working around any kind of weapon so it looks like it is being held, but in truth it is just mostly being "placed there".
When nude, the figure looked like TS used the old "Sons of Hercules" TV series as the model for the Male Human form. To my surprise, for a figure I wanted to throw across the room, the PTE clothing and boots went on with ease, as did the 21st Century Ball Cap, and the Hasbro H&K is light enough he doesn't want to bend down holding it. His sunglasses are from a PTE figure set, hold that thought. I guess it looks okay, cheap bonus I suppose.
The PTE figure given all the stuff from the TS EOD figure, drowns in the uniform, but does give the overall right impression, and the helmet needs to be matched to a head of just the right shape and size to look right when in place, the boots are a joy, and there are plenty of goodies to load him up with with. I like it.
I got 10 magazines, one to give to the gun, and 9 left will leave one pouch slot empty. The British figure is "borrowing" 1 of the really nice double pouches and 2 mags for his use. You will cuss up a storm trying to get the magazines into that 3 slot pouch over the left leg of the EOD figure, as you have to fit the mag and the cover flap into the slot at the same time, and it is beyond tight to start with.
You get 2 nice baseball grenades and a double pouch for them, plenty of other pouches for this or that, plus a hydration backpack set that only inlcudes a hose, no "bladder" for the water though. You get a complete radio with a nice headset, but I found the wires like to breakout of the places they connect to with little trouble, really hate being glued back in place, same with the solid antenna, and with no instructions on how to route it all, you may well choose to do what I did, just issue the radio with antenna in the pouch and call it a day.
About the TS EOD pouches. They look good, mostly work good, except be careful with the cheap clear plastic bendy flanges you have to poke into various slots on the LBE, or a belt, as they show signs of stress from being touched ASAP, and don't have a lot of "give" for being bent to be slipped back under another slot to be trapped in place, so they don't come loose or fall off the figure. These pouch flanges give the feeling of "cheap" to an otherwise nice looking well made item bigtime.
There are plenty of included pouches to use for whatever, a nice set of working scissors for example, the handgun is all metal ( the mag does not come out and there are no spares included ), the zipper pulls looking to be in scale, work nice, the little closure clips work much better that you might think, and look right, the instructions for the LBE say there are 2 "quick release pulls" included to be installed, mine only has one, and the LBE was all put together and already on the figure (WTH?).
The TS EOD main gun, comes with lots of grips, rails, sights, and covers, but in the end, you will choose one configuration, and glue the items in place, because most of them will fall or pull out, bigtime when you go to put the gun into the figure's hands to use. You can stuff the rest of the gear into one of the extra puches or bags, and use them for Diorama Fodder.
The figures are all wearing PTE sunglasses, which are very durable, fit most heads with ease, are made as 1 piece and are just clear enough to let you see the figure's eyes. The 3 piece solid black piece TS EOD sunglasses are crap, break on even the smallest head, don't like being glued back together, and frankly, you might as well just break off the earpieces, glue them into the "folded closed" position, and stuff them in a pocket, pouch or bag, than to try and use them on a figure's head.
Lastly, the British Soldier is a PTE figure, with a PTE SAS uniform, combined with the great Armoury Design Googles, Helmet with cover, Flak Jacket, and the SA80 rifle and bayonnet, and works well in my book. The figure is shown holding the PTE SA80, with my homemade sling, and dab or two of nailpolish on the scope as "lenses", as it is a bit sturdier and less prone to having the sling breakoff, that when I try wrestling the Armoury Design gun into the figure's hands and getting him into some proper firing stance. As I said above, he is borrowing a double pouch and 2 magazines from his TS EOD buddy, and the rest of the gear is PTE, save for the boots, which I know nothing more about except they are spoils of past second hand loose figure buys, and look like the black boots the real picture on the Armoury Design card, showing real British troops wearing them ( another solider is shown wearing tan ones ), so once again I called it a day.
Bottom line, sometimes the cheap figure bodies and gear is better and works better than the High End Stuff, although sometimes the High End Stuff and more costly stuff really can better and can be a joy to use ( Look at those TS EOD Boots!!! ). But what a mixed bag though. No wonder so many of you Modern Fans have been unhappy for so long with some of this Modern stuff, much so at the nose bleeding prices so much of it commands.
For what it was worth.
An Event by Vets, for Vets, VAD 2012 ...
http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/for...643432-vad-2012-november-10-lebanon-ohio.html
Years ago I bought as a "speculation piece" the Toy Soldier U.S. Navy Explosive Ordance Disposal EOD boxed figure set ( got it very cheap, somebody bought it, started working with it, and sold it off along with his collection to a second hand store when he lost his job ). At AWOH 2012 in Columbus Ohio, I bought an Armoury Designs Desert Rat Operation in Iraq set 1005-C-c to use in my Trunk Monkey mini video series.
So I though this week, better get some Modern Figures ready for the VAD this year this weekend. Wanted a nice US Modern figure, and a nice Modern British figure (SAS?) working together in some fashion, to go along with my SCUD Hunter forces both US and UK.
Big surprizes when all the cussing and superglue fumes cleared the room.
Lets get to the pictures ...
Here are some crappy pictures comparing the Armoury Design SA80, and the "worked on by me" PTE SA80. The Armoury Design SA80 is the one with the silver magazine, the PTE is the one with the black magazine, neither gun lets the magazine be removed.
