Marx - Toy Soldiers

Reposting after adding the US Navy Sailors

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Louis Marx and Company was an American manufacturer of a great range of toys. Founded in 1919, by the 50s it was the biggest toy firm in the world. Its success rested on quality and affordability. While many of its toys were not military at all, it still produced a nice range of WWII toy soldiers, many of them sold as part of larger 'playsets'. Louis Marx and Company was in business up to 1972 when it was sold, after having been in decline for a while. Some say that its decline was brought upon by the advent of the electric toy. Its molds have changed hands several times since the original sale and even today you can find new production figures made from some of the original molds. Today Marx toys in general and toy soldiers in particular are valued across the collector community, helped in no doubt, by the nostalgia that baby boomers feel for them.

Marx British Infantry

A classic set. A bit slim for my taste, but nonetheless a good set of figures. Curiously enough, even though I usually favor action poses, I find the radio man in this set my favorite pose.

Marx German Infantry - Part I

Marx gave us about twice as many poses for the German Infantry. Again, you can notice a style in which the figures are a bit slim and upright. These guys were sold as part of the Battleground set. 

Marx German Infantry - Part II

You can tell that ease of manufacturing drove some of the sculpting. Like the man carrying the panzerschreck. It seems to me that it would be easier to carry it on your back.

Marx German Infantry - Part III

I have not painted this guy yet because I actually plan on painting him and about 49 other marching guys that I have been collecting to make a nice parade scene at some point.

Marx German Infantry - Part IV

I don't generally have much use for dead guys in wargames, but they might come in handy for some of the battle scene photo shots.

Marx German Motorcycle with Sidecar

This is Marx's representation of a Zundapp I suppose. For the 60's this was probably a highlight of the Battleground set, and I am sure that once it is painted it looks fairly decent. The only thing that I find amusing is that the feet of the man riding on the sidecar actually reach the ground. It reminds me of the Flintstones!

Glencoe / Marx Japanese Infantry - Part I

Now, here are some of the most dynamic poses in the WWII plastic figure world. A bit on the slim side, but fully action-packed. Definitely Banzai material! Glencoe has reissued some of the Marx sets, including the Japanese.

Glencoe / Marx Japanese Infantry - Part II

Other than the prisoner guy, who would be a very rare case since Japanese were not known to give up easily, these are also a very dynamic bunch.

Glencoe / Marx US Marines - Part I

The Marx Marines were for many years the only figures of their kind that you could find. They seem to be meant for a beach landing scene. There are a couple poses in the set that seem a bit awkward, but they are actually a very nice set if you compare them to other figures released at the time. You can definitely tell that they were sculpted by a different hand as they are not as slim and tall as some of the figures in the other sets.

Glencoe / Marx US Marines - Part II

In terms of the poses the two guys on the right are slightly odd. Maybe it's the way they are leaning, or maybe how the flamethrower guy is bending his knees. On the other hand, the two guys on the left seem just right.

Glencoe / Marx US Marines - Part III

Back to the point about a beach landing, the running poses and the Mae West would be well suited for it. Even the prone guy trying to determine the best route to get off the beach. Although I really wonder how many Marines actually wore life jackets during landing operations. Maybe this is a rear echelon officer coming ashore once the beach has been secured?

Marx US Infantry - Part I

Another set with a good number of figures. I like the MG and the bazooka man. The man on the right seems a bit off balance. Not my favorite. 

Marx US Infantry - Part II

The best one in this lot is probably the mine-sweeper. The man engaged in close quarter combat is also a good pose. The grenade man seems to be lacking energy. Not sure how far that grenade will go.

Marx US Infantry - Part III

Nice radio guy. The mortar man is missing his mortar. Overall a good way to round up the set and a nice variety of poses.

Marx US Infantry - Part IV

A nice set of casualty figures. The guy carrying the wounded buddy resembles the figure in the Atlantic British Infantry set. I wonder who produced it first. Definitely a nice pose. The guy on the right is one of the most realistic wounded guys out there. He reminds me a of that famous picture by Robert Capa of the guy being hit during the Spanish Civil War. Lastly, the wounded guy who is crawling impacts me due to its realism. You can almost feel this guy's pain.

Marx US Infantry - Part V

I find the guy in the middle a bit odd. He is leaning forward too much, with his feet too close to each other. A bit unrealistic in my opinion. The other two guys are from the Battleground set that I found at a large bin in a local Toy Soldier Show. The two battleground guys will definitely get the paint treatment at some point.

