Introduction:

The United States Army Special Forces, colloquially known as the Green Berets due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with five primary missions: unconventional warfare (the original and most important mission of Special Forces), foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism. A recent report showed Special Forces as the most deployed SOF under USSOCOM, with many soldiers, regardless of Group and their area of operation, serving up to 75% of their careers overseas, almost all of which had been to Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of the latest figures in Assault Models catalogue depicts the US Army Special Forces operator from Afghanistan: Operator, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, US Army Special Forces ("The Green Berets"), Afghanistan, 2011-2012 (AM-35026).

Review:

The kit is packed in a top-opening plastic box. The box art image features an assembled and digitally painted figure, also providing the necessary details on the kit and the company. Opening the box reveals a single zip-lock bag containing resin pieces on large carrier blocks. One of the pieces broke off its carrier, but was found in the bag and closer inspection revealed no damage to the part. The kit includes 10 resin pieces:

- head,
- torso and legs,
- left arm,
- right arm,
- right hand holding a weapon,
- equipment pieces and weapon accessories (5x).

The pieces are cast in grey resin. The closer inspection of the pieces confirms no visible imperfections in the resin, with many details perfectly delivered in scale. The carrier blocks are big, but proved very easy to remove.

The fit of the pieces is superb. The smart design of Assault Models figures, which features a series of protrusions and indentations, enables easy positioning of the pieces. The assembly of the figure was straightforward with minimal putty work needed.

The figure represents US Special Forces operative in a relaxed posture. The pose looks good and well balanced, with the facial features nicely defined. The figure wears Crye Precision Combat Pants and Shirt with Asolo tracking boots. The Releasable Body Armor Vest (RBAV) and the tactical belt provide attachment points for various equipment pieces. It is easy to deduce which piece of the kit goes where, the only help I needed was in placing the blade antenna on the hydration carrier. I particularly like the busy look of the RBAV front with several ammo pouches, MBITR-148 radio pouch, Thales speaker, Garmin GPS, CAT tourniquet and combat shears tucked into MOLLE loops.

The figure is armed with MK18 Mod 1 featuring EOTech 553 holographic sight, forward grip and AN/PEQ-15 target pointer/illuminator/aiming laser, and is also carrying Glock 17 as a secondary weapon.

Conclusion:

I’m a big fan of Assault Models figures. The company offers the most realistic miniatures on the market today and Operator, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, US Army Special Forces ("The Green Berets"), Afghanistan, 2011-2012 (AM-35026) is no exception to the rule. The figure kit is superbly produced in resin and intelligently designed, with perfect fit of the parts and straightforward assembly, and provides an authentic representation of current day US Army SF operative in 1/35 scale.

PS If you like this figure, check out its larger scale version: link.