introduction

As a result of his constant researchs about the Vietnam War, Vladimir Demchenko keeps to find new ideas for unique Vietnam figures and his great talent on sculpting adds more and more realistic figures to his company BRAVO-6 product line.

One of the latest releases US Navy SEAL Stoner includes one figure depicting a Navy SEAL element armed with Stoner63 on a kneeling pose.

about the figure

U.S. Navy SEALs (Sea, Air & Land) served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1972, primarily in the Mekong Delta. Operating in seven man teams, they were typically well camouflaged and carried a tremendous amount of firepower. In addition to their offensive operations ; SEALs also trained and advised their Vietnamese counterparts, the Lien Doc Nguoi Nhia, and supported LDNN (Vietnamese SEALs) coastal missions in North Vietnam. The SEALs fearsome appearance with faceswith camo paints and extraordinary combat success prompted the Viet Cong to nickname them Men with Green Faces. At the war’s height, eight SEAL platoons were in Vietnam on a continuing rotational basis. The last SEAL platoon departed Vietnam in 1971, and the last SEAL advisor in 1973.

packing & casting

The figure comes well packed in standard light brown cardboard box . The front cover shows a photo of the assembled and painted figure.
Inside the box, parts are represented with easy to remove casting blocks. Figure body and other parts are seperately inserted in small plastic zip-lock bags.
Casting quality is good and details are crisp. No casting mistakes, air bubbles or excess resin on review sample. There will be a small need to clean seamlines on the right side of body and inside arms.

parts

Figure is sculpted in 1/35 scale and cast in grey resin. It comes in 10 parts.

Body with head : Facial details and bandana are well defined. Note that face will be painted in green and black camo pattern as in photo. He wears a Tiger Stripe Camouflage Uniform of button-front jacket with two chest pockets with flap covers but no waist pockets and trousers with two rear, two bellows cargo pockets with flap covers on both sides and all pockets are secured with two buttons. Tiger Stripe was never an official US-issue item. It was developed for close-range use in dense jungle during jungle warfare by the South Vietnamese Armed Forces and adopted by US Special Forces during the Vietnam War. It features narrow stripes that look like brush-strokes of green and brown, and broader brush-strokes of black printed over a lighter shade of olive or khaki. The brush-strokes interlock rather than overlap. His footgear is leather- canvas combined Vibram boots. He carries an utility belt on his waist and a first aid kit pouch is attached on the back side of the belt.

Arms : Posed to carry the machine gun, they show nice cloth folds.

He carries a Stoner Mark23 known as Trumpet of the SEALs. Stoner63 was a modular firearm system with a single receiver that could be used to assemble any of a variety of weapons, from short carbine to a fixed machine gun. Using box or drum magazines, carrying 100 to 150 linked rounds respectively, it rattled along at a 700 rpm cyclic rate, providing valuable fire support to the small teams plying the swamps and jungles of the Mekong Delta when engaging enemy forces at close range. Excellent at fighting through ambushes or breaking contact, the gun was an immediate hit and desirable alternative to the other U.S. weapon used for such roles, the M-60. Details of Stoner are very well defined and hands are cast on the weapon.

Stoner63 Drum magazine - 150 round

SEAL knife

M61 Fragmentation hand grenade also known as M26A1

M1956 one quart canteen

M72 LAW is given as a secondary weapon to attach on the figure’s back. Though LAW was designed as a discardable one-man rocket launcher primarily for use as an anti-tank weapon,in Vietnam however, it was used almost exclusively as a bunker buster or for attacking entrenched enemies. In action, the end covers were opened by removing safety pins and the inner tube was telescoped outwards. The LAW fired a 1-kg rocket to a maximum effective range of 300m. Once fired the tube was discarded.

Ammo link : It will used as shoulder crossed.

conclusion

Another unique SEAL figure sculpted in great details and cast in high quality. Great additon to Vietnam jungle dioramas or vignettes.

Very Highly Recommended