Marx US Infantry - Part VI

Another 3 good poses. The stretcher bearer is missing the stretcher, but that should be easy to manufacture. Of course he will need another guy to help him but I have a few of these already. The wounded guy will go on the stretcher. The crawling guy is a nice variation to the prone poses who are entirely on the ground.

Marx US Infantry - Part VII

Here is another less common Marx pose. I actually found the raft a few years back without knowing what set it belonged to, and it was only recently that I found the rower. I have to say though that the raft feels quite a bit under-scale. The man is actually pretty nicely done. 

Marx US Infantry - Part VIII

Here is the larger version of the Marx raft. It comes with two rowers. Feels better proportioned relative to the size of the crew, although the raft still feels a bit brittle to have to go into combat on it. 

Marx US Infantry - Part IX

These are some marching GIs. The flag bearer was apparently sculpted by a different hand as the marching guys, but they are still close enough in scale and detail that they can be combined into a scene together. Now I just need to find an actual flag for the guy in the middle. 

Marx Gallant Men US Infantry

The Gallant Men, were 5 figures modeled after the characters in a TV series. They were released in 1963 as part of a 'Gallant Men' playset. They are a bit hard to get and there seems to be a strong emotional attachment to them which makes them a bit pricey. From left to right they are Lt. Kimbro, Pvt. D'Angelo, Sgt. McKenna, Conley Wright (the war correspondent) and Capt. Benedict. All very well sculpted, probably better than the rest of the Marx GI figures, although unfortunately, they are not in the most active poses. The Gallant Men were notable for being able to take on large number of enemy forces and defeat them with minimum casualties, the Gallant Men obviously not among them.

Marx US Paratroops

These are some old production US paras. They might be among the first ever made to represent this service branch. Unfortunately I do not have the canopies that came with them originally. They were hollow semi-spheres made out of hard plastic. I'd say the fully extended parachute would be more appropriate for the man on the right who is still floating down, than for the one on the left who already landed and you'd expect his parachute to be mostly crumpled up. Anyhow, It's probably not too hard to make some cloth parachutes for them and they would probably look more realistic. A couple of good guys to add to the unit in case you want to represent a drop/landing scene.

Marx Sitting GIs

This is basically a single pose of a sitting GI that you can use to fill up a truck or half-track. The figure is actually quite plain and I think slightly on the larger side of 1/32. Also, since it is a single pose, once you put more than a couple on the same vehicle, it does look repetitive. And they come with a backpack which makes them sit off the back seat more than you'd like them to. On the other hand, there are not that many figures that you can use as passengers, so I am glad I got some of them, and I guess they are going to have to be good enough for now. 

Marx Soviet Infantry

The bottom of the base of these figures actually says 1965. These figures were cast more recently, but the mold was made that year. Probably among the earliest WWII Soviet figures to be made. Several of these were also made in 12" size.

Marx French Infantry

These are also reissued figures based on the original Marx molds. They are wearing original French Infantry outfits. Sometimes when you see them listed online, they are referred to as Free French Infantry, but then they would be wearing British or American outfits, which is not the case with these figures. Faithful to the Marx sculpting style, these figures are slim yet well proportioned and with a nice level of detail.

Marx US Navy Sailors - Part I

I'll start by remarking that I am not a great fan of this set. I don't collect ships, and certainly not in this scale. So I don't have much use for sailors. On top of that, many of these poses are not really that usable for the type of scenes I like to setup which are mostly action/battle scenes. So why did I get them? Well, apparently these guys are considered by many in the hobby among the 'holy grail' sets. Very hard to find and very coveted. So for the sake of filling an important gap in my collection, I recently let myself get drawn into a crazy bidding war on ebay for them. The sad part is that even then, I only got 6 out of the 7 poses in the set. On the positive side, the sculpting and detailing of these figures is actually quite nice, with the distinctive tall/slim style of many Marx figures.

Marx US Navy Sailors - Part II

And here is the last pose, courtesy of my friend Christian, the Plastic General. This guy seems more useful for an action scene. Even though he is not hyper active, you can always use an officer guiding the troops through the heat of battle. Now, why would he need to draw his side arm is he is most likely on the deck of his ship? Is he maybe dealing with some insubordination? Or is he taking symbolic pot shots at a Japanese Zero? I've recently come to know that these figures were part of a training Center Playset, so maybe he is 'motivating' the recruits?

