Introduction:

Although a fairly new name on the 1/35 scale resin figure market, Assault Models managed to build a reputation of a serious player in the industry. The company recently released their second batch of miniatures, most of which have already received very positive reviews on Armorama (link).

This review covers the second USMC figure sculpted in 1/35 scale by Dmitri Shevtsov and released under Assault Models label: Infantryman, USMC, Afghanistan 2012 (AM35009).

Review:

The kit is packed in a plastic box, with the parts safely secured in a zip-lock bag. The front of the box features an image showing assembled and unpainted model. Pavel Ilyin, the owner of the company, is currently painting the figure and, once the process is completed, the kit will be supplied with painted boxart image.

The kit consists of 6 pieces:

- body,
- right arm,
- left arm,
- head,
- helmet,
- weapon.

The pieces are cast in grayish resin. As with most figure kits from Assault Models range, I found no casting imperfections whatsoever with all the details of the sculpt nicely transferred to resin. The fit is really good and due to the smart engineering of the kit, there is almost no chance to misalign the pieces. I had no problems assembling the figure; I would suggest fixing both arms on the torso first and, if those have been positioned well, the hands with the weapon should fit nicely into the figure's arms.

The figure depicts an USMC infantryman/grenadier in a walking pose. At first I was a not overly impressed with the posture, but after assembling the figure I realized the pose is well balanced and feels natural for an alert soldier with his weapon ready for any sign of hostile activity. The figure wears Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU)... or at least that's what I initially thought. Upon closer inspection the trousers feature forward slanted thigh storage pockets and two calf pockets, features of Army Combat Uniform (ACU), not MCCUU. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Over his uniform the figure wears the Plate Carrier with cummerbund attached. The plate carrier sports a grenadier loadout: M16 double magazine pouches, utility pouches, first aid kit pouch, grenade pouches, triple pistol magazine pouch, 12-round 40mm grenade belt and a large pack on his back. All these are sculpted on the plate carrier. As for the headgear, this figure sports the current combat helmet of the USMC, the Lightweight Helmet (LWH). The figure also wears knee pads and sports the secondary weapon attached to the drop leg platform on his right thigh.

The figure is armed with an M16A4. The weapon features flat top upper receiver with an integral rail and rail adapter system (RAS) handguard consisting of full length quad Picatinny rail. This kind of M16A4 is designated MWS (or Modular Weapon System) as the system offers soldiers flexibility to configure their weapons with accessories required to fulfill an assigned mission: the upper receiver rail provides an attachment point for optical devices while handguard could be fitted with M203A2 grenade launcher, as well as various laser designators, forward grips, tactical lights or bipods. The weapon in this kit is equipped with M203A2, its range-finding sight, and what I believe is Trijicon's M150 Rifle Combat Optic (RCO).

The sculptor did a really good job with this figure, although I'm a bit intrigued with the trousers looking more like Army than Marine uniform design. Other details look great and as far as I can tell are accurately reproduced in scale. Tactical gloves and peculiar knee pads add to the realism of the figure. This figure has a pair in USMC Machine Gunner, Afghanistan 2012 (AM35006), reviewed here (link), with both figures available in a set (AM35A04). I added a photo of both figures to this review, just so you can see how well the figures work together.

Conclusion:

Infantryman, USMC, Afghanistan 2012 (AM35009) is realistically posed, perfectly cast and very easy to assemble, with lots of details all around. The ACU-like trousers are a bit of an enigma for me though. However, the figure is a great pair to the previously released Marine, and I really hope more USMC in similar poses are in Assault Models pipeline.

A big thanks to Pavel from Assault Models for this review sample.