Infinity Shape
ISWU-002

This is the quintessential pose for "Old Blood & Guts:" ramrod straight, skintight riding boots, flared britches, and the intimidating riding crop in hand. He looks like he's ready to dress down one of his officers or anticipating a visit from Monty. His helmet is adorned with three crisp stars for the lieutenant general, the rank he held from March 1943 to April 1945. And they are as precisely sculpted as those found on the jacket shoulder tabs and the shirt collar.

Here, the general wears a pair of the famous ivory handled Colt .45 revolvers. At times he wore a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum in place of one of the revolvers. The Colts and their holsters are nicely detailed and the delicately extended hammer is remarkable. This is a little piece of metal in your package that may look like a nubbin of discarded casting plug, but it's really the small leather ammo pouch Patton wore on either side of the buckle.

Further evidence of the striking sculpting on this figure is the wedding and pinky rings on the left hand. The riding crop is nicely done, with the right hand molded around it, and the left hand having an indentation at the underside to slip the tip of the crop into. There is a ring, perhaps from West Point, molded onto his right hand too.

Speaking of the riding crop, there are little tabs at each end that are part of the molding process and need to be removed. You could detail the crop, if you wish, by nipping off most of the length below the right hand and replacing it with a loop of paper to create the thin hand strap.

Of course another aspect of any Patton figure is if it has captured the face. In this rendition, I think sculptor Chaung Sik Lee has perhaps hit the mark, though I won't be able to tell for sure until I get a chance to paint him up. Patton gets a slightly jowl-ier look here, which is characteristic of the real article at this time in his life, but the nose might not quite convey the length. This could be remedied, if necessary, with a little extra highlighting along the bridge when painting.

The only flaw in this figure is the absence of three buckles and tabs on each of the slender boots, which held the boot around the calf.

There are some very slight molding seams on either side of the boots and up the right leg, and they should be removed without any effort. There are some small tabs on the elbows to elminate and a seam or two to whisk away. Overall this figure is cleaner than most resin and nearly all plastic figures out there.

This general scales in at about 6'3" with his helmet on. I haven't been able to learn how tall Patton was beyond a claim in the Internet Movie Database that he was 6'1"—coincidentally the same height as George C. Scott. The helmet and weapons are in line with 1/35 scale.

There are no painting instructions, so you will want to consult some references perhaps, or go to the General George S. Patton, Jr., National Museum of Cavalry & Armor (take the virtual tour and navigate your way to his staff car, where you'll see this uniform in color). You'll see the jacket appears as olive drab and the trousers a khaki tan. And make sure you give that helmet liner a glossy dark green as the general's orderly would have polished it.

Infinity Shape has taken an interesting approach to packaging this and other figures. Rather than dropping all the pieces into a plastic ziplock bag, Inifity Shape has separated the parts into small groups and separately sealed the groups into a plastic bag. This seems to help keep more delicate pieces, like gun barrels and riding crops, from getting too bent out of shape or scratching one another.

This General Patton joins namesakes from Custom Dioramics, Dynasty/Legend, Legends and Lore, Verlinden, and Tamiya). It certainly will have a commanding presence in any diorama or vignette.

Review sample provided by Infinity Shape.

-tss-