In my mind, T2 represents one of those magic moments when a sequel not only lives up to the first film, but it some respects surpasses it. No doubt a large part of this is due to the diligence of the director and cast, as well as the strength of the material. Despite the subsequent releases of T3 Rise of the Machines, and Terminator Salvation, the potency of the first two films has not diminished over time. People still remember the characters, and still quote the lines – the role even followed Schwarzenegger into politics when he was dubbed “The Governator” upon taking office as Governor of California in 2003. All of this leads up to my review of the latest – and dare I say the greatest – sixth-scale Terminator figure to date…

Head-sculpt and base body…

Over the years we have seen many a Schwarzenegger likeness in the action figure world. He has been rendered in a variety of scales, and cast in many characterizations. Some examples have been good, some have been downright awful. So when Hot Toys announced that they would be releasing T2 figures, anticipation was high. For those who are new to the hobby, Hot Toys wasn’t always the Haute Couture of 1/6. They once used 21st Century Toys Super Soldier bodies with fairly unremarkable head-sculpts, and produced weapons that had about as much detail as Lego block. Since then, they have have, like many other companies, refined and updated their wares to a level of pure 1/6 beauty. And the Arnold head-sculpt in this set stands out as a culmination of these efforts. The detail is superb, the skin-tone is stunning, and the paint is exceptional. In other words, it looks really good. Proof of this for me is manifest in how many times I keep coming back to admire it and look for some kind of flaw. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but it is one of the best head-sculpts that I have seen thus far.

Another area where we see Hot Toys efforts pay off is in the muscle body that comes with the set. I have to base my observations from personal experience, which is limited to the first Hot Toys muscle bodies that came with select Brothers Worker, SDU and SF figures. And also to the later iterations that came with their Black Water PMC, Michael Wong SDU, and Rambo figures.

With the very first Hot Toys muscle bodies, the results were somewhat cartoonish looking… With idealized musculature and questionable proportionality. Add to this 21st Century Toys hips and legs, and a tendency for the rubber material to crack and crumble, and you had a muscle body plagued with problems. Later, with the PMC and Rambo bodies, we had a more natural sculpt, an improved rubber material, and what would become the first True Type hip and leg assembly. All of which were a step in the right direction. The only hold over problem was a lack of articulation - which is to be expected with an endo-skeletal armature assembly that is encased in a solid globule of rubber.

So, where to go from there… The answer came with the use of a thinner slicon based rubber that was cast as a separate sleeve. This sleeve could be sculpted with charecter specific details, and could be slipped over a more anatomically accurate armiture. The first examples that I had experience with were the Appleseed Ex-Mechina Duenan and Briarios figures. A similar idea was used for the Aliens Vasquez, and the female SWAT 3.0 figures - and then was later applied to the female True Type bodies. The results were stunning despite some limitations in articulation.

After that, Hot Toys began to experiment with ways to further enhance articulation by going back to cut joints in the both the shoulders and elbows – and in some cases the lower and upper rib cage.

The T2 body is the first example of this newer style of muscle body that I have personally handled, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well the cut joints were incorporated into the figure’s physique. The range of motion in the elbows is still somewhat limited – with a maximum 45 degree range… But it is still possible to position the figure in some very realistic and dynamic poses.

I also have to mention the attention to detail given to the finish of the upper torso. With some 1/6 scale figures there is a glaring incongruity in color between the head-sculpt and base body. This incongruity can also be seen between the hands and forearms as well. I think that it is an example of a generic body being used with a specific head – an issue DML attempted to address with the production of both a lighter and a darker caucasion version of the Neo Adam. But despite measures to the contrary, the differences could still be seen. I have to wonder if the reason we get so close a match in color between the head, body and hands in the case of T2 figure, has something to do with the individual elements being developed specifically for this figure.

