1/6 VTS Starship Force Team Leader (Starship Troopers)

[Asta]

Just got this in today from kg hobby. It was shipped out on November 9... Package arrived safe and sound but think I'll use one sixth kit or giant toy in them future. Their shipping is much faster.

I've come to the same conclusion about KGH as well.

Kit's use of 4PX has been clockwork reliable at around 7-9 days during the worst times. Giantoy is also proving fast with a delivery that arrived into the country in 6 days.

First impression of the figure are pretty good. Outfit and weapons are fantastic. Headsculpt is a generic blond guy. It's not close to Casper. I'll keep an eye out for a custom headsculpt in the future.

You will need to heat up the hands to switch them. The wrist pegs are thin and you don't get extras so be careful.

One complaint is the pouches for the grenades are too small. I managed to get one in just barely. And the extra mags that come with the rifle don't go anywhere. So back in the box.

Also the chin strap on the helmet connects with a magnet. The magnet isn't that strong so you will have to futz it.

I got the regular version and the base looks great but mine didn't sit flat. A bit of a wobble.

I'm considering buying a few more for kit bashing. I need the full squad

I'm not too bothered by the sculpt. One will go to my Mystery Inc. Fred Jones bash. Then I'll go through my spares and see what looks best under the helmet.

 

[Asta]

Finally.

 

[Asta]

First impressions:

It's a really nice looking figure with a lot of detail. Unusual for a VTS military figure for it to be so pre-assembled. They usually take a few hours to put together.

The sculpt may not be exactly Casper Van Dien, but it's nevertheless a very good, well painted head. A youthful face too, which is what I needed for Fred.

The body has tight joints, especially the elbows that feel like they have stiff ratchets. It's also a shorter figure, which matches Casper's height pretty much perfectly. It's hard to measure because it's hard to tell where his feet would be inside the boots due to the design of the soles.

Boots are also a split design for posability.

Getting the helmet strap to fasten properly is difficult. I don't think it will fit with the magnet exactly where it should as the strap is too short. The 'L' shaped attachment section slides down a touch too low, and sticks out a little too far compared to the already fastened side. But it's really minimal.

The likeness is a bit better with the helmet on though.

The rifle is a solid piece without any moving parts, and there's no friction at all to hold the magazine in place. A little bit of white tack inside the rifle ought to fix that.

The standard base is the usual VTS/DAM shape, but the sculpted rocky ground on top is a nice addition.

You will need to heat up the hands to switch them. The wrist pegs are thin and you don't get extras so be careful.

With both of mine there's a little plastic bag including a pair of spare pegs and an extra black pouch - which I don't know where you're supposed to put on the figure.

I got the regular version and the base looks great but mine didn't sit flat. A bit of a wobble.

Both my bases rock as well. The outer edges are drawn up, so it rocks on a central point. On a flat surface you can spin the stand freely like a spinning top. It's probably something to do with the way they attached the rock surface.

There's no way to cure it as you can attempt to do with a Hot Toys stand, because there's no screws to adjust.

 

[Asta]

Okay I see where the extra 'GP pouch' is meant to go:

It goes on the hip where there's just enough space before the vest buckle.

One complaint is the pouches for the grenades are too small. I managed to get one in just barely. And the extra mags that come with the rifle don't go anywhere. So back in the box.

The spare magazines fit inside the two pouches already on the figure.

It's a tight fit, but they go in and the flap closes over them. The photo above shows how they should be inserted: with the rounds facing down and the exposed silver magazine section facing towards the right as look at the figure. The section showing in the photo is the grey casing at the bottom of the magazine.

The grenades are tight too, but I managed to put both in with a combination of a twisting motion, and using my finger nails to draw the pouch over them. They went right down to the bottom of the pouches so that the top black band was level with the top.

 

[Asta]

A few photos before I change the head on this one. With the second one I'll keep the VTS sculpt on, but remove the jacket to have the second outfit option.

You can see that the helmet strap went out of alignment, and the flash killed the sculpt paintwork and some of the weathering.

 

[FlyAndFight]

...Both my bases rock as well. The outer edges are drawn up, so it rocks on a central point. On a flat surface you can spin the stand freely like a spinning top. It's probably something to do with the way they attached the rock surface.

There's no way to cure it as you can attempt to do with a Hot Toys stand, because there's no screws to adjust.

I would recommend those little circular felt pads, one on each corner. Hopefully it will lift the base enough to keep the center section from touching and would make the base stable.

By the way, I've been going back and forth about picking up this figure. Your review and pics are pushing me over the edge!

 

[Asta]

I would recommend those little circular felt pads, one on each corner. Hopefully it will lift the base enough to keep the center section from touching and would make the base stable.