Marx 40mm US Infantry - Part I

I recently bought these figures without really knowing the manufacturer and scale, but I knew they were old and worth collecting. They turned out to be smaller than I expected and it took me a while to figure out who made them, but I finally figure out that they are an early Marx set.

Marx 40mm US Infantry - Part II

The figures are made out of hard rubber, heavier and harder than plastic. We can tell from the weapons that they were made after the war. While the poses are not the most exciting or well sculpted, I like having such an old item in the collection.

Marx 60mm US Infantry - Part I

I bought these guys as Lido, but even if they are Lido, they seem to be recasts/clones of the Marx GIs. Note how they do not have any bases, and yet they are quite stable.

Marx 60mm US Infantry - Part II

These guys have a smooth helmet, without netting, and are slightly taller.

Marx 60mm US Infantry - Part III

Here are three original Marx 60mm US Infantry figures. Note that the kneeling rifleman, is also present in the 40mm set. The bazooka guy is a very sturdy one, and one that I remember fondly from my younger days.

Marx 60mm US Infantry - Part IV

I am not 100% sure, but I think this is an early 60mm Marx guy. He resembles the 40mm version of it quite a bit. He is a bit bulky, but other than that he looks fairly decent. We'll have to find him a gun to pair him up with.

Marx 50mm GI?

I don't really know the origin of this guy, but my best guess is that he is a 50 mm Marx, If anybody knows, please let me know.      

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French Vehicles

Click on the links below to see posts on the vehicles used by the French Armed Forces.

• Renault FT-17 Tank

 

Introducing the Renault FT-17 Tank

Known variably as Renault FT, FT17, FT-17, this is considered by many as the first modern tank because of its configuration: driver in the front, engine in the back, and the main weapon in the middle, hosted in a rotating turret. This became and remains the standard tank layout to this day. The Renault FT was designed in 1916 and initially produced in 1917, in the midst of WWI. The Renault FT was a departure of the initial armored behemoths of that conflict (like the Char 2C), changing the paradigm of armored warfare from one in which the tank acted as a supporting heavy weapon to one in which faster, smaller tanks were deployed in larger numbers to conduct a joint offensive. Not yet a-la Blitzkrieg, but an initial step in that direction. What's noteworthy is that even with its limited capabilities, this lighter, faster tank helped break the static warfare nature of WWI. The Renault FT's main gun was initially a heavy machine gun, but soon that upgraded to a 37 mm gun. It had a modest 39 hp engine, and a 95 lt (~24 gallon) fuel tank that gave it a 37 mile range at an average speed of 4.6 mph. This means that an average foot soldier could still out run it. It's armor ranged from 8mm to 22mm at the front, leading to a total weight of 6.5 tons. It was operated by a crew of 2. The driver and the commander, who also acted as the gunner. About 3000 made, mostly during last year of WWI, with the first FTs going into combat on May 1918. Many other countries adopted it during the interwar years, and several variations were made. However, by start of WWII newer tank models with greater speed, armor, and firepower had rendered the Renault FT-17 obsolete. Nonetheless, at the start of WWII this tank was found in the ranks of Poland, Finland, France, Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia. France had about 500 of them in mainland Europe, mostly for training purposes. After the early loss of most of their modern tanks, the Renaults had to be pressed into frontline service. Once Germany defeated France, they used the captured FT17s for security duties in the occupied territories. American forces encountered them in the battlefields of North Africa, in the hands of the Vichy French. The Japanese also faced them when they invaded the French colonies in Southeast Asia. In terms of models, our main vehicle producers (FOV, 21C) have not touched the subject, probably because of the limited role this tank played in WWII, but I recently found a 3D printed version of one. Let's take a look. 

Model3design Renault FT-17 light tank

This is my first encounter with a 3D printed model. I found it on eBay and it is actually fairly decent. The surface is not as as smooth as plastic or metal, given the fact that it was printed in layers. Even without touching it, if you look closely you can notice the layering. And then there's also a good amount of 'flashing' particularly around the track area. What's nice about this model is that the turret actually spins around. Well, it's actually entirely detachable. And that's basically the only moving part. Given that I did not have a single French tank in my collection before, I was happy to get 3 of these. I am sure that once they are painted, after some gentle sanding, they will be just fine.