Part of the success can also be measured by the paint apps applied to the upper torso and upper arms of the figure. We have subtle variations in tone, and even some very minute freckling effects- which simultaneously astound and disturb me for some reason. If I am not mistaken, there is even a small mole on the right side of the figure’s neck – although that could just be an artifact from the casting process. Whatever the case may be, Hot Toys has gone the extra mile with this body, giving it a harmonious mix of detail and function that I would liken to their Predator bodies.

One interesting accessory that comes with the set is the swappable left forearm section that is a tie in to the scene in which Arnold thoroughly blows the minds of Mr. and Mrs. Miles Dyson, by swiftly stripping the meat off of his arm to reveal the endoskeleton structure underneath. It is a memorable scene, relying soley on good old-fashioned latex and Kayro syrup, as opposed to the high tech CG wizardry that carries the effects throughout most of the rest of the film.

The detail of the endo arm is crisp, and the blood is applied in such a way as to allow the metallic tones of the pistons and rods to show through. The endo arm accessory attaches to the upper arm by way of a plug and socket connector located just above the elbow articulation. It takes a little elbow grease ( no pun intended ) to swap the arms, so be careful not to force the connector when doing so.

Lastly, let us take a second to inventory the hands that come in the set… There are five hands in total which include:

A fisted pose right hand

A fisted pose left hand

A pistol grip pose right hand

A rifle stock grip pose left hand

A relaxed pose right hand

A relaxed pose left hand.

Each of the hands is beautifully sculpted, cleanly cast, and features a color match paint job with the base body and head. We also receive an additional set of wrist pegs – which is a nice bonus as I broke a wrist peg swapping hands for my photo-shoot. I should mention, that despite the fact that the wrist pegs included in the set are bigger than the pegs that come with the True Types ( think Briarios, or Predator pegs here ), it is possible to swap out the T2 pegs with True Type pegs.

Wow, the longest review to date, and I am not even to the score in the first category!

Hot Toys took on the daunting task of supplying us with the mother of all T2 head-sculpts and base bodies… And in my estimation, they score high on all marks. I therefore feel that a perfect score of five out of five stars is well deserved in this category.

Uniform/wardrobe…

Back in 1991, many a bad apple walked the streets kicking ass and taking names in a full black leather biker get up. It was the quintessential tough guy uniform, and I imagine that that was why James Cameron chose this particular wardrobe for his quintessential screen tough guy/cyborg. Kind of makes you wonder what the 2010 equivalent would be… $900 jeans and a fitted organic cotton tee shirt with metallic gold skulls? Maybe we will get that with Terminator 5 Battle for the Jersey Shore…

We have had a few 1/6 scale leather/pleather pieces over the years, and they can be subject to issues just like everything else in the 1/6 world. Part of the problem is finding a material that has the right combination of strength and delicacy to fit and drape correctly without tearing. I have heard that people have good results using a thinner pittard type leather like that found in driving gloves when making custom one-off leather goods for their figures. And companies like Triad Toys have had success using synthetic leather-like materials for their outfits. A big plus with these synthetic materials is that they have some stretch and give without being too weak. Hot Toys went the synthetic route with their T2 wardrobe pieces, and the results are stunning.

The fit of the jacket and pants is excellent, the finish scale appropriate, and the detailing sharp. We have zippers, tassels, laces, and grommets galore. Hot Toys also fixed the sometimes seen draping issue by tacking down some the offending areas – most notably at the collar and waist belt, which would otherwise most likely jutt out like a starched collar. I was also pleased to see that the jacket is lined in a thin black material, and that the loose threads have, for the most part, been seen to. The less “thread patrolling” I have to do the better…

In addition to the leather biker get up, we receive some stylish biker style boots – or should I say, “beets”. Some folks hate beets, some folks love beets… Personally, I am on the fence. As I see it there are drawbacks to beets – a lack of articulation for example. They are however, in many cases, more scale appropriate than most cloth boots. Okay, calm down cloth boot fans… I am merely expressing an opinion here… The biggest issues I have with cloth boots are due to the materials being too thickly layered, or the lacing being to delicate – how many times have you lost an eyelet or three when cinching up a pair of sixthscale cloth boots? But, with cloth boots that are of the slip on variety, the issues with bulky layers and wimpy eyelets are moot. So I am left wondering if Hot Toys could have pulled off a decent pair of cloth – or pleather – boots for this guy. But then again, there is nary a moment in the film where Arnold strikes any deep knee bending poses that would require a pair of boots with highly flexible ankles. So maybe beets are the best bet in this case.

