Dr Force
A Fixture
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2010
- Messages
- 1,364
Hi
I have recently received this excellent figure from Jeff and thought I’d try my hand at a short review.
I’ll grade each part between 0-10 with 10 being excellent.
Lets take a look:-
The box is sturdy and all items are held nicely in separate plastic bags and packed up nicely in bubble wrap
Boxing Grade =10
Comms with Jeff were excellent and delivery was 5 days to my door in the U.K.
Grade for both = 10
So what do we get?:-
As with most Shui figures the main body and the head are sculpted as one. All pieces have large casting blocks. I tend to remove these with a dremel disk and then use a dremel sanding drum to take nearly all the excess off before using a no11 blade to scrape clean. If there is any sanding required, use a 2000 grit stick.
Contents Grade =9
Lets take a look at each piece starting with the main body:-
The main body is sculpted nicely, proportions are spot on as is the accuracy as far as I can see. The belt buckle tells us this guy is Waffen SS, wearing a Zeltbhan poncho. As he is handling the Stg 44 we can assume it’s late war theatre so Eastern/Western front or in Germany itself.
The fabric cuts are beautifully done, the poncho hangs perfectly and gathers well at the belt. Strap and Y harness detail is good, as are the magazine pouches. The belt buckle is a little soft, it’s difficult to make out all the detail , but that’s a minor point.
Jeff is a master of facial expressions in my opinion, he manages to convey the hard as nails German look very well. Eyes are crisp and well defined for good eye painting. There are no air pocket defects here and the proportions are bang on.
Buttons and stitching are great .
Overall main body sculpt-Grade=9
Casting:-
The casting is overall pretty good but we have a casting slip at the rear from the head running through the collar, through the Bread bag clip to the bottom of the Zelt. For me personally, it’s an inconvenience rather than a deal breaker, because I’m confident to blend in with a bit of sculpting, but I could understand that some might find this difficult.
There are also air pockets on the shoulders, that need filling, but again this is not easy when casting, even if the resin is degassed prior to pouring.
There are some resin blobs to remove too, but nothing that detracts from the overall quality.
Overall casting- Grade= 7
Stg 44
This is great, the detail is beautiful and very crisp, the gloves are superbly sculpted and give a real sense of him gripping the trigger housing. There are some slight repairs underneath the Stg but not enough to take away any marks.
Grade=10
Equipmemt:-
So we get the gas canister and water bottle with the bread bag sculpted to the main body. I also appear to have a spare grenade top, I’m not sure where this goes but will sit nicely in my spares! I love the fact Jeff has put texture on the water bottle and Gas strap, that’s a really nice touch with great attention to detail. The casting block is situated on the side that fits into the main body so what is seen is very crisp. There are some slight slips across the recess, but nothing major. The strap holders always break off the canister, I use a bit of wire to reshape when it gets to sculpting.
Grade= 9
Legs and Arms
Another strength of Jeff’s is boots and overall clothing folds, it’s testament to his talent and skill that things always look natural and within the realms of gravity. The boots and gaters look superb,. The laces and straps are nice and crisp with no casting issues. The short arm pieces are also excellent and you get the small thumb piece to fit once positions are fixed.
Body Parts- Grade=10
Helmet
Nice crisp sculpting with a couple of pin holes to fill. The casting block is set at the back so use the dremel/scalpel method to remove and smooth out. Sometimes the cast here is very thin, but this is nice and solid
Grade= 9
Conclusion and overall score = 9
So I’m going to give this 200mm an overall score of 9. The pose and detail is very well done, in the main items are crisp and well sculpted with lots of attention to detail. Proportions are spot on as are the facial expressions and weapon, it’s a great piece, with a mark taken away by the decent but not excellent casting. The joints are done with jagged cuts so they need a pin and sculpting to blend in, therefore a bit of skill is needed here, but most should be able to make a good job of it. I would not hesitate to recommend to any fan of this period. The communications and delivery were top drawer and with a bit of work you will end up with another fabulous figure in your collection.
*** EDIT I think I now know why there is an extra grenade top….it should have been the magazine for the 44 which is sadly missing!
