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In-Box Review
135
Humvee Crew (Item #2365)
Humvee Crew/AFV Riders Iraq
  • BoxArt

by: Pete Becerra [ EPI ]

introduction

Here we have a three piece set that was intended to sit inside a Hummer or ride atop an armored fighting vehicle. Each figure has a nice casual pose aside from Verlinden's usual action poses. Each figure consists of an upper and lower torso, separate arms, boots and head, and separate gear and weapon. The figures are molded in Verlinden's standard greenish/gray color resin.

Some type of locating pin was attempted on the arms and legs, but were either short shot or broken off, or perhaps not even there. Construction was a bit tricky since you had to use the picture on the box to determine what part went where. The usual pour block removal and clean up was needed for each part.


Separate ammo pouches and canteens are provided along with three different kinds of rifles, a M16A2, M16A2 w/M203, and a nice attempt at a M4.

the set
Although nicely sculpted figures, there are a few set backs. Firstly, there are no chin straps molded on the head. Details in the helmet are a bit soft or not there at all. The boots do not resemble any type of desert boots at all, more so leather boots. Which branch of service are they? The picture on the box tells us Marines because of the LAV or Army in the Hummer, but once you look face to face at the pieces, you don’t know what service they are from. Usually, a first glance at how the uniform is sculpted makes it obvious. For example, pockets on the sleeves typically reveals if it is a Marine MARPAT or Army ACU uniform. The lack of pockets on the sleeve reveals that its a regular BDU or DCU. The pockets on the bottom of the pants reveals that its an Army ACU uniform. As you can observe from the picture of the arms that there is a single pocket molded on the left sleeve of each arm and to me it looks more like the ACU pocket rather than the MARPAT pocket. There is no pocket on the right sleeve. There are also no pockets molded on the bottom of each pants for the ACUs'. So this brings on the question, Army or Marines? Easily fixed! Simply sand of the only pocket on the sleeve and you have a BDU or DCU. Add the missing pocket to the right sleeve and you have the MARPAT. Add the missing leg pockets and the missing right arm sleeve pocket and you have the ACU.

conclusion
The biggest downfall in my opinion was that they didn’t fit my M1114. The figures are meant to sit in the standard seats that comes with the Hummer kits and not in the high back seats provided with the MIG M1114 conversion set or the Pro Art seats.

Click here for additional images for this review.

SUMMARY
Highs: About the only high point of these figures are that they are in a nice relaxed sitting pose aside from the usual running or action poses that Verlinden as been producing.
Lows: As mentioned, even though it states that they are a Humvee crew, they are limited to just the regular Hummer and not the M1114 or any other conversion that has the high back seats because they will not fit properly with out some extensive work.
Verdict: I was a little disappointed with this set of figures because I had intended to use them for my M1114. I do on the other hand recommend them if you are going to use them for a regular Hummer with out the high back seats such as a M1025 or M1046 or as rider
Percentage Rating
80%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: VP2365
  Suggested Retail: $15.95
  Related Link: Verlinden Productions
  PUBLISHED: Feb 21, 2007
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 84.95%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 76.32%

About Pete Becerra (Epi)
FROM: TEXAS, UNITED STATES

I am 48 years of age. I have been modeling since I was around 8 years old. As you can see from my signature, I am retired from the US Army and Texas Army National Guard. I served 6 years in active duty from 1989 to 1995 and in 1998 I joined the Texas Army National Guard and been serving up unt...

Copyright ©2021 text by Pete Becerra [ EPI ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Pete, Thanks for the review. I just got this set and am planning on putting them in a M1025 I'm working on. Perfect timing!
FEB 25, 2007 - 04:53 PM
Hi Pete, thank you for another usefull rewiev. What is wrong with the M4 rifle? Erik
FEB 25, 2007 - 09:44 PM
Hey Erik, it's just the front of the barrel. It looks like it has a silencer built on it, that s all. Other than that, it is comparible with Blast or Think-180 M4's.
FEB 25, 2007 - 09:57 PM
Pete, Thanks for the review. I had a distant eye on this kit, but from the looks of it, it has all the pitfalls of Verlinden's other 1/35 OIF kits, namely the lack of chinstraps and the same old gear. I can see that it has uses if one cares to invest more time and money into fixing the issues with it. BLAST's M-16 and M-4 set would help here.
FEB 25, 2007 - 11:28 PM
The AN/PEQ-2 (the big rectangle on top of the foregrips) seems pretty big. Trivial in the scheme of things, but like you said Pete, with that barrel its not helping the case at all. Peter you are right, Blast Model's weapon sets would help but they are so darn fragile. Thanks for the review Pete. Jeff
FEB 25, 2007 - 11:44 PM
Just goes to show that the market is still open to more new and exciting stuff ! Just because someone made it, doesn't mean that it's necessarily the best. I like the Hobby Fan modern offerings. I hope Hobby Fan can continue to make new modern figures.
FEB 25, 2007 - 11:54 PM
Thanks for your quick reply Pete. And Jeff, I totally agree on the AN/PEQ (If that is what it is supposed to be). Erik
FEB 25, 2007 - 11:57 PM
Do you reckon these guys could fit in either the Tamiya M113s or Bradleys? Pete?
FEB 26, 2007 - 01:45 PM
Jeremy, They should fit with out a problem. The clearence in a Bardley and 113 kit looks to be much higher than that of the regular Hummer kit with it's regular seats.
FEB 27, 2007 - 02:43 AM
   
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