Before I forget, we also receive two tee shirts in the set – a gray tee, and a black tee. I don’t recall which one was worn first, and in which scenes, but I do recall that he changed shirst at some point because of a nagging problem with bullet holes. The figure comes wearing the gray tee, so that is the one that I left on while taking the pics that accompany this review. That may not be film accuarte, but I didn’t think to do a swap until after I had broken down my lights, camera, and backdrop. We also have the sunglasses which Arnold wears throughout a good portion of the first half of the film.

Alright, let’s get to the score shall we? With all of detail and clean finishing, I have to go with another five out of five stars… It is nice to see that Hot Toys extended the forethought and execution to the wardrobe that they applied to the head and body.

Gear: ( soft lines – or web and cloth gear )…

N/A

Gear: ( hard lines – or sundry parts )…

Not much to mention here, but what is included is well finished. We get the floral arrangement gift box, with red roses and a shotgun that Arnold is seen carrying through the mall while on the lookout for that precocious John Connor brat. Why James Cameron didn’t choose to film a scene of Arnold buying the roses is beyond me… The film certainly has it’s light hearted moments ( few ), and a moderate helping of dark humor, so a scene of a leather clad Austrian Oak purchasing a bouquet of red roses would have been good for a chuckle, and at least one memorable one liner.

Lastly, we receive a display stand of the crotch saddle straddler variety. It comes with the T2 logo emblazoned across the base, and is a very nice stand as stands go. I have never used one of these crotch stands, so I am unacquainted with how effective they are. Also, I didn’t have any problems with the figure toppling over during my photo-shoot, so I didn’t even think to unpack the base. My only regret is that I didn’t take a pic to be included with the review.

Score for the sundries… 5 out of 5 stars.

Weapons…

Throughout Terminator 2 we see a wide variety of weapons, employed by both terminators, as well as the human characters. And Hot Toys chose two iconic weapons for this set… The lever action, sawed off Winchester 1887 shotgun, which Arnold snatches from the hands of the biker bar owner in the beginning of the film; and the Colt Detonics M1911A1 series 70 hybrid handgun, that Arnold requisitions from Robert Winley ( the cigar smoking biker ) after trouncing him around the bar, and finally giving him a stove top facial. Such a savage beating… Leads me to wonder if those black leather biker pants came with a brown “accessory” deposited in the seat.

Hot Toys does a top drawer job with the weapons – with clean, crisp detailing in both the molding and paint apps. I particularly liked the weathering on the Winchester. And yes, the lever action is functional. Taking into account all of these factors, I feel that a five out of five stars is in order in the weapon category.

Price/value…

This is one of Hot Toys more expensive figures – I shopped around a little, and as of July 24th 2010, it looks like you will have to pay around $200.00 to lay hands on one. I am not sure what the manufacturers suggested retail price was, or even if Hot Toys issues a MSRP with their figures, but it seems like when the figure first hit the e-stores it was closer to $150.00. With that said, you will no doubt spend a pretty penny if you want to add this one to your collection. But in any collectors market prices can jump from one moment to the next, so keep an eye out for a good deal.

It is hard for me to award a score in this category, as I have already stated in a previous review, that anything over $25.00 is a stretch for my pocketbook. However, this is a subjective and ever changing issue, so  it may be safe to say that this figure is worth exactly how much you are willing to pay for it, and that it is up to you to determine whether or not it was worth it. When I had a good paying job, I once shelled out just over $200.00 for a Takara Luna figure – and she didn’t come with a single gun, or any accessories… So I would offer that the individual reader apply his or her own score here, using their own sense of value as a gauge.

