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When I saw this series of figures, I have to say I
was interested from the get go. Now, I'm not a big military
figure collector. But it's the concept of this line that I
was intrigued by. This series America's Army Real Heroes was
created for Jazwares based on the America's Army video game.
The cool thing about these figures is that they are based on real
people. Now, I know there have been figures based on
military heroes, but most of those have been presidents, actors,
or presidential medal of honor winners. And most have been
from older conflicts. This line however,
is from the current war on terrorism. I'm not going to go
into how I feel about the war pro or con. Hey, it's a toy
site not a political blog. I will tell you one thing though,
I'm extremely proud to be an American. As such I have a
great deal of respect for the average Joe Americans out there in
our Armed Forces.
See, I'm an Air Force brat. My dad served
20 years in the Air Force. No, he wasn't a pilot. But
that's the thing about our armed forces. Not every job is
glamorous, but every job is important. Not everyone can be a
general or a pilot or a diver. But the heroes are the ones
that make the small individual differences.
Which brings us to Staff Sergeant Matthew
Zedwick. He distinguished himself in combat in 2004 by
pulling a comrade from a burning Humvee. You can read his
story here:
America's Army That's the site for the game, where he's
a character as well.
Appearance:
No doubt about Ssgt Zedwick is based on a true
soldier. He's got the standard desert camo on. He's
got all the straps and pouches that you'd find on a real set of
gear. He's not a stylized Hollywood soldier, he's a solidly
armed and gear solider from a modern conflict. This is
evident when you see the card picture of the real Ssgt Zedwick.
I remember seeing prototype pictures of this
line somewhere, and I thought the detail and textures looked
better. All of the texture on the figure looks a bit soft to
me.
There is a fair amount of detail on this figure.
The shot gun shells on his right hip are painted red and match the
reference shot. Boots, pouches and his shot gun look decent.
His face could be Zedwick, but the detail isn't
as good as it should be. The thing that bugs be about this
figure the most is the fact that everything seems a bit pale.
His camo looks like pastels, and his face is painted a color
normally reserved for vampires. Some of the black has a bit
of slop as well.
Fun:
Toy soldiers are always fun. This guy
could have been a lot more fun, however. For starters there
is a limited amount of articulation. There are four joints
that I could find. Both legs rotate just below the lowest
black strap on each. His waist right below the vest turns as
well as his head.
There is no practical articulation in the arms.
This combined with the fact that his shotgun is not removable from
either hand, makes the shotgun appear bent slightly.
I love the fact that this figure comes with a
base. However, if you are going to include a base, it could
use a peg. The base has no peg and his feet have no holes
(or tread pattern for that matter). This is extremely
problematic, since one of is his legs is bent. I had the
hardest time standing this figure to take the pictures that I've
ever had.
Scale is a bit of an issue as well. SSgt
Zedwick here is taller that a standard GI Joe RAH figure (See
Below) , but shorter than the McF Military figures.
The one other accessory that Zedwick comes with
is a trading card. This card has a picture of the real
Mathew Zedwick, a short synopsis of his act of heroism. To
me this is the coolest thing about this figure. It almost
makes me wish they would do a whole trading card series featuring
real heroes like Ssgt Zedwick.
Overall:
I almost feel like I should give this figure two
scores. One for concept and one for execution. The
concept is incredible. I wish McFarlane had done this with
their military line. Any chance we get to salute or thank
the brave men and women who defend our nation we should.
Remember, they don't chose where or when to fight, they carry out
orders.
The execution of the concept, however, is a
little less than perfect. I was really energized by the
idea, but let down when final item.
Still to put a real person in the middle of all
of my fictionalized heroes is a real honor.
Thanks again, SSgt Zedwick.
Engineernerd Score: 80/100
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