Facepool FP006 - WWII US 101st Airborne Private - Ryan

Facepool has been a bit of a let down. I think the best likeness has been Miller and even there it's not great. As happy as I am in getting closer to the whole team Facepool just isn't very good. Their Upham and Mellish looked decent in the protos, but tanked in production. Based on some of the images for Ryan he isn't very good either. DID has been better with the exception of Horvath. I'm only speaking about head sculpts. Gear there are pluses and minuses on both sides.

Most of my "SPR" figures are from DiD, to be honest. I had initially picked up the Facepool Miller because the DiD Miller was sold out and secondary market prices were very high. I do agree that DiD's head sculpts have been better for each figure released, so far.

I picked up Facepool's Upham because there's been no word from DiD on that figure and I didn't want to miss out. Even though I have the deluxe Upham that included the Mellish sculpt and I picked up the "Ranger" set, along with a spare body, in order to create Mellish, I found a good deal on DiD's Mellish and ordered it as well.

For the duplicates that I do have, I know that I can sell them and recuperate the funds.

Facepool's Ryan looks to be a 7.5 out of ten, based on the photos that I've seen. He is recognizable but not a homerun. I do have him on pre-order and hopefully will be shipping soon.

In Facepool's defense, they do offer very nice diorama bases on many of their figures. DiD doesn't even include a stand. Gear and uniforms are very good, as well.

Regardless of which way you go, you'll have a very impressive "Saving Private Ryan" figure display.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.

I'm really not overly familiar with Facepool which was why I asked. I have their Dick Winters figure and I think they did a really nice job with it, and I have their Punisher on pre-order since I missed the old Hot Toys one, and I thought the prototype looked pretty good. The Upham prototype looks phenomenal, although I haven't seen actual production pictures.

If I've learned anything collecting sixth scale in the past decade, it's that you should never bank on a line getting to full completion, so with no word from DiD about doing another Ryan figure, I didn't want to miss out getting one for my dad. My dad told me a few years ago, after my grandfather died, that his father would talk about the war pretty openly, except for D-Day. He never wanted to discuss it. As a medic, I can't imagine the horrors he saw on that beach.

My dad told me that the only time he ever saw his father squirm was when he took him to see Saving Private Ryan in the theater, during the opening sequence. Something was hitting home for him. Apparently, that night my grandfather actually opened up about D-Day...his landing craft got hit head on much like the one in the movie. The whole front half of the boat was killed instantly and he and some of his squad went over the side and swam to shore. He took cover with few guys behind one of the metal hedgehogs and tried to administer some medical attention to guys who had been hit when an officer from his boat got to that position and ordered them to move up. He got right behind the lieutenant to move and the lieutenant took a bullet straight to the face, killed instantly. He tried to move up to the seawall while helping who he could, but it sounded like a collection of horrors from start to finish.

In any case, my dad has always had a special connection to the film and it was the only time his father talked to anyone about his experience on D-Day, which was the only reason I cared to build this collection for him. Still on the fence about getting the Ryan for him, but I know I might miss out if I wait, so I'm leaning towards it.

Thanks for the feedback.

Looks like my Facepool "Ryan" figure will be shipping out next week.

Not one that is on my list to get, but pics and your observations once you receive it.

JacktheRipper said:

Not one that is on my list to get, but pics and your observations once you receive it.

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Will do.

Reveal date for DiDs Ryan 2.0 and Upham

Just need Wade. He's not in the silhouette.

JacktheRipper said:

Just need Wade. He's not in the silhouette.

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Exactly. Wade is the missing squad member.

I will say that I'm curious to see how DiD's Upham head sculpt will be. Facepool's was not perfect but definitely recognizable.

FlyAndFight said:

Exactly. Wade is the missing squad member.

I will say that I'm curious to see how DiD's Upham head sculpt will be. Facepool's was not perfect but definitely recognizable.

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Facepools headsculpt was really good but it was oversized and came by default on a body that doesn't match upham at all, DiD has more specialised bodies so this one will definetly be better in that regard but hopfuly they don't over shorten him like they did the German Freid figure, I think the Marseille body would fit, otherwise I know Otto carius body was also much shorter than the rest.

Chambea1114 said:

Facepools headsculpt was really good but it was oversized and came by default on a body that doesn't match upham at all, DiD has more specialised bodies so this one will definetly be better in that regard but hopfuly they don't over shorten him like they did the German Freid figure, I think the Marseille body would fit, otherwise I know Otto carius body was also much shorter than the rest.

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They should definitely either use a thin body or tailor the outfit to look over-sized, in order to capture his thin frame.

My Facepool Pvt. Ryan has shipped!

I've already got a second party Matt Damon head sculpt from Ebay ready, just in case I'm not thrilled with the stock one.

As always post pics if you can.

DiD have teased their version:

Good news!
I now need them to show their Wade. FP does okay, but they haven't shown it without the helmet. Their Upham looked fantastic with helmet and without, then they released it. Well, it wasn't fantastic. I know I should just really be happy the team is coming together when I never thought it would. With two companies making figures it makes me expect more.

The Facepool Ryan arrived today but I won't be able to check it out until after the weekend, as I'll be out of town for a couple of days.

Quickly checked out the figure and it is another winner from Facepool.

I really do love their packaging and presentation. They utilize the foam interior packaging which, in my opinion, just looks classier.

There are already great photos shared in this thread so I won't attempt to replicate those but I did take a few photos of the head sculpt with and without the helmet. I actually like the sculpt so I'm still unsure if I'll be replacing it with the "Jason Bourne" sculpt.

The Jason sculpt captures Matt Damon better but obviously looks a little bit older and has a more "cocky" expression. But in hand, it really does look more like Damon. I'll swap them out a bit before finally deciding. Oh, and it will require sanding off some of the hair for a better fit of the helmet.

Happy you like the FP figure and thank you for the pictures. I'm not seeing it in any of the pictures. I know who it's suppose to be, but it's not Damon. The Bourne sculpt looks like Damon, but it's not Ryan due to expression. I am happy these are being made. Even more excited that there are options.

JacktheRipper said:

Happy you like the FP figure and thank you for the pictures. I'm not seeing it in any of the pictures. I know who it's suppose to be, but it's not Damon. The Bourne sculpt looks like Damon, but it's not Ryan due to expression. I am happy these are being made. Even more excited that there are options.

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Yes, I agree. While recognizable as the character "Ryan", it's not a home-run sculpt of Damon, unfortunately. The Bourne sculpt looks better in-hand, though a bit older and lacking that somewhat look of innocence, if you will.

I forgot to mention that the base is quite heavy. When I went to open the box, I noticed how heavy the whole thing was and it was due to that stone base, which is a very nice addition.

Are you picking up the DID Ryan or just the head? I picked up the FP Upham with Mellish head, but not the uniform set. I'm waiting on TimeW to send out DID'S Mellish. I do hope DID does Upham. FP's just left me with a lacking feeling. He's a good stand-in figure if nothing else is made, however.