Official 1:18 Military Toys Thread (21st, BBI, FOV, etc)

[Angry Ewok]

All of the 21st Century Toys threads have been merged into this thread, so if you got anything, news, thoughts, etc, here's the place to do it! 21st Century RULES!

As usual, Toys R Us had no new Star Wars figures, but as I turned around to admire the 21st Century Line, I realised that their entire initial XD line of about 9 figures (not counting Battle of Buldge figures) was on CLEARANCE for .90 cents a piece!

I snagged 12 figures in all, unfortunately someone had already snagged all the German Machine Gunners, and Mp44 Soldiers.... BUT, I got all the others (and a few doubles of infantry and BAR troops)!

Awesome score, and of course, I've got pics to proove it.  

21st Century owns Hasbro. I'm so happy, I plan on getting some of the Battle of Buldge figures too.

[Jesse James]

Nice score Ewok...  The 1st series figures aren't the GREATEST, but they were a great first effort...  21st actually LEARNED from their mistakes too and made their 3rd series paras and all waves after that with their new and improved articulation.

They're supposed to re-release the 1st series with the new articulation at some point...  I hope we see new head sculpts/removeable helmets too.  Good score my friend, especially for $.90!

I can't find ANY more of the battle of the bulge figures in my area either.  You must be in a high traffic TRU.  Ours just gets stuff at a trickle...  It keeps things from backing up a lot though.

[Angry Ewok]

Well, we got about 4 different Buldge figures, several of the four, though.

I've had 2 arms break from the Series 1, it seems like the paint dries inside the joints and thus... articulated arms are breaking. It really sucks, but for .90, I can't complain much. If the Series 1 are re-done... I'll only pick up a new German Officer and German & American Infantry... I feel like the others are perfect. Oh yes, and of course the G. Machine Gunner and MP44, as I said they weren't there...

Question, JJ, I see that a Patton series is in the making... does this mean there'll be a 1:18th Patton made?! If so, I'm big-time happy, cause I loveeeee Patton... he was a genius... wrote a great book, too (War as I knew it).

[Jesse James]

Yeah there is...

Shipping (Or already in your area) is the Patton Command Car (Dodge COmmand Car).  It's pricey and a bit lacking in quality control, but still neat in a way (Especially when the figures come out).

Patton 1:18 figures are on the way any day now they say...  Patton at the Bulge, Patton in N. Africa, and Patton in Dress uniform are all planned I believe.

And yes he has his pit bull with him!

They're not the best looking figures IMO, but they're not the worst either.  I'm goign to do a "Patton in Star Wars" series of customs eventually...  Patton as an Imperial General, Patton as Rebel General...  You get the gist.

I'm gonna go make an "All 21st Century" post here because there's new stuff...  It really deserves it's own topic.

The 1st series figures were prone to that breakage at first...  I'd suggest a dip in boiling water to alleviate that issue.  I had a few break too...  I had a U.S. para's boot break on me just the other day and had to send it back to 21st to get a replacement.

I didn't have that issue with the Bulge figures at all.  I highly recommend you nab at least the BAR gunner and rifleman...  They ROCK.  The Tanker's great too, but the jeep driver's a tad weak.

[Jesse James]

For those of us diggin' on the new product trickling out from this company, or for those of us who like to use this for customizing...

Or for simply those of us not in the know, 21st Century Toys has released images of a new wave of figures to come out eventually.

We've asked for it, 21st is supplying it...  U.S. Marines from World War II.  The Pacific Theatre is FINALLY seeing some attention besides a repainted Sherman and a couple of airplanes!

http://www.21stcenturytoys.com/1-18_new_marines.html

An eclectic mix of 7 leathernecks...  Not bad, I just wish we were getting 7 U.S. and 7 Germans in the battle of the Bulge series, but that series seems much more limited (4 of each, and 1 on each side is a Tanker).

The headsculpts leave a little to be desired, but these are rough VERY early prototypes that don't even appear to be hardcopies...  They look rough enough to have been hand sculpted prototypes that were hand painted then photographed.  Things could change I guess...

This fella's my favorite so far I think...  Pretty "basic" and the Japanese flag is just a great touch!  I have a bunch of diorama's dancing through my head already.  I just wish the 3 or 4 guys with noticeable "extreme" expressions on their faces were more neutral.



Now we need some Japanese for these guys to fight with!

I love 21st's product...  Between these, modern figures, Battle of the Bulge, Patton 1:18, the carded Pilot Pack-in figures, and all this other great stuff, I really just don't know how I'm gonna afford it all, or where to put it when I finally get it!  

Tack onto that what BBi's offering up this year, and yikes I'll be all 1:18 action figure'd out.

[JediMAC]

Ugh.  Looking at that figure makes me ill Jesse!  It clearly illustrates what CAN be done with a figure when a company puts its mind to it!  Makes me more than a tad envious of that line's detail and articulation.  Very nice!  How many points there - 14?

[Angry Ewok]

Nope, 16 points!

They articulated the elbow with joints AND A SWIVEL so that you can pose his arms pointing outward or inward... you're choice!

21sC is incredible.

[Angry Ewok]

JJ, where can I see a picture of the 1:18 Pattons?! I've looked everywhere! The pitbull is awesome, lol...

And yes, making a Rebel General Patton is probably the coolest custom one could make... I can see it now...

"Now we've got the Imps by the nose, and we'll kick them in the ass! Attack! Attack! and Attack!, and Never stop attacking!"

[Jesse James]

Actually, there's some with 18 points...

