US Infantry - Part I

If you read the post about the 100 unique poses, you know that when it comes to painting figures I like to have as many unique poses as possible. At the time that I painted these guys, I almost had 100 unique GIs, but not quite. In the end, I did not stick 100% to the unique poses criteria and I ended up dropping 6 guys in favor of some duplicates that I liked better. So this post only shows 94 unique poses which are painted, plus the 6 unpainted guys that almost made the cut. Since the time I finished this paint job, I have found 50 additonal GI poses (not counting the upcoming second release of CTS) which would allow me to paint another 4 squads. They include Atlantic, CTS, Dunlop, and some vintage TimMee guys (which I must admit are 60mm) but these will be the subject of future posts. For now please join me in the review of the GIs.

Airfix US Infantry

Nice solid sculpting. A classic set.

BMC US Infantry - Part 1

Not my favorite figures, but when you need unique poses you can't be very selective. Their most annoying feature are the helmets which sit very high on their heads.

BMC US Infantry - Part 2

The prone guy with the flame thrower is a good addition. The mortar guy without a mortar seems kind of lost. Here you can see the BMC GIs who did not make the 'paint cut'.

Conte Collectibles US Infantry - Part 1

Very nice, dynamic poses. Great facial expressions.

Conte Collectibles US Infantry - Part 2

The guy holding his helmet adds a lot of intensity to any scene where he is featured. The bazooka team is also a nice combo.

Conte Collectibles US Infantry - Part 3

A collection of prone guys with my favorite Sgt.

Conte Collectibles US Infantry - Part 4

More solid guys.

Conte Collectibles US Infantry - Part 5

The last five. You've got to love a manufacturer that comes out with 25 poses in one release!

What was not so cool was that you had to buy 9 or 10 sets to get all the different poses, but it's not hard to understand when you consider that they had plenty of sculpting and mold costs to recover.  

Marx US Infantry - Part 1

Marching guys are not usually 'called up' into my formations, but again, I couldn't be highly selective.

Marx US Infantry - Part 2

The best one in this lot is probably the mine-sweeper.

Marx US Infantry - Part 3

Nice radio guy. Another guy with a missing mortar.

Here you can see other Marx figures that did not get painted.

Matchbox US Infantry - Part 1

The bazooka guy is actually a clone, but I've never seen the original figure that it's been copied from.

Matchbox US Infantry - Part 2

Another good, solid set.

MPC US Infantry

As far as MPC figures go, I think this is one of their better sets.

Click here to see other MPC guys who did not get painted.

Reproductions of Marx 6" Figures

The manufacturer of these guys is unclear to me. I bought them advertised as SWTS figures (Steve Weston Toy Soldiers), but I have not been able to comfirm that claim. He does not mention them on his web site.

Here you can see the sixth pose which did not get painted.

Toy Soldiers of San Diego US Infantry

Another nice set of GIs. The scuplting is as good as Conte's. Note how they also came up with their own version of the gutsy Sgt. The medic defending himself is a nice touch, although probably more appropriate for the Pacific Theater of Operations where no quarter was given, even to medics.

Toy Soldiers of San Diego Winter Troops

It was a tricky decision to include the winter guys, but since the Matchbox officer already comes with a long coat, I decided to accept them into the unit.

Toy Soldiers of San Diego Heavy Weapons

The heavy weapons squad. Nice two piece MG and finally, a mortar guy that actually has a mortar.

Here are the 6 that did not make the cut already primed. From L to R:

A reproduction of the Marx 6" figures, 3 BMC men, prone MPC MG guy, and some clone of a matchbox-looking figure.

Click here to see the Company of GIs in action.

Here are some shots of more GIs.