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Review RP Models presents Sgt John Basilone USMC

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, Aug 17, 2014.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi to everyone on PF ,

    As promised this will be a look at the recently announced release from RP models , as in this thread from PF member Blue Thunder:

    http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...silone-at-guadacanal-1942.65814/watch-confirm

    See this thread for more information rather than me repeating it .

    This is the release in question:

    US Medal Of Hon 001.jpg

    There are lots of interesting info on this all american hero , John was born on November 4 1916 in Buffalo joining the USMC and winning America's highest award : The Medal of Honor of which there have been nearly 3500 recipients ..incredible bravery on all accounts .

    He was brought back to the States to recruit but requested he returned to active duty and was subsequently killed in action. 1.jpg

    Here's Sgt Basilone's citation:

    For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy Japanese forces, above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in the Lunga Area. Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 24 and 25 October 1942. While the enemy was hammering at the Marines' defensive positions, Sgt. Basilone, in charge of 2 sections of heavy machineguns, fought valiantly to check the savage and determined assault. In a fierce frontal attack with the Japanese blasting his guns with grenades and mortar fire, one of Sgt. Basilone's sections, with its guncrews, was put out of action, leaving only 2 men able to carry on. Moving an extra gun into position, he placed it in action, then, under continual fire, repaired another and personally manned it, gallantly holding his line until replacements arrived. A little later, with ammunition critically low and the supply lines cut off, Sgt. Basilone, at great risk of his life and in the face of continued enemy attack, battled his way through hostile lines with urgently needed shells for his gunners, thereby contributing in large measure to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment. His great personal valor and courageous initiative were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service


    7.jpg 3.jpg 5.jpg 2.jpg 4.jpg

    Continued in next post:

    Nap
    Eludia likes this.
  2. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    On now to the box itself:

    What are we looking at:

    Title: John Basilone Medal of Honour - Guadalcanal 1942

    Reference : A.MOH TFBR 100-00002

    Scale: 100mm

    Material: Resin coloured Black and clear material parts

    No of parts: 19

    RP models concept personnel : Hugo Miguel Pereira & Joao Carvallio Rebelo

    No of castings: 500

    The model was purchased from RP models on line easily with quick shipping well packed ......the box itself was a little difficult to open ..mainly due to me wanting to photograph for the review ...and being impatient!!
    US Medal Of Hon 001.jpg
    US Medal Of Hon 002.jpg US Medal Of Hon 003.jpg
    The parts were fond to be in 2 coloured material as in the pictures but for this review I have primed using Mr Surfacer (other suitable are available) .

    Apart from the fact that we are not accustomed to the black resin which does not show the subject off too well IMO. of course we found 2 clear bags one with each type of colour parts in .......it certainly looked a rather lot see picture:

    We also find a very informative insert which is the Authenticity guarantee with the casting number shown(mine was number 012/500) together with a full history of the subject.
    US Medal Of Hon 004.jpg US Medal Of Hon 005.jpg
    Prep needed was very minimal indeed , quick removal of casting lines ...very fine one' sat that!

    Let's see the parts all primed up (these were in black coloured resin)
    Medal Of Honnour 001.jpg
    Beginning with the largest ..the torso

    This is a half figure bust as is the trend recently ...certainly would work with legs being added , but for me it will be without!
    Medal Of Honnour 003.jpg Medal Of Honnour 004.jpg Medal Of Honnour 005.jpg Medal Of Honnour 008.jpg Medal Of Honnour 006.jpg Medal Of Honnour 008.jpg Medal Of Honnour 007.jpg
    Casting is good with quality details on the folds of the clothing , the bust has a lot of action movement with the equipment he wears being well sculpted , the pouches look like they have items in , securing points are finely done , the whole of the webbing is digging into the torso ,as it should be ,the collar/neck area very well done , you will need to sort out the corners of the collar though (see picture) , we see his dog tags in movement , buckles on the straps are really well done as well ...a good start.
    Medal Of Honnour 002.jpg
    The neck and arms have locating holes ready to receive the relevant parts.

    On now to the arms ..both are very well done indeed , excellent folds are worked , good cuff details particularly inside ready to have the hands ....a picture tells a thousand words folks!
    Medal Of Honnour 009.jpg
    Medal Of Honnour 010.jpg
    We now have a look at the head , this is a great piece of work with one noticeable exception the eye pupils are holes .....not an ideal thing as most will choose to fill the eyes in prior to priming to avoid any hassle when doing the catchlights .
    Medal Of Honnour 015.jpg
    T That aside we have a fine casting line to sand way on the helmet , the undercuts to the head are really excellent , facial features are of a shouting man mouth wide open , wonderful details on the tongue and teeth , the area around the eyes are great with lines being seen on the forehead.
    The neck muscles might be for some a little overworked but are well done ..the pressure of action really shows in the head and will really come to life with paint.

