Modern Military and Law enforcement

An old thread concerning some of my modern military figures (ASAS figures) recently had some new comments, and so I thought I would post a couple of pics of my modern military and Law Enforcement shelves for you all to have a look at again. If anyone is interested in any particular figure I am happy to post further on any of them.

Its a while since I paid these any attention really as I have been focused on WWII DAK figures and Star Wars more of late, but I might well get back to these soon as these modern military and similar figures are superb value for money when you compare them with figures from film franchises. I think the most expensive figure here was £150/$200, and they all have loads of accessories with them, some having 1 or 2 trays of accessories packed separately from the figure.

Anyway like I said a blast from my past really and if anyone is interested in anything particular just ask.





Thanks

Paul

I’m curious about your sniper. Is he all kitted out under that ghillie suit? Does he have a spotter?

Thank you for sharing. They look great and what you say is so true as to value. While all higher end sixth-scale figures have gone up in prices, the prices for these are relatively reasonable compared to the blockbuster-based franchises.

Are all of them complete sets or are some kitbashed? For example, I seem to spot a police officer outfit that might have come with a Tom Hardy head sculpt on a figure with an Adam Baldwin head sculpt, so if I am right, you may have put some of these together yourself. I mean besides getting all the equipment on for the full sets, which must have been time-consuming and a bit of a pain.

Stryker2011 wrote:I’m curious about your sniper. Is he all kitted out under that ghillie suit? Does he have a spotter?

Hi Stryker2011,

Thanks for asking, this one is the DiD Marine Corps Sniper from around the mid '80s. It's loosely based on Tom Berenger's character in the film 'Sniper'.

This is a great figure with a whole lot of included accessories and 2 head sculpts, one with camo cream applied and one without.

The sniper lying down is wearing a woodland pattern 'creep suit' under the Ghillie suit, and uses the camo painted head sculpt. The Gillie suit is all hand latched onto a mesh under suit by me.

The figure behind him in the cupboard wearing the Marine Corps cover is also made up of parts from the same figure, all I had to buy additionally was a second body, jungle boots, a second Marine Corp cover and the rifle. The rest, BDUs, tactical vest and rolled ghillie suit etc.. all came with the original figure. The idea being that the original figure could be done with the Ghillie suit on or ready to move.

I haven't gotten round to doing a spotter to go with the aiming figure yet but I may at some point. I did get a spotting scope a while ago so the beginnings are there.

Here are a few pics of the figures I made from the DID Marine Corps Sniper set.












Thanks

Paul

GubernatorFan wrote:Thank you for sharing. They look great and what you say is so true as to value. While all higher end sixth-scale figures have gone up in prices, the prices for these are relatively reasonable compared to the blockbuster-based franchises.

Are all of them complete sets or are some kitbashed? For example, I seem to spot a police officer outfit that might have come with a Tom Hardy head sculpt on a figure with an Adam Baldwin head sculpt, so if I am right, you may have put some of these together yourself. I mean besides getting all the equipment on for the full sets, which must have been time-consuming and a bit of a pain.

Thank you GubernatorFan,

Yes these can be a challenge to put together as their kit is largely put together like the real gear is, and yes some of these are bashes by me.  

The LAPD Patrol Officer is built using a ToyCity uniform set, which was then put on a body and head sculpt I bought from eBay.  I also changed many of the accessories as they turned out to not be so accurate to LAPD.
The LAPD K9 officer is built off of the BBi (I think) Colin Farrell figure from the movie 'S.W.A.T.'  It has had various changes including a DiD set of body armour, and duty belt.  He also has custom K9 and name badges made by me and some custom LAPD patches/stripes from I think One Sixth Scale King.  The dog is a Belgian Malinois again from ToyCity if my memory serves correctly.  I had the dogs harness etc.. in a spares box and I again made up some custom name tapes and patches.
The cop at the back with the shotgun is again made up from bits of the various DiD LAPD SWAT figures available.  They released a figure with a 'less than lethal' shotgun right after I finished building this one lol.
The Snipers I covered in my reply to Stryker2011.
Lastly from the fist shelf the JGSDF infantryman is the old dragon figure with a few enhancements like the body armour, but not much adaptation on that one really.
The Seal K9 handler and support gunner are bashed from various bits I had bought over the years.

The others are all stock figures.  These come with so many accessories though that you could buy 3 or 4 of the same figure and have them all look different once put together.  I literally have dozens of accessory pieces which have never been out of the trays.

