Platoon
PT-005

This GI is drawing a bead on the enemy with his M1 Garand. His weight is nicely shifted onto his back right leg, as if preparing for the recoil from his weapon. He's dressed in the M1943 jacket and the combat shoes with leather gaiters, so he's dressed for autumn of 1944 through the end of combat in May, 1945.

This is the first GI in the series from Platoon, and like the following three American infantry soldiers, he's very nicely sculpted by Bill Chilstrom. Because of the basic realism of the pose, there is a sense of animation that is lacking in many other soldiers in firing positions. Both hands are molded onto the Garand, and the fit of the arms to the one-piece body and the hands to the cuffs is good. The separate head has the M1 helmet molded to it, and is comparable in size to Tamiya products, as is the Garand. In fact, the figure scales to about 5' as he stands with legs bent. He'll seem quite petite compared to Verlinden and many Warriors figures—what will be most apparent are the noticeably smaller cartridge pouches. Of course, these only came in one size, so there will be an inconsistency for the true sticklers for accuracy, even compared to Platoon's PT-006 and PT-007 figures, which inexplicably have larger pouches. This particular figure will look good with the Ardennes-era GIs included with Tamiya's Shermans.

There is little additional gear provided: a canteen and first aid pouch whose lineage goes back to Warriors, as well as a bayonet and PAL RH 36 fighting knife in a leather scabbard.

It's nice to have another combat figure available for diorama builders. Here's hoping there are more to follow since the initial four were first offered in the summer of 2003.

-tss-