Verlinden
Productions
1745
While called "scouts," there is really nothing about these
figures that distinguishes them as such, or even as the Pathfinders
who dropped and set up guiding lights for the first wave of airborne.
The
figures are very stiffly posed and, if used together, rather incongruous.
I'm no veteran, but I can't imagine that I'd drop my hand from the
trigger of my weapon if in the iminent danger that these two purport
to represent.
The
other problem with this set is evident with many other VP figures
of late: the lower leg portions of the figures don't really mate
very well with the upper torsos. The upper torso of the firing soldier
extends considerably outward over the bottom piece, as if the M1942
jacket was heavily starched. I whittled it down some, and added
some folds to the very flat backside of the jacket bottom and added
the pleat missing from the uniform. His left arm is sculpted with
a pocket near the shoulder, which appears to be completely bogus.
Why the sculptor would add a pocket and ignore a pleat continues
to call into question VP's reliability.
The
stance of the figure holding the M1 "grease gun" is so
awkward that I sawed out a chunk of his crotch (sorry boy!) to bring
his legs closer so they would fit under his torso!
Sculpting
is typical of current VP figures: soft details, with rather broad
folds and somewhat awkward stances. The recent Tamiya and DML styrene
figures are surpassing the quality Verlinden offerings.
The
set comes with the usual equipment to dress these troopers. The
Garand continues to be the old 1/32 scale knock-off from Airfix.
The grease gun appears to be based on DML's. You do get the option
of the head with the Mohawk hairdo or a second helmeted head.
The
figures scale to just under 6' tall.
If
you're willing to work these figures some, you can improve them
beyond what appears to be VP's lowering standard of satisfaction.
-tss- |