Ill contact Jeff for a replacement and update.
I have recently received this excellent figure from Jeff and thought I’d try my hand at a short review.
I’ll grade each part between 0-10 with 10 being excellent.
Lets take a look:-
The box is sturdy and all items are held nicely in separate plastic bags and packed up nicely in bubble wrap
Boxing Grade =10
Comms with Jeff were excellent and delivery was 5 days to my door in the U.K.
Grade for both = 10
So what do we get?:-
As with most Shui figures the main body and the head are sculpted as one. All pieces have large casting blocks. I tend to remove these with a dremel disk and then use a dremel sanding drum to take nearly all the excess off before using a no11 blade to scrape clean. If there is any sanding required, use a 2000 grit stick.
Contents Grade =9
Lets take a look at each piece starting with the main body:-
The main body is sculpted nicely, proportions are spot on as is the accuracy as far as I can see. The belt buckle tells us this guy is Waffen SS, wearing a Zeltbhan poncho. As he is handling the Stg 44 we can assume it’s late war theatre so Eastern/Western front or in Germany itself.
The fabric cuts are beautifully done, the poncho hangs perfectly and gathers well at the belt. Strap and Y harness detail is good, as are the magazine pouches. The belt buckle is a little soft, it’s difficult to make out all the detail , but that’s a minor point.
Jeff is a master of facial expressions in my opinion, he manages to convey the hard as nails German look very well. Eyes are crisp and well defined for good eye painting. There are no air pocket defects here and the proportions are bang on.
Buttons and stitching are great .
Overall main body sculpt-Grade=9
Casting:-
The casting is overall pretty good but we have a casting slip at the rear from the head running through the collar, through the Bread bag clip to the bottom of the Zelt. For me personally, it’s an inconvenience rather than a deal breaker, because I’m confident to blend in with a bit of sculpting, but I could understand that some might find this difficult.
There are also air pockets on the shoulders, that need filling, but again this is not easy when casting, even if the resin is degassed prior to pouring.
There are some resin blobs to remove too, but nothing that detracts from the overall quality.
Overall casting- Grade= 7
Stg 44
This is great, the detail is beautiful and very crisp, the gloves are superbly sculpted and give a real sense of him gripping the trigger housing. There are some slight repairs underneath the Stg but not enough to take away any marks.
Grade=10
Equipmemt:-
So we get the gas canister and water bottle with the bread bag sculpted to the main body. I also appear to have a spare grenade top, I’m not sure where this goes but will sit nicely in my spares! I love the fact Jeff has put texture on the water bottle and Gas strap, that’s a really nice touch with great attention to detail. The casting block is situated on the side that fits into the main body so what is seen is very crisp. There are some slight slips across the recess, but nothing major. The strap holders always break off the canister, I use a bit of wire to reshape when it gets to sculpting.
Grade= 9
Legs and Arms
Another strength of Jeff’s is boots and overall clothing folds, it’s testament to his talent and skill that things always look natural and within the realms of gravity. The boots and gaters look superb,. The laces and straps are nice and crisp with no casting issues. The short arm pieces are also excellent and you get the small thumb piece to fit once positions are fixed.
Body Parts- Grade=10
Helmet
Nice crisp sculpting with a couple of pin holes to fill. The casting block is set at the back so use the dremel/scalpel method to remove and smooth out. Sometimes the cast here is very thin, but this is nice and solid
Grade= 9
Conclusion and overall score = 9
So I’m going to give this 200mm an overall score of 9. The pose and detail is very well done, in the main items are crisp and well sculpted with lots of attention to detail. Proportions are spot on as are the facial expressions and weapon, it’s a great piece, with a mark taken away by the decent but not excellent casting. The joints are done with jagged cuts so they need a pin and sculpting to blend in, therefore a bit of skill is needed here, but most should be able to make a good job of it. I would not hesitate to recommend to any fan of this period. The communications and delivery were top drawer and with a bit of work you will end up with another fabulous figure in your collection.
*** EDIT I think I now know why there is an extra grenade top….it should have been the magazine for the 44 which is sadly missing!
Ill contact Jeff for a replacement and update.