Thanks for the clarification, Paul. Come to think of it, I own that LAPD set -- I now remember it came without a body or head, so obviously you would have had to supply those. The Tom Hardy police set was NYPD (I think I only picked up the head sculpt -- which you can see among the others HERE). What you say about the plethora of items and options available with these sets is certainly true (as with your sniper) -- with very little additional stuff you could make a second or even third figure out of them. And I think that makes them even more worthwhile -- although of course if you just need one extra piece here or there, parted-out options are also sensible. And very useful, if you have the eye for detail and patience to improve on what is provided so as to match reality better. In that respect, modern military and law enforcement figures are a point of weakness for me -- I mean I know very little. When it comes to fiction, I do get better -- that is how I improved the Faora figure (HERE) to be screen accurate, and painstakingly reversed the leg brace on the VTS Wasteland Ranger (Mad Max) for the same reason.

Great figures and poses from your sniper gear. That second guy looks ready for anything. Nice job.

For some reason the photos in this post aren't showing up for me, neither on mobile nor on my pc ...

skywalkersaga wrote:For some reason the photos in this post aren't showing up for me, neither on mobile nor on my pc ...

They take awhile to load. Maybe that's why?

GubernatorFan wrote:Thanks for the clarification, Paul. Come to think of it, I own that LAPD set -- I now remember it came without a body or head, so obviously you would have had to supply those. The Tom Hardy police set was NYPD (I think I only picked up the head sculpt -- which you can see among the others HERE). What you say about the plethora of items and options available with these sets is certainly true (as with your sniper) -- with very little additional stuff you could make a second or even third figure out of them. And I think that makes them even more worthwhile -- although of course if you just need one extra piece here or there, parted-out options are also sensible. And very useful, if you have the eye for detail and patience to improve on what is provided so as to match reality better. In that respect, modern military and law enforcement figures are a point of weakness for me -- I mean I know very little. When it comes to fiction, I do get better -- that is how I improved the Faora figure (HERE) to be screen accurate, and painstakingly reversed the leg brace on the VTS Wasteland Ranger (Mad Max) for the same reason.

Thanks mate,

Yeah I get obsessed with the detail, and tend to research what ever I am doing to death, probably too much lol but it helps to get things looking right, and, over the years, I have built up a good working knowledge for a lot of different subjects.  
When working on figures particularly military ones, I also find it helpful to have 1-1 pieces available to see how things work and also how different pieces of a costume or uniform interact with one another.  So for instance along with researching my DAK figures I have also put together almost 2 complete replica DAK uniforms so that I can understand the equipment and how it was used and worn.  I have so many DAK figures (21 across 3 dioramas) that it made sense to me to have this little haul of 1-1 stuff to get them right.



The boots and headgear are kept elsewhere, but there is a bit of British 37 pattern webbing in there too for good measure.  I also have some modern uniform parts and equipment that help understand how all the newer modular carry systems work, and what it is possible to do in them.

I think a lot of really nice figures in these genres can end up with poor poses as the person posing them does not understand the kit and how it works, or how the pose would feel if you are actually wearing the kit.  Drills and manuals also come into play, and especially so the more historical you get. Soldiers get taught specific ways of doing things which often get forgotten in posing military figures.  So reading manuals and drill books often helps to get a pose right to.

You can get a lot of info, and some excellent pics on the net these days, but for me there is no substitute for seeing items in the flesh, either as replicas like these, or in museums/collections.

Paul

Stryker2011 wrote:Great figures and poses from your sniper gear. That second guy looks ready for anything. Nice job.

Cheers mate,

I am really happy with the pose on that second figure, and the gear is all very nicely done by DiD. He really does look ready to take anything on I guess.

Paul

skywalkersaga wrote:For some reason the photos in this post aren't showing up for me, neither on mobile nor on my pc ...

Sorry about that skywalkersaga,

I use Imgur to host pics these days.  As GubernatorFan has said, it may just be that they take a while to load.

Paul

I can see them now, yay!

You’re as bad as me with all the 1:1 military gear — though I have it for different reasons. But you’re right about using it to understand the basics of posing a figure. One has no idea just how heavy all that stuff gets until you start loading it up with food, water, clothes, medical supplies, etc. — and of course weapons and ammo clips.

Finally had a chance to look on a bigger screen --- these are great, so very detailed. Love the doggies, too. And that guy with the ginger beard in the police uniform looks a bit like Prince Harry from this angle, lol!

Stryker2011 wrote:You’re as bad as me with all the 1:1 military gear — though I have it for different reasons. But you’re right about using it to understand the basics of posing a figure. One has no idea just how heavy all that stuff gets until you start loading it up with food, water, clothes, medical supplies, etc. — and of course weapons and ammo clips.

Absolutely mate, the weight rises very quickly when loading these things up. The older stuff is not very ergonomic either so trying to get into some positions is painful or in some cases almost impossible, and even just wearing it the wrong way can be very uncomfortable. The modern stuff is a bit better, but the weight of armour and all you have to carry these days is tremendous.