1 neck
1 waist
2 shoulder
2 bicep
2 elbow
2 wrist
2 hip/thigh
2 knee
2 boot top/shoe top

And some figures (U.S. Paratroopers, P-38 pilot, etc...) have 2 mid-thigh cut joints so their thigh pivots at the center as well.  If you ever see a P-38/Corsair pilot up close, it's got the most amazing detail and articulation you could want!

PLUS, many figures come with a second set of "Extremely posed" arms.  They pop right off and on with the articulated arms.  I dont' use the posed arms ever, but I do sometimes swap the posed hands off with the articulated arms set of hands.  

What's even funnier is BBi's figures...  Their articulation goes like this:

1 neck
1 waist
2 ball/socket shoulder
2 bicep
2 angle joint (like rft's knee joints) elbows
2 wrist
2 hip/thigh
2 knee
2 ball/socket ankle

AND all BBi parts are interchangeable...  You can pop every piece off them and put it on another guy.  Plus BBi give you accessories galore like belts, functioning holsters, helmets, goggles, etc...

BBi's accessories are flimsy though (Make Hasbro's look sturdy), and the articulation can look a bit noticeable in some areas (The ankle and shoulder joints particularly), but they've improved their 1:18 they're releasing this year and they look 100% better.

BBi's stuff is $1 cheaper too, coming in at Hasbro's $4.99 MSRP, AND, BBi pays a few licensing fees as well.  To top that off they're about half the size of 21st Century Toys is, which is dwarfed by Hasbro itself.

Not bad for small companies eh?

[Angry Ewok]

My newest dio... Pure gold.

[Jesse James]

Hey Ewok

Check out Ground Pounder's site (Where I pull most of those pics I throw around from).  He's bound to have shots of the Patton figures.

Also, check Raving Toy Maniac's site for their 2003 Toy Fair pics.  They should have images of the Patton figures as well as BBi's stuff and other XD stuff.

[Scott]

I just merged the two threads, sorry if it doesn't make sense anymore  

Jesse, is the plastic akin to SW figure plastic so Boil and pops work well or is it more like RFT plastic a little harder

[Angry Ewok]

I finally found the Patton figures, they were at 21st Century's website, I feel like a moron after looking over them for so long.

The Patton's are weird, like their upper bodies are bigger than their legs. I think the Buldge Patton is coolest, but I'll wait and see when I finally see them in stores.

JJ, do you have a favorite figure in this BoB line? I haven't bought any of them yet, but I think 82nd Airborne Cpl. Ruppert would have to be my favorite.

[Jesse James]

Sorry I haven't popped in a couple days to post a lot because I'm bogged down like a mother with a paper I'm writing for school.

Anyway, Yeah I hear what you're saying on those Patton figures Ewok.  I mentioned that at GP's board, and really still feel the Patton figures aren't 21st's finest work.  I think they will utilize more good parts for Star Wars customs though, and maybe the odd XD custom as well.

As for favorites, I'd say Private Wilson (101st Rifleman) and Major Von Schnitzel (German Officer) are my favorite paratroopers...

My favorite Battle of the Bulge is EASILY the U.S. Rifleman.  The Germans aren't out yet, and there's a reason for that...  I'm gonna post that below though as a separate "announcement" since this is the official 21st Century Toys topic.

The best pilot, well that one's a real toss-up.  The Corsair/Army green P-38 pilot is my favorite, but I may change my mind when I get the pilot set online (hopefully this week).  The first P-38 pilot looks awesome though, as do the Stuka Gunner and pilot.  I dunno what a proper scaled Mustang and Messerschmit pilot may be like though.

As for customizing OCB, 21st figures pop apart VERY easily.  All their plastic is of the pliable kind like Hasbro's figures are on the limbs/heads.  I'd say even more pliable actually.  I usually can pull an XD figures hands off and put them on another figure without heating if I want (I suggest heating though, for safety sake so you don't break them).  

BBi's figures are actually MADE to pull apart so you can interchange all the parts.  Those figures are really marvels.  Only their legs are "rigid" plastic and don't pop on/off.  The whole upper body of a BBi figure comes apart with ease though.

XD are definately a really customizeable line though, if it's your cup of tea!  

[Jesse James]

And sometimes at the height of our revalry....

Well, 21st announced some bad BAD news today for us as collectors.

They will no longer be selling German items through Toys R Us, nor any other major retailer.  The German Battle of the Bulge figures will ONLY be available through purchase through Online "E-tailer" retail outlets (Small Blue Planet, etc...), and they will also be made available through 21st Century Toys themselves through their fan club.

Ground Pounder's site should have updates when they arrive in-stock.

Toys R Us has been facing pressure from "groups" to stop sales of World War 2 German product for some time now, and they've officially decided NOT to carry it anymore.

As GP said in his statement, this could be bad as far as the variety of German product we see.  I'm hoping we see a good bit more, and that maybe 21st can even diversify product now that they aren't focusing on children as their target market, but we'll have to wait this out and see.

Just walking into a store and buying the odd German infantryman would've been great, but apparantly that won't happen.

Let's just hope they're readily available...  The German product was always the LAST to sell anyway, so maybe this is for the best?

21st is definately on shakey ground as it is, financially, so I just hope this isn't yet another nail in the possible coffin of the company.

On a better note, Japanese Infantry are to follow the USMC WW2 figures that just had pictures released, and on top of that the 2 'Eastern Warrior' figures and the "Delta Team" figure (Which someone identified as a British Special Forces soldier!) are shipping to stores as we speak...  supposedly.

Keep yinz guys eyes pealed!