New Japanese For The Late 1800s or Early 1900s
I bought these Japanese recently, from OWN or Overall War Nation bought from Hobby Bunker, as I was impressed by their detail and equipment.
On receiving them I could see that the detail and sculpting are excellent. The variety of poses is greater than AIP figures but they are the same size as AIP which enables easy mix and match. Another point in their favor is the backpacks. These and arms are separate and require gluing with a two part epoxy. This enabled the production of figures without wedges of plastic between arms and body. The con is it means they are not immediately ready for use.
Now, the biggest con: the guns are floppy! They are even worse than Conte ones. I know that some swear by the hot water and ice water method to straighten such items. My view is that these are so bad that I would not have certainty that they would not bend again and that they would not hold paint. This leaves the option of cutting and gluing the figures with AIP figures to vary poses, or replacing arms and weapons with metal or plastic spares. The kneeling or squatting figures could be used for artillery or machine gun crews. I certainly won't be using the figures with existing weapons. The bulk of them are even in danger of being relegated to the spares box. Please manufacturers, think about the viability of the material you use when so much care has gone into other areas such as pose and sculpting!
in the picture you can see an AIP figure for comparison. There is also a metal casting of arms and gun I might use on one figure.
On receiving them I could see that the detail and sculpting are excellent. The variety of poses is greater than AIP figures but they are the same size as AIP which enables easy mix and match. Another point in their favor is the backpacks. These and arms are separate and require gluing with a two part epoxy. This enabled the production of figures without wedges of plastic between arms and body. The con is it means they are not immediately ready for use.
Now, the biggest con: the guns are floppy! They are even worse than Conte ones. I know that some swear by the hot water and ice water method to straighten such items. My view is that these are so bad that I would not have certainty that they would not bend again and that they would not hold paint. This leaves the option of cutting and gluing the figures with AIP figures to vary poses, or replacing arms and weapons with metal or plastic spares. The kneeling or squatting figures could be used for artillery or machine gun crews. I certainly won't be using the figures with existing weapons. The bulk of them are even in danger of being relegated to the spares box. Please manufacturers, think about the viability of the material you use when so much care has gone into other areas such as pose and sculpting!
in the picture you can see an AIP figure for comparison. There is also a metal casting of arms and gun I might use on one figure.
I was interested in those figures. After reading your review, I am not sure I will. Thanks for the infos.
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