Introduction:

After releasing Polaris MV850 ATV in 1/35 scale, Live Resin recently offered a number of various stowage sets, upgrades and crew figures developed to fit the ATV. I had the pleasure of doing a build log of the ATV model for Armorama, reviewing numerous Live Resin goodies for the site as well (link). This review covers one of the latest figure sets produced by the company and designed to fit the ATV: US Special Forces/MARSOC ATV rider, smealing (LRM 35022).

Review:

The kit comes packed in a side-opening hard cardboard box. The front of the box displays box art image showing the figure on Polaris MV850 ATV. Inside the box is a zip-lock bag which contains resin pieces, additionally protected by a layer of bubble wrap.

The set consists of 27 pieces organized on several casting blocks. The pieces include:

- legs,
- torso,
- left arm,
- right arm,
- right hand (2x),
- head,
- left boot,
- right boot,
- helmet,
- equipment pieces (13x),
- weapon weapon accessories (4x).

Closer examination reveals all the pieces are cast really well. There are no seam lines, air bubbles or imperfections of any kind, with the pieces featuring a ton of tiny details all around. Live Resin is dedicated to deliver the best quality products, and this figure is a good example of the company's mission.

The figure depicts US Special Forces operator sitting on his ATV. The casual pose and a big smile on his face suggest the soldier is sharing a laugh with his team members. The anatomy of the figure looks good with the facial features nicely defined. The figure wears Crye Precision Gen2 AC Combat Shirt and Pants, with a wide assortment of ammo magazine, utility and radio pouches attached to his MBAV plate carrier. The Salomon Quest 4D boots, tactical gloves and shades add to the Special Ops feel of the figure.

Assembly:

There are no assembly instructions in the set, so it is up to the modeler to deduce which piece goes where. Main figure parts should not present a problem, but some assistance could come in handy when positioning the equipment parts. Images supplied on Live Resin website might help to spot the location of each pouch. However, as most of the equipment is cast separately there are lots of different options of attaching the pouches and obtaining slightly different rig setup, especially if combining the figure with several equipment sets available separately from Live Resin.

For this review I annotated all the parts of the kit as supplied on the carrier blocks. I'm also displaying photos of the build process, noting the position of each part. I started by removing the pieces from the carrier blocks using a sharp side-cutter and a new X-acto blade, cleaning the parts with some fine grit sandpaper… I would suggest patience during the process as delicate resin pieces can be easily damaged. I fixed the main figure parts first. These are designed with protrusions and indentations, providing help in positioning the pieces optimally. I attached the boots to the legs, followed by adjusting both arms to the torso. Perfect! The fit of torso and the legs is not as good though... wanting to ensure the left arm rests naturally on the left thigh, I had to use some putty to fill a gap between the torso and legs. Luckily, most of the putty work will be hidden by the equipment pieces. The kit includes two right hands and I opted to use the one holding the M4 grip, gluing it to the figure’s right arm. However, this approach resulted in some problems later on in the build. I attached the head and the helmet without glue, using Magic Sculp only, in order to take photos for the review. I plan to get these pieces off the figure after the photo shoot to facilitate the painting process.

I attached the equipment pieces to the tactical vest next. I decided to recreate the equipment setup shown on the box art image, but not to the letter. The MBITR pouch was attached first, followed by the ammo magazines, map pouch, large utility pouch, backpack and a plethora of smaller pouches. Finally, a super-delicate Thales antenna was fixed to the figure's shoulder.

After all this was done, I built the weapon and tried attaching it to the right hand. The fit was a bit awkward and the photos show I couldn’t position the rifle optimally. Therefore, I would suggest fixing the weapon to the hand first thus ensuring the correct placement and geometry of the weapon, and then attaching the hand with the weapon to the right arm.

As the name of the set suggests, the figure is designed to fit ATV from Live Resin. I did a test and the figure fits perfectly. I like the pose of the figure and the complete setup looks absolutely amazing.

Conclusion:

US Special Forces/MARSOC ATV rider, smealing (LRM-35022) is another amazing 1/35 scale figure from Live Resin. Perfectly cast and with lots of details, the figure assembles without any problems and builds into a really impressive rendition of the US Special Forces operator.