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Vietnam Toy Soldiers by Participant

• US Forces

• South Vietnamese

• Viet Cong

• North Vietnamese

Click here to take a look at WWII Toy Soldiers by Country

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Introducing the US Ground Forces in Vietnam

The US armed forces in Vietnam included a wide range of units, including Army, Army Air Cavalry, Armor, Engineers, Marines, Airborne, Special Forces, Air Force, Navy Aviators, etc. While the US had been playing some type of role in the region since WWII, and throughout the Indochina war, the official start of the involvement for US forces in Vietnam is considered November of 1955, when the first set of sanctioned 'military advisors' was deployed on the ground to help train and administer financial aid. 

The first two US casualties, who are also the first to appear on the Vietnam Memorial Wall, did not happen until 1959, when the VC attacked a US training camp. The first set of 400 Green Berets were sent in '61, anticipating that the fighting in Vietnam would require this type of small unit jungle warfare, and may not require large scale troop deployments. 

By '63, the number of advisors had grown from a couple hundred to 16,000. Things escalated quickly after an incident in the summer of '64, during which a US Destroyer was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats off the gulf of Tonkin as a result of which Congress authorized the US President to use military force as needed. Tactical retaliatory air strikes took place, and soon after they turned into a full blown bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Thus began Operation Rolling Thunder in March of '65 lasting through November of '68. Other air campaigns were organized to disrupt the logistical support flowing through the Ho Chi Minh trail destined for the VC and NVA troops fighting in South Vietnam.   

The first contingent of 3500 Marines arrived in March of '65, and by that summer, fought their first major engagement against Viet Cong forces at the Battle of Van Tuong, decidedly defeating them. Later that year, about 3 battalions from of Air Cavalry Divisions faced the North Vietnamese Army for the first time in the Drang Valley in November '65, made famous in the book/movie 'We were soldiers once... and young". This battle was hard to call in favor of either side, but both sides claimed victory and reported very different casualty numbers. 

From there, the US commitment of ground forces accelerated, relying on the draft to make the numbers. US troop presence peaked at abut 550k in the '68-'69 period. Additional troops from allied Asia-Pacific nations, funded by the US, were deployed. These came mainly from South Korea, with additional contributions from Australia, Thailand, Philippines, and New Zealand. These came mainly from South Korea, with additional contributions from Australia, Thailand, Philippines, and New Zealand. The number of US soldiers who fought in Vietnam is actually much higher (about 2.7 million - close to 1% of the US population at the time) given the fact that most of them served a one year tour of duty. 

The US fighting tactics during the war relied heavily on the use of the helicopter and focused on 'search and destroy', which involved flying into areas where the enemy was suspected to be, finding them, destroying them, and then withdrawing. For many US troops, abandoning ground for which they had just fought and died was an odd concept. It also neglected the importance of winning the hearts and minds of the local villagers, which were heavily courted and pressured by the VC to join them. The task of dealing with the local population was left primarily to the South Vietnamese troops, which were apparently not very good at it. 

US Air power was also used to deliver large loads of bombs, as well as herbicides and defoliants from 62 to 71. This was meant to deny the enemy the jungle cover that they relied on. The NVA and Viet Cong adapted by avoiding large scale engagements, and also going underground, relying on a large network of tunnels, that were also ideal for ambushing US troops searching for them. Most of the Vietnam engagements were small unit actions, fought in guerilla style ambushes, with many booby traps and trickery involved. 

During '67 a series of engagements at the border region with Laos and the failed attempt by the NVA to lay siege to the Khe Sanh base overlooking the Ho Chi Minh trail made some US generals confident that the end of the war was in sight, or at least that's how it was communicated to the US public. The surprise Tet Offensive in January of '68 during a truce to observe the religious holiday shocked every one. The joint NVA and VC forces attacked every major city and town in the south. While initially successful, most objectives were back in US/South Vietnamese hands shortly - except for a few border regions and Hue, where control was not regained for over a month. And while VC losses were extremely high - about half their strength-, the psychological effect turned this into a positive outcome for the North. Even Saigon which had been deemed safe to that point was attacked and it took three days to reclaim it. It did not matter that the offensive had been repulsed and that the combined US/South Vietnamese losses were only a fraction of the enemy's. The Tet Offensive marked a turning point for the US. The public felt misled that the war was under control and support at home began to turn sharply.  Soon after, the bombing campaigns were scaled back to just the DMZ zone, and the Paris peace talk began that spring. Events like the My Lai massacre in which approximately 400 civilians were killed by US forces during a search and destroy operation conducted in '68, further damaged the public's and the media's perception towards US involvement in Vietnam. 

