Adam Baker
Active member
Received this in the mail yesterday, and thought I'd do a photo review on it.
Kit is Special Ops Models 1/9 scale Special Forces Sniper with .50 Caliper rifle.
The kit comes in a very nice, sturdy cardboard box, with very nice images of the figure on the outside.
Upon opening the box, you find an 8.5" x 11" color sheet w/ photos of the kit (unforatuntely it appears I got the wrong thing, mine covers the 1/9 sniper bust that is also available from SOM). Under that is a large amount of packing popcorn to protect the kit parts.
Everything in the box is packed & sorted very nicely in large plastic baggies to help protect the parts
The first part is the base, which comes wrapped in foam, which was nice to see.
Opening it reveals excellent, and very sharp detail.
The base gives a rocky desert like terrain, with large broken pieces of rock and sandy ground. Also visible are the spots for mounting the figures feet. A nice touch are 3 shell casing on the ground to give a bit more visual appeal (I'd imagine though that most snipers would police their brass pretty quickly).
Moving on, next is the larger bag in the box, which contains most of the parts for the figure. Inside this bag are more bags, further sorting the parts.
Inside are 4 bags, holding the figure heads; arms, hands & feet; the figures equipment; decals & wire, and unbagged is the .50 caliber rifle.
Starting with the rifle, you can see a very high level of detail. The molding is very crisp, with just a bit of flash on the parts. Running through the length of the rifle is a brass rod, with CNC machined grooving on the barrel end.
One very nice feature of the kit, is that the trigger is molded into the figures hand, so no odd looking assembly w/ a figure half holding the trigger. To accommodate this, is a slot in the underside of the rifle in which the trigger nests into, for a much cleaner look.
Next are the heads. The kit comes with 2 options for heads. The advertised options are a head with a bearded face, wearing a baseball cap, and a clean shaved face wearing a boonie cap. My kit came w/ the shaved face & boonie cap, but instead of the bearded face w/ ball cap, mine came w/ a shaved face w/ ball cap. Its not a big deal, b/c I had planned from the start to go w/ the clean shaved face wearing the boonie cap. Since I have the 2nd head, my plan is to practice painting that head first, to get more comfortable painting the face before painting the head I plan on using.
One detail of the kit, is the figure is wearing headphones w/ a boom mic. Here you can see the detail of the headphones. The microphone for the boom mic is molded separately, and is attached using brass wire supplied with the kit.
In the next bag are the figures boots, upper arms, and forearms and hands. Like the heads, the detail is sharp and crisp. However, on the hands and the boots, the mold seams are a bit heavy, but dont appear to be so heavy as to have done much damage to any of the detail.
Its very obvious from looking at the parts, that a lot of thought and care went into the design of this kit. The seams for the most part fall along natural seams such as seams on the gloves or the sleeves, or the sole line on the boots.
Here is shots of the trigger hand, showing the amazing detail. Note the pistol grip & trigger molded into the hand.
And the detail of the boots, including sole detail (which matches the detail present in the base, to help positively locate the figure on the base).
Along with the attention to detail, the though & care of design shows amazingly in how the forearms attach into the upper arms. The forearms are long, with rounded ends, that fit into corresponding pockets in the arms. There is a little bit of leeway in how the arms fit, but there's definitely a specific way for the arms to fit in the sockets the right way.
Not to be overdone by the fitment of the forearms into the upper arms, the fitment of the upper arms into the torso is equally excellent.
At the top of each arm, is a tab, which fits into a matching slot in the torso, so that each arm is precisely fitted exactly where it goes, also along a natural seam, in this case the seam between the sleeves and the figures vest.
Just a little bit of work was required to get the arms to fit snugly in place. I had to enlarge the slot on the torso so that the arm would fit.
Similar to the forearms into the upper arms, the boots slide into pockets in the legs.
The next bag contains all of the figures equipment, including several pouches, a radio, camel pack, service pistol, as well as some detail pieces for the rifle including a scope, bi-pod legs and a flash suppressor.
And shots of the nice detail
The last of the bags contains the kit decals, with several unit patches, flags, as well 2 smilie face decals for the cover that goes on the end of the rifle sight. Also in the bag are 2 small pieces of brass rod for the boom mic and the rifle handle, and solder for the wire going between the radio & hand mic on the figure.
And now to the last bag in the box, which contains the figures legs and torso.
Like everything else in the kit, the detail is amazing.
Also the attention to construction is very obvious. The top of the legs is left slightly proud, and the bottom of the torso is open, allowing for a very smooth joint between the 2 halves. Even present in the legs half is a cut out for a clip on the figures belt on the torso
Overall, out of the box I am absolutely amazed by the detail & quality of this kit. When built is should absolutely be a stunner of a figure, one which I hope I can do justice to.
The kit is available through Special Ops Models for $128.99. I purchased the kit through the companies eBay store, since its not currently listed on their website.