    Medal Of Honnour 012.jpg Medal Of Honnour 011.jpg Medal Of Honnour 013.jpg Medal Of Honnour 014.jpg
    The helmet shape looks well researched as well

    Continued in next post:

    Nap
    marco55 and Eludia like this.
  3. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Let us now look at the remaining pieces :

    The hands first , one is holding the body of the machine gun , nice details on the fingers which perhaps look a little long but purely my opinion , the wrist will need cutting down to fit into the arm area , this comment also applies to the other hand which holds a handle . A lot of thought has gone into the hands with some nice surface details . The handle and the body of the MG is well done , you might like to pin the handle and I definitely suggest you dry fit first.
    Medal Of Honnour 028.jpg Medal Of Honnour 017.jpg Medal Of Honnour 027.jpg Medal Of Honnour 016.jpg
    The rear body with the working parts being a great piece of work ,you will have to fit the sight ...very finely done ..and easily lost , we also have a run of bullets one for each side one full the other empty ..nice touch , sculpting of the rounds are good with the empty piece showing where they were before firing .
    One thing I would have liked would have been a fitting instruction for the machine gun parts to ensure correct fitting and positioning.
    Medal Of Honnour 018.jpg Medal Of Honnour 019.jpg
    Medal Of Honnour 020.jpg
    Now to the rifle this is another nice piece with good working parts being shown , of particular note is the wood surface ...very good indeed , we have a sling that fits around the torso very nicely and hugging the body ..good buckle details on this sling.
    Medal Of Honnour 022.jpg
    We also are given 2 helmet straps which hang down I managed to loose one in the carpet (hence only 1 in pic!!!! since found!!) as they are delicate ...or rather I have big hands!)
    Medal Of Honnour 026.jpg
    Also included is 2 grenades , these are agin well defined , with the Hadley and ring being really good , they look like the real thing again obviously well investigated before sculpting.

    There is also a bayonet and combat knife ..again suffice to say well worked , both with very good handle details.
    Medal Of Honnour 023.jpg
    We have the water bottle secured in its case the top being on with the chain also evident from this.
    Medal Of Honnour 025.jpg
    Medal Of Honnour 024.jpg
    Finally there is the pistol..in it's holster ..good shape and working of the handle grip and the very distinctive US stamp

    So there you have it as I said a lot of parts!!

    Final thoughts

    This is a good start from RP models , researched well , few suggestions from me (eyes etc) but nothing is in the box that the average modeller could not deal with .
    The price is a little high but you do get a lot for your money both in parts and quality and more importantly :

    RP models will donate 5% of the cost to a very good cause:

    Marine Corps Veterans Association & Foundation

    Well done RP ...great gesture

    I personally would preference a single coloured resin ie gray but maybe their choice was a business one
    What will you get ...a real good subject well sculpted , and a fitting tribute to a very brave man indeed .
    The box says it's from a Medal of Honour series ...be interesting to see who will be next ...perhaps someone in full dress this time .

    A very nice start to a promising range from a new company ...one which we should keep a look out for .

    For more details :

    Sales@rpscalemodels.com

    ...........And of course watch PF

    Thanks for looking in folks

    Nap
    marco55, swralph, Jimbo and 1 other person like this.
  4. Tommys War A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Thanks Kev, great review as always.

    I've been waiting to see on this one, its looks great as the render image but of course its important to see the casting. I've got some misgivings about the eyes - what are your thoughts on those Kev?

    Good luck to the guys are RP Models, I hope they follow-up with other releases.

    I'm just always cynical about this 'limited' business. Limited to 500 is completely meaningless, I know limiting a kit is being used more and more, but 'limited to just 500' ;)
    crf likes this.
  5. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England



    Hi Darren ,

    Thanks for the post ..I agree about the eyes they should be full and not with a hole , as I said most modellers will fill them in to paint easier .

    Limited .....500 is a big run ..RP are aiming at the US market I believe I wish them every success with this and future releases

    Thanks for commenting

    Nap
  6. tomifune A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States

    If they are aiming for the US market, they should do a run of 30 and if they sell 25, they should buy champagne.:giggle:

    Bob
    Gaudin, pmfs, sd0324 and 3 others like this.
  7. Barke02 Active Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Nice review Kev,

    All credit to the sculptor, as it's a stunning virtual sculpt, but it does highlight the limits of 3D printing at the moment. The sculptors can produce excellent sculpts, but the 3D printers available cannot (yet) deliver a perfect rendering.

    That's not wood grain on the carbine, it's the build layers, and it really shows on the lower jacket below the belt. Maybe a good spay prime coat will hide this?

    I recently designed a 1/16th scale 17 pounder shell for a friend and had it printed in 'frosted ultra detail'. The results were good, just not good enough for something that is meant to be smooth. It's going to take a lot of sanding to get a useable result.

    I'm still in total awe of all digital sculptors and hope to learn one day soon!

    Cheers,
    Jon.
    napoleonpeart and Diegoff like this.
  8. RIKARDO Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks for perfect review!
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  9. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Thanks for the comments , always appreciated.....I have also been contacted by a modeller regarding the strap across the helmet for the liner ..it leads no where and there is no actual liner in the helmet ..a very good point and one which I should have picked up so thanks for that ...you could add it but maybe Sgt Basilone didn't use a liner in which case it would be easier to remove the strap..............

