According to the review on PMMS this is a quite decent kit. Ive been watching Generation Kill and fancy having a go at this.
My modelling space is a bit limited at the moment because the apartment is getting renovated, so I will concentrate on figures for a while.
Any pointers or tips would appreciated. PS; no point giving me initials for certain parts ... modern gear is double dutch to me! Also some reference of the vest etc would be appreciated. I plan on having the modern desert colours for the suit, but want to contrast the vest and pouches with forest type camo. Cheers.

Its a nice kit and well detailed. Only issue with the instructions and box art is that the chemical uniform he is wearing does not come in 3DCU Camo. You would have to paint it in US woodland instead.

I built this kit (poorly) and it is very good. I especially liked the two optional poses and you can mix around the gear from both nicely. You could also try using the new Shinsengumi decals for the camo on the fig.
I would use one of these:
http://www.hlj.com/product/SSGMCD018
http://www.hlj.com/product/SSGMCD020
http://www.hlj.com/product/SSGMCD012
HTH
Evan

Hi there Frank,
I've just purchased the same figure I found that the fit isn't as good as some of the other Tamiya figures I built.
Just a quick FYI.

Chris

Frank, if you already didn't get the Tamiya figure, I would strongly suggest trying resin figures instead. They are a bit more pricey, but well worth the difference IMO. Tamiya figure offers a limited painting options and the details are very much inferior to any resin modern US figure in 1/16 scale.

Mario

Arnold ... could you please add an image of what "US woodland" looks like. Appreciate the help.
Evan .. thanks ... I´ll stick to paint for this one ... has anybody ever done a figure and used these decals?


Thanks Chris. I´ve noticed this as well.


Too late ... Bought this years ago .... but its only now Im getting inspired to actually build/paint it.


Hi Mario. How inferior? Are they wrong or just soft details? If they are semi-Ok as far as accuracy it´ll be good enough. Modern is not really my main interest, but I thought it would be fun to try this camo.

AFAIK the details are not wrong, just soft. Here's an article on painting MARPAT on this figure; you can see the details (or lack of details) for yourself:

painting MARPAT

As for the camo, if you are looking for historical accuracy you'd have to go with woodland camouflage. MOPP suits were issued in woodland during the invasion of Iraq... 3-color desert MOPPs appeared pretty late and by then it was pretty obvious Saddam isn't going to use chemical warfare against the allies. I have never seen these suits in any of the digital camouflage patterns.

Hope it helps,
Mario

The suite is not really right for the suits issued for the invasion - it's more like the GW1 type.

Most importantly it neads a hood.

If you paint it in woodland, with a coyote brown armour vest and a marpat or DCU helmet you will have a reasonable representation of the kit worn by the USMC during the invasion. I recommend either of the books called 21 days to Baghdad for some decent photos.

I made a hood out of putty. The Tamiya figure is in my Gallery.

Compared to other 120mm modern US figures like Verlinden's, Tamiya's ironically is quite thick...more like 122-125mm. Also, it has a lot less wrinkles than "Tamiya quality," hence the soft details. The M-16A2 and gear are a bit larger than other 120mm figures.

As a stand-alone, it should be fine. But if you want to combine it with others, then that may be a problem.

Woodland is the old green/khaki, black, brown camo that we all know and love. Should be plenty of resources on the web if you google it...