Perfect!

I have some of those.

The gaps are tiny when you look at them. Maybe a millimetre and one end and two at the other. I used the smallest felt pads I had and put one in each corner.

The stand is as steady as the rocks sculpted on it now!

By the way, I've been going back and forth about picking up this figure. Your review and pics are pushing me over the edge!

He looks really good, but my photos are really bad!

I didn't find posing him with the rifle very easy due to the angles of the grip, and as it's a bullpup design with the magazine behind the grip. However, even with the rifle held down by his side you can get a lot of attitude out of the figure.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Perfect!

I have some of those.

The gaps are tiny when you look at them. Maybe a millimetre and one end and two at the other. I used the smallest felt pads I had and put one in each corner.

The stand is as steady as the rocks sculpted on it now!




He looks really good, but my photos are really bad!

I didn't find posing him with the rifle very easy due to the angles of the grip, and as it's a bullpup design with the magazine behind the grip. However, even with the rifle held down by his side you can get a lot of attitude out of the figure.

Fantastic!!

Ok, I'm sold. Now to look for the best deal out there...

 

[Asta]

Fantastic!!

Ok, I'm sold. Now to look for the best deal out there...

As Shawn warned, be careful with the wrist pegs.

I had one snap just from turning the hand.

That's never happened before.



It's also taking longer to set the figures up because I was expecting the sculpt to have a neck, as VTS/DAM normally do. So the sculpts that I originally planned to try were useless for this body.

I found a Kaustic Plastik sculpt that looks a bit like Carl Weathers, and looks appropriate. It just fitted inside helmet after pulling the foam padding out of it, which allows the chin strap to get close to closing properly. The VTS 'Casper' sculpt seems quite narrow, and his ears are no wider than the short hair so they don't push the helmet outwards.

 

[nexus]

If I could find a good head sculpt, I wouldn't mind picking up a spare to convert into Watkins (with some neon green slime), but too many other POs to worry about customs. I'm still hoping they announce Dizzy and maybe Carmen.

 

[Asta]

Finished the second one:

 

[Shawn]

Finished the second one:

This looks great. I'm learning towards picking up a couple more. These are great for costumizing. I'm looking towards making the orange and green slime versions

 

[Asta]

This looks great. I'm learning towards picking up a couple more. These are great for costumizing. I'm looking towards making the orange and green slime versions

They do look really good together.

I actually prefer the one with the jacket on, and part of me wants to make them match. Then part of me says leave them looking different. lol

Another part of me wants to put them with QMx's Mal Reynolds...

I'm not painting them purple though, because it's great to have actual 1/6 representations from Starship Troopers.


They got good use out of these costumes as they apparently showed up in Power Rangers too.

 

[Asta]

A temporary reassignment for Mal...

 

[Asta]

Very temporary, as I put Mal back where he came from.

I like the idea of these specifically representing Starship Troopers, but I can also see them as being generic enough to be soldiers from other universes, such as Star Trek, or Star Wars as in the security forces Han and Chewie had to deal with on various planets in the EU novels.

The hair on the Casper sculpt is darker than I was hoping, so apart from being youthful it really doesn't work for Fred Jones in my cartoon/Scooby Apocalypse crossover Mystery Inc. team.

I was going to break the kit bash down this morning, then decided to leave it be for a bit.

The sculpt would work for a WWII soldier, so that's probably how it'll end up being used.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Well, you pushed me over the edge and I ordered one. I can see the temptation in ordering a second one, just to have the jacket off and showing off the tat, as they did appear that way, as well. But I'm sticking to just one, at the moment, even if I end up regretting it. I just have WAY too many figures pre-ordered and in route.

 

[dukefett]

I was able to get the grenades in the pouches but not the ammo packs. I'll have to try again. Also my figure did come with extra hand pegs and the extra pouch as Asta mentioned.

 

[nexus]

I think this Worldbox head/body might work for Watkins. The likeness isn't great, but would probably look fine with the helmet and a little touch up. I've never bought a Worldbox, so have no idea of quality. I was only able to find low rez pics of the front facing head, so could only do so much with the photoshopping. Not sure if I'll try this, but keeping it on back burner consideration. Also saw a couple of heads that might work for Diz, but the uniform would be way too big and probably the helmet as well. Hopefully VT will expand the line.

 

[FlyAndFight]

My deluxe has shipped!

 

[Asta]

I really like the standard bases.

They look better, and they're more versatile, than the circular deluxe version with the nameplate.

I'm thinking of swapping them out with some regular black oval bases, and using them for my Afrika Korps troops.