    ...obviously not the perfect review Rikardo !..promise to do better next time!

    Jon,

    Ref the carbine effect , my thoughts only , you could use the surface as starting point IMO , I only lightly primed for the review , this is as you mentioned a 3D sculpt ...very difficult to do ... getting better all the time .

    Thanks also for pointing out about the area below the belts ....always good to have other eyes and thoughts.

    As I said at he choice of black is a colour we are not generally used to .




    Thanks for looking in

    Nap
  10. swralph A Fixture

    Great review Nap.
  11. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Great idea priming it without clean up Kevin. I think that was being the fairest you could be to both the company and the consumer. I agree the haven't done themselves any favours with the resin colour choices as seeing black and clear when un boxing would be a big yuch for me.

    Funny that the model has one of the best shouting mouths I have ever seen and probably amongst the worst eyes. Hopefully they read your review and fix the soft spots for their next project.

    Thanks for you efforts.

    Colin
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  12. Babelfish A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    A detailed and thorough review as always Kev.

    At the risk of sounding uncharitable, the casting looks a tad ropey to me in places. Not the worst I've seen, but still no cigar.

    - Steve
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  13. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi guys ,

    For those that buy the bust here are some really good reference pictures of the helmet and liner and the more than often use of the main helmet ...the liner was often used for parades due to being lighter .

    Thanks to Andrew for the pictures

    Nap

    image.jpg image.jpg
  14. IronMike A Fixture

    I wore that helmet for many years. It's almost impossible to wear it with out the liner. If you did your head would rest on the "pot" and down over you eyes. There would be a lot of space and no headband to keep it in place.
    napoleonpeart and tomifune like this.
  15. Anthony New Member

    Great bust of Basilone. Super sculpt! The characterization must certainly capture the emotion and ferocity of that 'canal nightmare. However, the 100mm scale seems odd to me - not the usual 90mm or 120mm? My favorite scale is 200mm anyway unfortunately. Since some pesky nit-picks have been mentioned, here are a couple more:

    -The first Marines at Guadalcanal in Sept-Oct 1942 carried 1903 Springfield rifles. The subsequent US Army troops were issued M-1s. In any event, the trigger guard on the M1 depicted is the late stamped version not seen until 1945, and the web sling was not used on the Garand until 1943 at least. However, the rear sight has the early WWII bar and is rendered correctly! In the James Brady book, besides the 30cal water cooled and .45cal pistol, Basilone is mentioned firing a BAR in this incident on Guadalcanal.

    -The short version of the 1905 bayonet sculpted for the bust was not phased in until late 1943. The long version was used exclusively up to that point, and is noticeably longer.

    -The M1 helmets at Guadalcanal were the earliest ones and this was the first time they were used in a large scale engagement - M1917 helmets were used prior. The liners in the M1 helmets were the very early fiber Hawley liners that had a definite inward facing ridge on the rim that is very evident in pictures. And it would be difficult to say the least to wear one of these helmets without the liner since there would be no cushion nor suspension, and the helmet would fit way too low on the head.

    All of these are detailed historical issues. The most important aspect is the fantastic sculpting that is a virtual snapshot of a boldly courageous moment in history.
    tomifune and napoleonpeart like this.
  16. Figurini Member

    Country:
    France
    nice model but bad casting, so much bubbles or gap .....insufficient finish work
    tomifune likes this.
  17. pmfs A Fixture

    Country:
    Portugal
    Hi!

    RP models seems by the owner´s names a Portuguese new company:rolleyes: that obviously I wish all the best.:happy:
    I think this company should have been presented as others did... maybe hanging over me some distraction or we face a new marketing strategy.:cool:
    About the debut figure and as I can see, have lots of potential - very dramatic and full of tension action bust.
    Regarding the bad casting and as someone mentioned the 3d software are bombastic but some printers are not so good but as the 1st release i think RP Models are in a good row and the future can be brilliant, I hope so!
    Good luck and make some GERMANS!!!:D

    ABRAÇO,
    Pedro.
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  18. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi Guys,

    Thanks for all the comments ,I have had an email from RP who have been pleased with the comments and are taking them on board for future releases (the next still has the eyes as this one ...already in flow!) .

    RP are a company to look out for entering a very select market with very (at times) demanding customers and quite rightly so as well.

    Watch this forum for future release details and of course reviews.

    Nap
  19. Tommys War A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I think if the guys at RP are watching then I'd just add that key for them will be making it easy to buy their products. That means a website or stockists internationally (or ideally both).

    I thought the Basilone bust was stunning, but can't find it anywhere to buy it.

    Aside from that, if they can tweak future releases but keep that standard of sculpting I think they will have a big future.
    pmfs likes this.
  20. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi Darren,

    Your comments are what I have mentioned to RP and is something they are looking into , I agree that they have a bright future after learning from this review and comments

    Nap
    Tommys War likes this.

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