The PMC figure that looks like he might be Stallone or his half brother, is the Soldier Story body that came with the Toy Soldier EOD figure set. The other 2 figures are PTE figures from various sets, one of which is one of the SAS sets they put out this year ( not much different than years before, just less stuff included for more money, but still under $20 USD ).
The TS body is made of shiny hard plastic, using a lot of screws to hold him togther, and has his bendy gloved hands locked into a deep groove in the wrist area, can't be changed unless you unscrew the lower arm, and then what do you change it to? A very muscular body, shorter in overall height than a lot of figures, and not a lot of articulation, rather floppy in the upper chest region. Think in terms of a not as well designed Bandai Power Ranger figure, or the fantastic but with a cartooney head Ryotsu figure. The head supplied is rather nice, had to do a little touch up on the beard area, and is rather small compared to so many other companies' figure noggins. The bendy gloved hands are a major pain to bend, think lots of hot water, cussing, and working around any kind of weapon so it looks like it is being held, but in truth it is just mostly being "placed there".
When nude, the figure looked like TS used the old "Sons of Hercules" TV series as the model for the Male Human form. To my surprise, for a figure I wanted to throw across the room, the PTE clothing and boots went on with ease, as did the 21st Century Ball Cap, and the Hasbro H&K is light enough he doesn't want to bend down holding it. His sunglasses are from a PTE figure set, hold that thought. I guess it looks okay, cheap bonus I suppose.
The PTE figure given all the stuff from the TS EOD figure, drowns in the uniform, but does give the overall right impression, and the helmet needs to be matched to a head of just the right shape and size to look right when in place, the boots are a joy, and there are plenty of goodies to load him up with with. I like it.
I got 10 magazines, one to give to the gun, and 9 left will leave one pouch slot empty. The British figure is "borrowing" 1 of the really nice double pouches and 2 mags for his use. You will cuss up a storm trying to get the magazines into that 3 slot pouch over the left leg of the EOD figure, as you have to fit the mag and the cover flap into the slot at the same time, and it is beyond tight to start with.
You get 2 nice baseball grenades and a double pouch for them, plenty of other pouches for this or that, plus a hydration backpack set that only inlcudes a hose, no "bladder" for the water though. You get a complete radio with a nice headset, but I found the wires like to breakout of the places they connect to with little trouble, really hate being glued back in place, same with the solid antenna, and with no instructions on how to route it all, you may well choose to do what I did, just issue the radio with antenna in the pouch and call it a day.
About the TS EOD pouches. They look good, mostly work good, except be careful with the cheap clear plastic bendy flanges you have to poke into various slots on the LBE, or a belt, as they show signs of stress from being touched ASAP, and don't have a lot of "give" for being bent to be slipped back under another slot to be trapped in place, so they don't come loose or fall off the figure. These pouch flanges give the feeling of "cheap" to an otherwise nice looking well made item bigtime.
There are plenty of included pouches to use for whatever, a nice set of working scissors for example, the handgun is all metal ( the mag does not come out and there are no spares included ), the zipper pulls looking to be in scale, work nice, the little closure clips work much better that you might think, and look right, the instructions for the LBE say there are 2 "quick release pulls" included to be installed, mine only has one, and the LBE was all put together and already on the figure (WTH?).
The TS EOD main gun, comes with lots of grips, rails, sights, and covers, but in the end, you will choose one configuration, and glue the items in place, because most of them will fall or pull out, bigtime when you go to put the gun into the figure's hands to use. You can stuff the rest of the gear into one of the extra puches or bags, and use them for Diorama Fodder.
The figures are all wearing PTE sunglasses, which are very durable, fit most heads with ease, are made as 1 piece and are just clear enough to let you see the figure's eyes. The 3 piece solid black piece TS EOD sunglasses are crap, break on even the smallest head, don't like being glued back together, and frankly, you might as well just break off the earpieces, glue them into the "folded closed" position, and stuff them in a pocket, pouch or bag, than to try and use them on a figure's head.
Lastly, the British Soldier is a PTE figure, with a PTE SAS uniform, combined with the great Armoury Design Googles, Helmet with cover, Flak Jacket, and the SA80 rifle and bayonnet, and works well in my book. The figure is shown holding the PTE SA80, with my homemade sling, and dab or two of nailpolish on the scope as "lenses", as it is a bit sturdier and less prone to having the sling breakoff, that when I try wrestling the Armoury Design gun into the figure's hands and getting him into some proper firing stance. As I said above, he is borrowing a double pouch and 2 magazines from his TS EOD buddy, and the rest of the gear is PTE, save for the boots, which I know nothing more about except they are spoils of past second hand loose figure buys, and look like the black boots the real picture on the Armoury Design card, showing real British troops wearing them ( another solider is shown wearing tan ones ), so once again I called it a day.
Bottom line, sometimes the cheap figure bodies and gear is better and works better than the High End Stuff, although sometimes the High End Stuff and more costly stuff really can better and can be a joy to use ( Look at those TS EOD Boots!!! ). But what a mixed bag though. No wonder so many of you Modern Fans have been unhappy for so long with some of this Modern stuff, much so at the nose bleeding prices so much of it commands.
For what it was worth.
An Event by Vets, for Vets, VAD 2012 ...
http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/for...643432-vad-2012-november-10-lebanon-ohio.html
