Behold the headsculpt of my Tier 1 Pointman figure (callsign:Thanatos), my first modern military bash (if you don’t count the GI joes ones). It is also the first DAM body I used, and the recipient (or more accurately, victim) of my first attempt at hair rooting. Underneath the hair, is the headsculpt from the DAM Riverine SEAL figure. While my subsequent bashes have moved on to the latest and greatest in terms of heads and bodies, poor Thanatos has been stuck with the ancient DAM 1.0 body, the one with shoulders shaped like kidney beans that they’ve mostly been using on their Gangster’s Kingdom bodies. So lately, I’ve been working on trying to update it in not only gear, but the body and head. To that end I have secured a phicen M30 body, as well as a new headsculpt from the SS KSK commando that will likewise get a new hairdo. However, that has has proven much more difficult to fit onto the phicen body than I imagined. Having discovered a technique to removed the necks from heads, and being stymied by the scarcity of adequate black haired DAM headsculpts, I’ve been reconsidering the riverine SEAL head. My question then, is whether I should turn my attention to that one, or go with the SS head, and just keep looking for a good DAM one.
In terms of modifications, the Riverine head would likely be the most intensive, assuming I wish to restore my current one for use instead of sourcing a “fresh” version.
1. Heat the head with hot water or hot air, cut off the neck, and install the phicen neck adapter.
2. Remove the hair and glue residue
3. (Optional) attempt to remove the discoloration with hot water, or else total repaint the head.
4. Apply putty to make the head more level and smooth.
5. Reroot the hair and beard.
For the KSK head meanwhile,
1. Widen the neck socket sleeve using a Dremel, then install the phicen adapter
2. Use the sanding part of the dremel to remove the molded hair, then use regular sanding sponges until smooth.
3. Root hair and beard.
In terms of looks, I’d say that both of them are equally good in their own respects, though the DAM has a more menacing look. I’ve probably already said this before, but the body on its own is rather short (27-28cm), though with some height adapters and the head, It should be enough to reach the desired height of 33.02cm, or 6’5 feet (198.12cm) in 1/1 scale. Though part of me wonders if it would not have been enough to get one of the taller and much more muscular phicen bodies to get that same height without the height adapters. Certainly it would cost less.