From that point forward, the US policy turned towards tuning over responsibility for operations to the South Vietnamese army, and the withdrawal of US forces. Between 80k to 180k US soldiers were withdrawn each year between '69 and '73. The Paris agreement of January and '73 made this official, and the US troops completed their withdrawal later that year, leaving behind plentiful amounts of planes, vehicles, weapons, ammunition, and other supplies. This was meant to prop up the South to be able to defend themselves on their own if needed. Hostilities between the North and the South almost immediately, but neither the US nor the international community had the appetite to engage militarily to enforce the agreement. Another Spring Offensive in March of '75 allowed the North to conclusively defeat the South. Saigon fell on April 30, 1975 putting an end to the Vietnam war. Total US casualties during the war were 58,220 KIA, 153,303 wounded, and approximately another 2,500 POW/MIA, which were unaccounted for at the end of the war. The number of South Vietnamese KIA is estimated at about a quarter of a million. 

In terms of toy soldiers, this is a period that had not received much attention until recently. Perhaps because of how recent the war was as well as the controversy on the home front surrounding it. For decades, the only set depicting Vietnam troops had been the TimMee GIs. Fortunately for the Toy Soldier Collectors, the late 2010's have brought a nice number of sets onto the market by firms such as TSSD, Mars, and Plastic Platoon. Let's take a look.  

TimMee Vietnam US Infantry - Part I

These guys were my first set of Vietnam GIs. Very popular during the 80s, I grew up with them and over the years I accumulated hundreds of them. These guys have been so popular that they continue to be cloned and sold as cheap generic tan and green army men to this day. Unfortunately, so much cloning has led today's figures to barely have any detail left in them. Anyhow, the set contains 13 poses. You can see that they are definitely Vietnam figures as many of them are equipped with M16s. Besides the M16s, there are also a good variety of other weapons represented and a good number of fighting poses. That's what's possible when releasing this many figures in one set. I find that most of them evolved from the earlier TimMee WWII poses, but with much better sculpting. The level of detail and the fluidity of the figures' movements are far superior than that of their predecessors. Maybe the only thing they missed is that they all look like they are wearing pristine uniforms, whereas the reality of the jungle war in Vietnam, made that impractical. 

TimMee Vietnam US Infantry - Part II

This is the other half of the set. If you are paying attention, there are a total of 14 figures in both pictures. By now you have probably realized that one of the guys is featured twice, but with a slight variation. If you like to solve those magazine puzzles in which you get to find the differences, go ahead and take a moment to do so, before I spoil it for you... The guy in the lower picture is throwing a grenade, whereas the one in the first picture has his hand open. My understanding is that the one with the grenade was the original pose, which was later modified to have his hand open. I guess it gives him more of a commanding attitude, so much, that for years I thought he was the officer leading the men. I did not learn about the earlier pose until much later. BTW, the marching guy, third from the right, is a bit hard to find so if you have any of those, hold on to them. Out of a new bag that I recently got with about 40 guys, it only contained one of them. Then again, he would not be of much use in a battle scene, so we do not need many of these. 

Toy Soldiers of San Diego Vietnam Marines

The TSSD Marines were the first to be released representing this era in over three decades, and the wait was not in vain. This set is a really nice one, far superior to what they did with their NVA counterparts. The set is rich in detail. Some of the faces are so realistic that you can picture the ethnicity of some of these guys. The outfits are also far more realistic. Torn pants, rolled up sleeves, vests, cigarette packs tucked in the helmets. With 8 poses in the set, the range of weapons is a bit more limited than TimMee's, but they still managed to include a grenade launcher, which was not represented before. Some of the sculpting feels a bit bulky, like the M16s, and the boots they are wearing, but other than that, this is really a great set.

Plastic Platoon 1st Cavalry Infantry Division Vietnam

This was Plastic Platoon's debut set. What a way to make an entrance into the toy soldier scene. Only six poses, but very well taken advantage of. Each man carrying a different weapon, and all in useful battle scenes. While some might argue that the man holding his head is not a fighting pose, he could still be used in a battle scene to make it even more authentic, unlike guys who might be standing guard or just having a cigarette. These guys also show very authentic attire, and the sculpting of the body muscles on the machine gunner is also unprecedented. Probably one of my all-time favorite toy soldier figures. I also like the officer who is multi-tasking. Reminds me of Mel Gibson's character in 'We were soldiers...' when their command post gets overrun. Overall, a great set.