Paul

skywalkersaga wrote:Finally had a chance to look on a bigger screen --- these are great, so very detailed. Love the doggies, too. And that guy with the ginger beard in the police uniform looks a bit like Prince Harry from this angle, lol!

I'm glad you can see them now mate, and thank you, I am glad you like them.

The detail in these can be very high, and takes ages to put together sometimes too.  On these figures many of the pouches etc... are all individually attached to the load carrying systems.  It is not unusual for one of these to take several days just to get all the parts fitted, and then several more to get them looking right after that.

I like the dogs too, I think they add something to the collection I have, and yes I see what you mean about the LAPD patrolman looking like Prince Harry.  I ironically the figure 2 to his left in the dark glasses and British tanker uniform did come with a Prince Harry head sculpt as it is badged as a Household Cavalry officer.  But I changed it for a more non discreet head sculpt lol.

Paul

I am thinking with all of this accurate (or real) gear that you have from both real life and fiction, you could probably go in and work as at least an extra in a number of films, where you would be able to provide your own outfit.

scalawag wrote:

I'm glad you can see them now mate, and thank you, I am glad you like them.

The detail in these can be very high, and takes ages to put together sometimes too.  On these figures many of the pouches etc... are all individually attached to the load carrying systems.  It is not unusual for one of these to take several days just to get all the parts fitted, and then several more to get them looking right after that.

I like the dogs too, I think they add something to the collection I have, and yes I see what you mean about the LAPD patrolman looking like Prince Harry.  I ironically the figure 2 to his left in the dark glasses and British tanker uniform did come with a Prince Harry head sculpt as it is badged as a Household Cavalry officer.  But I changed it for a more non discreet head sculpt lol.

Oh ha, that is too funny! Well he looks good with his non-Royal head, lol.

And aw, yeah, the dogs DO add something.... I have two Czechoslovakian wolfdogs -- originally a Soviet experiment to try to create hardier border patrol dogs, so that is probably why they caught my attention.

The level of detail really is impressive, and not in the least the fact that you had to put it all together. Meant to also say that your 1:1 gear is excellent!

skywalkersaga wrote:

scalawag wrote:

I'm glad you can see them now mate, and thank you, I am glad you like them.

The detail in these can be very high, and takes ages to put together sometimes too.  On these figures many of the pouches etc... are all individually attached to the load carrying systems.  It is not unusual for one of these to take several days just to get all the parts fitted, and then several more to get them looking right after that.

I like the dogs too, I think they add something to the collection I have, and yes I see what you mean about the LAPD patrolman looking like Prince Harry.  I ironically the figure 2 to his left in the dark glasses and British tanker uniform did come with a Prince Harry head sculpt as it is badged as a Household Cavalry officer.  But I changed it for a more non discreet head sculpt lol.

Oh ha, that is too funny! Well he looks good with his non-Royal head, lol.

And aw, yeah, the dogs DO add something.... I have two Czechoslovakian wolfdogs -- originally a Soviet experiment to try to create hardier border patrol dogs, so that is probably why they caught my attention.

The level of detail really is impressive, and not in the least the fact that you had to put it all together. Meant to also say that your 1:1 gear is excellent!

Thanks mate,

The 1-1 gear is really useful for getting figures right, but I have always been a sucker for costumes/uniforms and the like. I used to be an American Civil War re-enactor many moons ago, and now I do Star Wars costuming and I am putting the final touches on a Rick Deckard Blade runner costume (the original movie). It's just something I enjoy I guess.

Paul

I completely understand the appeal -- I used to do Viking reenactment/living history myself. : )

GubernatorFan wrote:I am thinking with all of this accurate (or real) gear that you have from both real life and fiction, you could probably go in and work as at least an extra in a number of films, where you would be able to provide your own outfit.

Yeah, I have thought about it, and I am actually signed up with an agency.  I did get a couple of TV appearances when I was doing the American Civil War re-enacting years ago . Its all about being able to be in the right place at the right time though really and there is not much going on in my area.  London sometimes has a lot going on, and a lot of filming gets done in Wales too.  
I think it is also about knowing people in the business, which I don't and catching a break as well.  But you never know.  

I may be involved in a fan made Star Wars short later tin the year.

Paul

skywalkersaga wrote:I completely understand the appeal -- I used to do Viking reenactment/living history myself. : )

A couple of the people I did ACW with were in Regia Angalorum.

Paul

Awesome figures!, Are you going to make CHPs and Riverside Sheriff officers?

scalawag wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:I completely understand the appeal -- I used to do Viking reenactment/living history myself. : )

A couple of the people I did ACW with were in Regia Angalorum.
l

Oh, awesome!

And apologies, I had somehow missed the notification for this comment earlier....