Verlinden Productions
1779

This set is one of those where the angle of the product photo hides some tricky flaws in the figures rather uninspiring figure poses.

The paratrooper with the Tommy gun is about to throw a hand grenade with all the ease and nonchalance that you would toss your car keys to your wife. The other soldier appears to be barking some orders, or giving a travelogue on the French countryside. "Posing" both figures by leaning them against a tank adds to the somewhat surreal quality.

The other problem with this set is evident with many other VP figures of late: the lower leg portions of the figures don't really mate very well with the upper torsos. The upper torso of the shouting soldier extends considerably outward over the bottom piece, as if the M1942 jacket was heavily starched.

In the case of the grenade guy, there is very little "overage" on the top piece, so that the rearward right leg has nearly no jacket over it. I compensated for this by scraping down and narrowing the top of the lower leg piece, particularly at the sides of the leg as it nears the waist. I also carved down the top of the piece, over the right leg, where it meets the torso, so he would be leaning a little farther backwards. Swapping heads with the other figure will give the many a more dynamic, openmouthed expression. I may also rework the left arm as well, which is based on the same arm from #702 "U.S. Paratroops."

Sculpting is typical of current VP figures: soft details, with rather broad folds and somewhat awkward stances. The recent Tamiya and DML styrene figures are surpassing the quality Verlinden offerings.

That said, there is still the plethora of standard VP gear to dress these troopers, and there are minimal flash or seams to contend with. They scale a tad over 6' tall.

You can correct these figures with bit of work, but it would be nice if the sculptor had given them more life to begin with.

-tss-