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Soldiers of the World Moving Infantryman

I wish I had gotten this review up last week while these were still easy to find at Target, but alas, I was on vacation.  You may still be able to find them there, at the deep discount of $7.40 last time I checked.  For that price, these figures are an absolute steal.  Originally these were $15, and even at that price they are well worth it.

 

 

 

Formative International has been making various 12" figures for a few years now.  They started out pretty weak, but have vastly improved over the last couple years.  Some of their accessories still leave alot to be desired, but the new super-articulated body that this figure sports is as good as any I've seen.  Add to that the "isn't that cool" factor of his twisting motion - a battery powered back pack controls right and left motion at the waist - and this is an extremely cool figure.

Packaging - ***
Pretty cool, and very few twisty ties to deal with.  They really didn't need any, so I'm a little disappointed they are there, but overall the packaging is very nice - colorful, sturdy, and with a cool lenticular picture of the soldier on the front showing how he moves at the waste.

Sculpting - **
The weakest area on this figure, and pretty much all the SOTW figures.  They need someone to do some new head sculpts for them.  On a positive note, the neck post looks like the current 'standard', so swapping other 21st Century or CC Joe heads should be a snap.

Articulation - ****
Excellent articulation - this body is similar to the new super soldier body from 21st Century or the standard body from Dragon.  Ball jointed neck, shoulders, bicep cut, double jointed elbows, wrists, soft hands, waist, hips, ankles and double jointed knees make this one of the most articulated 12" bodies out there.  At this price, it's a terrific value for kitbashing.  And don't worry about the mechanism for the motor - see the picture at the left to see that it has simply a single wire running into the back, easily clipped and hidden if you don't want that feature.  Also in this picture you can see the double jointed elbows. 

Accessories - **1/2
While the uniform is nice, especially the green undershirt and helmet, the other accessories aren't up to the caliber of 21st Century or Dragon.  Then again, for this price point you really shouldn't expect them to be.  And for 8 bucks, you get a canteen, a couple pouches, full uniform, knife, handgun, rifle, stand, etc.

Uniform - ***
Nicely done, with velcro holding things together.  The boots could be improved in terms of the quality of the material, but the helmet is excellent.


Overall - ***
If this figure was $20 or more, he wouldn't receive this high of a rating.  But at this price point - even at the original price point of around $15 - he is definitely a terrific bargain.  I almost passed him up, and now I'm glad I didn't!


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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