Opening up the slender plastic box the builder is met with an array of parts that make up these two figures. Each figure comes with a choice of two heads, one with blade-style sunglasses of one without. Both torsos are molded as a single piece with the MOLLE gear attached to the IBA vest. Several packs and two weapons ( a full-sized M-16 and an M-4) are also included along with the arms.
Both figures are wearing the new MARPAT uniforms and the officer has a Cameback molded to his back.
The overall molding is very crisp and clean, but some clean up was needed on the legs and feet of both figures. The bottom of the radio pack in my review sample has some holes (including one or two large ones) that needed to be filled. To the credit of Warriors, the “trouble spots” were in areas that can not been seen after construction.
While Marines may live by the unofficial motto of "Semper Gumby" ("Always Flexiable"), these guys are not. By far the most daunting task associated with these figures is cutting the weapons off of the extensive pour blocks. Go slow here and be very careful. I managed to get them off the sprues with a lot of patience and a sharp #11 blade. Some fine grit sandpaper was used for clean up. The M-4 -- with the hands attached -- looks nice when it is good to go.
I managed to break the binoculars in the officer’s hand in half while removing a pour block from them (I apparently forgot it pays to slow down on these types of operations). They were glued back together as best as I could get them, but they are a little off in my opinion, and that’s all my fault.
Again, take it slow with some of the parts in this set.
I really liked the yelling expression on the officer’s face while the radio man is somewhat staid, looking determined. The radio man has a rather pronounced chin in my opinion, but people come in all shapes and sizes so it seems to work just fine.
Making Marines
Construction is pretty straight forward. On the radio operator you will need to fit the hands to the arms and then the arms to the body to make sure they fit correctly. The right arm fit like a charm, but I was left with a gap in the left arm that was filled with car body putty and sanded. Most of the other parts fit well with little or no putty needed.
On the officer, the arms fit well. However, I fit the right arm with the radio without the head attached. This leaves a slight gap between the handset and the ear, which is probably fine for a yelling situation. Other builders may want to “move” the right hand/arm around a little bit to get a more “positive” connection between the ear and the handset.
It is up to the builder to provide a cord for the handset.
The figures have been sculpted and painted by Bill Chilstrom. The box art from this set is the photo of the completed figures at the top right of this review.
Conclusion
Expect to put a little time into building these guys as the parts and fit need some attention, but they look beefy and mean when they are done. Of this series of OIF figures, these guys are probably my favorites and they do look intimidating. The should work well with the rest of the series, vehicles, or as a stand alone set. While not a set I’d recommend for a first-time user of resin figures, more experienced builders should have good results if they go slow and carefully remove the gates/pour blocks in this set.
Our thanks to VLS for providing the review sample.
SUMMARY
One of the more recent Operation Iraqi Freedom sets released from Warriors, this pair of Marines are very nicely done and look great when finished, but be prepared to spend a lot of time working with a few very delicate pieces.