I would highly recommend this kit to anyone interested in modern US military figures.
Kit is Special Ops Models 1/9 scale Special Forces Sniper with .50 Caliper rifle.
The kit comes in a very nice, sturdy cardboard box, with very nice images of the figure on the outside.
Upon opening the box, you find an 8.5" x 11" color sheet w/ photos of the kit (unforatuntely it appears I got the wrong thing, mine covers the 1/9 sniper bust that is also available from SOM). Under that is a large amount of packing popcorn to protect the kit parts.
Everything in the box is packed & sorted very nicely in large plastic baggies to help protect the parts
The first part is the base, which comes wrapped in foam, which was nice to see.
Opening it reveals excellent, and very sharp detail.
The base gives a rocky desert like terrain, with large broken pieces of rock and sandy ground. Also visible are the spots for mounting the figures feet. A nice touch are 3 shell casing on the ground to give a bit more visual appeal (I'd imagine though that most snipers would police their brass pretty quickly).
Moving on, next is the larger bag in the box, which contains most of the parts for the figure. Inside this bag are more bags, further sorting the parts.
Inside are 4 bags, holding the figure heads; arms, hands & feet; the figures equipment; decals & wire, and unbagged is the .50 caliber rifle.
Starting with the rifle, you can see a very high level of detail. The molding is very crisp, with just a bit of flash on the parts. Running through the length of the rifle is a brass rod, with CNC machined grooving on the barrel end.
One very nice feature of the kit, is that the trigger is molded into the figures hand, so no odd looking assembly w/ a figure half holding the trigger. To accommodate this, is a slot in the underside of the rifle in which the trigger nests into, for a much cleaner look.
Next are the heads. The kit comes with 2 options for heads. The advertised options are a head with a bearded face, wearing a baseball cap, and a clean shaved face wearing a boonie cap. My kit came w/ the shaved face & boonie cap, but instead of the bearded face w/ ball cap, mine came w/ a shaved face w/ ball cap. Its not a big deal, b/c I had planned from the start to go w/ the clean shaved face wearing the boonie cap. Since I have the 2nd head, my plan is to practice painting that head first, to get more comfortable painting the face before painting the head I plan on using.
One detail of the kit, is the figure is wearing headphones w/ a boom mic. Here you can see the detail of the headphones. The microphone for the boom mic is molded separately, and is attached using brass wire supplied with the kit.
In the next bag are the figures boots, upper arms, and forearms and hands. Like the heads, the detail is sharp and crisp. However, on the hands and the boots, the mold seams are a bit heavy, but dont appear to be so heavy as to have done much damage to any of the detail.
Its very obvious from looking at the parts, that a lot of thought and care went into the design of this kit. The seams for the most part fall along natural seams such as seams on the gloves or the sleeves, or the sole line on the boots.
Here is shots of the trigger hand, showing the amazing detail. Note the pistol grip & trigger molded into the hand.
And the detail of the boots, including sole detail (which matches the detail present in the base, to help positively locate the figure on the base).
Along with the attention to detail, the though & care of design shows amazingly in how the forearms attach into the upper arms. The forearms are long, with rounded ends, that fit into corresponding pockets in the arms. There is a little bit of leeway in how the arms fit, but there's definitely a specific way for the arms to fit in the sockets the right way.
Not to be overdone by the fitment of the forearms into the upper arms, the fitment of the upper arms into the torso is equally excellent.
At the top of each arm, is a tab, which fits into a matching slot in the torso, so that each arm is precisely fitted exactly where it goes, also along a natural seam, in this case the seam between the sleeves and the figures vest.
Just a little bit of work was required to get the arms to fit snugly in place. I had to enlarge the slot on the torso so that the arm would fit.
Similar to the forearms into the upper arms, the boots slide into pockets in the legs.
The next bag contains all of the figures equipment, including several pouches, a radio, camel pack, service pistol, as well as some detail pieces for the rifle including a scope, bi-pod legs and a flash suppressor.
And shots of the nice detail
The last of the bags contains the kit decals, with several unit patches, flags, as well 2 smilie face decals for the cover that goes on the end of the rifle sight. Also in the bag are 2 small pieces of brass rod for the boom mic and the rifle handle, and solder for the wire going between the radio & hand mic on the figure.
And now to the last bag in the box, which contains the figures legs and torso.
Like everything else in the kit, the detail is amazing.
Also the attention to construction is very obvious. The top of the legs is left slightly proud, and the bottom of the torso is open, allowing for a very smooth joint between the 2 halves. Even present in the legs half is a cut out for a clip on the figures belt on the torso
Overall, out of the box I am absolutely amazed by the detail & quality of this kit. When built is should absolutely be a stunner of a figure, one which I hope I can do justice to.
The kit is available through Special Ops Models for $128.99. I purchased the kit through the companies eBay store, since its not currently listed on their website.
I would highly recommend this kit to anyone interested in modern US military figures.