Plastic Platoon 25th US Infantry Division Vietnam

So the one thing I don't like as much about Plastic Platoon's sets is that they only contain 6 figures, but in this case, we got treated to 5 sets in total, which means that in the end, we have a really good number of great poses -if you are willing to buy them all. This second set was a bit less dramatic than the previous one, but equally rich in details. Extra ammo on the helmets, visible dog tags, bracelets, etc. And all poses useful in a battle situation. What's also notable is that at this stage of Plastic Platoon's sets, the bases were still relatively simple. Later -starting with set 2 of the Hue Marines-, they've become busier with additional detail and debris. I don't mind that, but some collectors do. The only thing I am not a big fan of in this set is the sculpting of the hands. I think they tried too hard to make them realistic, to the point that they look skeletal.  

Plastic Platoon US Marines - Hue Set 1

The Battle of Hue was a subplot of the major Tet offensive at the start of '68, most notable because it lasted over a month during which the city switched control twice, and it involved tough house to house urban combat. Plastic Platoon has decided to dedicate this set to the Marines who fought that battle. Overall it is a nice set, with Plastic Platoon's characteristic level of detail and realism. Particularly dramatic are the wounded man and the man tending to him while he defends them with his pistol. One thing I did not like as much about this set is that the material was a bit hard and still, the tips of the weapons get easily bent. This has been an on and off issue for Plastic Platoon since this set, as they experiment with different materials. Another thing to point out is that as much as I like Plastic Platoon's sculpting, there is something that feels off balance when it comes to the posing of the grenade thrower. Or is it just me?

Plastic Platoon US Marines - Hue Set 2

This set is interesting mainly due to the fact that most of these guys are wearing gas masks. I don't believe that gas was used as a weapon in Vietnam, so I really don't know how prevalent the use of gas masks was. Maybe they were useful when using smoke grenades? In any case, Plastic Platoon thought that they were worth representing generously with a set of their own. This set also gives us a bazooka man, and a flame thrower, which is also very rich in detail, particularly when you look at the tanks he is carrying on his back. The poses are mostly in a state of anticipation or engaging the enemy from a safe distance, except for the guy on the left who seems to be running for his life and firing back at whatever is trying to get him. 

Plastic Platoon US Marines with Recoilless Rifle 

This is a set built around the 106mm recoilless rifle. Three figures represent the crew, and the other two are simply supporting cast. I do like the man firing his rifle. The feather on his helmet is a pretty nice touch. Now about that camera man... For sure he is a fine sculpture, and I could see how he might have been present a bit behind the front lines, where this weapon might have been operating, but I still feel like I would have been happier with another fighting pose. I know that on the fifth set, one can probably afford to make such a pose, so maybe I am being overly critical. BTW, I should also point out that all the walls and temple sculptures were released as part of this Vietnam series by Plastic Platoon. They were sold separately from the figures, and definitely add an atmosphere of authenticity to their setting. 

Mars Vietnam Marines - set 32005

This was the first  of three Vietnam sets released by Mars in quick succession around 2017. Definitely a welcome addition to the period, given that prior to these new sets, there had been so little in terms of Us Vietnam forces. But for sure a different level of detail and quality compared to PP and TSSD. But hey, 8 more poses were certainly welcome, and all of them usable in a combat setting. Also positive is the good mix of weapons, and also the more realistic outfits compared to the TimMee predecessors. 

Mars US Infantry Vietnam - set 32006

This set is just OK in my opinion. While most of the poses can be used in a combat situation, some of them feel a bit stiff in their stance. Not the way that a real person would be standing in the middle of a firefight. They remind me more of someone telling an enemy to stay still and put their hands up. And that guy who is standing around taking a smoke, I don't have much use for him in the type of scenes I like to setup. Aside from that, the sculpting is a bit coarse and chunky in some areas - like the weapons. Even so, a welcome set, and if you are just starting to collect, I fair deal for the number of figures and price point, compared to Plastic Platoon. You can definitely assemble a platoon size force of Mars figures for the same cost as 6 Plastic Platoon guys. 

Mars Green Berets Vietnam - set 32008

This is the most rugged, bad ass looking set of out of the 3 Mars Vietnam sets and also my favorite. These guys do look like a dangerous bunch of jungle fighters. The outfits and attitudes very fitting as well. A few of these guys could have come straight out of Rambo. Unfortunately, this set also suffers from suboptimal sculpting when it comes to the little details and some of the proportions. For instance, the head on the guy on the far left feels too small for his body, or perhaps it's just because of the bandana he is wearing? In any case, the weapon he is holding is really thick. But despite those minor details, this is a pretty cool set, with a good number of fighting poses to take advantage of.