Things to consider…

Hot Toys has hit one out of the park with this bad boy… There is the great sculpt and body, the exceptional wardrobe, the cool weapons, and the “how good he looks set up” factor. The only gripes I had were with the all too easy to break wrist pegs ( nothing new there ), and the fact that I was only borrowing this figure for the review, and was terrified that I would damage it. Luckily, the quality and construction were such that I only managed to break one wrist peg. I also have reiterate that the figure stayed upright through the entire photo-shoot, so that reflects well on the integrity of the joints.

Again, price and vaulue are subjective to the individual when it comes to collectibles, so if you don’t mind paying $200.00 or so on a figure, you can stand assured that you are getting one of the best that this author has personally seen and handeled over thrirteen years of sixthscale collecting.

Score recap…

Head-sculpts base body: 5 out of 5 stars

Uniform/wardrobe: 5 out of 5 stars

Gear: ( soft lines – or web and cloth gear ): N/A

Gear: ( hard lines – or sundry parts ): 5 out of 5 stars

Weapons: 5 out of 5 stars

Price/value: Personal

Grand Total: 5 out of 5 stars

What I changed and/or added…

Brian asked me to personalize and pimp this one with the additoon of the following:

GE M134 gattling gun.

Soft side carryall bag.

M79 grenade launcher.

Leather bandolier with M79 40mm grenades.

The minigun is a heavily customized version of the InToyz minigun. As far as I can tell from stills, it is very close, if not identical, to the GE M134 used in the film. I did a side by side comparison of a stock InToyz minigun from my collection, with the one that I pimped for Brian. The pics are included in this review, and further pics, including WIP shots will be posted at OSW.

The carryall bag is from the Battle Damaged T-800 released in back in 2005, and I used pastels to give it a weathered and well-used look.

Both the M79 launcher and 40mm bandolier are from the Hot Toys Watchmen Comidian figure. I did a very light weathering job to the M79, and left the bandolier stock.

Please note that the minigun, bag, M79, and bandolier with 40mm shells were NOT part of the set, and are instead separate pieces that were supplied to me for the purpose of personalizing the figure.

In this case, we have a guy who looks both mean and serious, with his shaved head, furrowed brow, cage fighter goatee, and ferocious facial scar. It has been pointed out that the figure bears a resemblance to actor Til Schweiger in his “Cedric” role from 2004′s King Arthur. After seeing the comparison pics, I would agree. The sculpt is crisply detailed, and well painted – right down the subtle ruddy variations in the skin tone.

Despite this, the head ( at first at least ) appears to be on the small side. There has been discussion regarding the size and proportion of Soldier Story head-sculpts in the past – and I noticed it myself with the first FCS Multicam figure ( Josh Duhamel likeness ). I also noticed that the figure looked bottom heavy due to the bagginess of the Crye Precision Combat pants, which made me wonder if the former was made worse by the latter. I decided to compare the FCS TF head to heads from DML, BBI, and HT. It was actually within what I would categorize as acceptable limits. So this leads me back to the pants, which are the same Crye Combat version with both the FCS Multicam and FCS TF figures. I am beginning to think that these pants are cut too wide, and could benefit from a little tailoring. Soldier Story – you guys might want to have a product development sit down about this back at your H.Q.

The figure comes with two sets of hands – a bare flesh pair, and a molded pair that come with a third hand that is formed into a fist, or tight grip pose. The bare flesh pair are the same that we saw with the DEVGRU Gold Team figure among others. The gloved pair however, are new. This marks Soldier Story’s first foree into molded gloved hands, and I feel that they hit the ground running ( a funny, and ham handed turn of phrase to use when describing gloves ). The gloves look like most Mechanix sytle gloves you would expect to see in use in the military these days… lots of padding, a thin tactile palm, and a sleek, high tech finish. I really like them, but I have to say that the color is odd. They are black with electric blue highlights. Maybe not an odd color palette for the garage or work shop, but certainly not the norm for the field. They would have looked better had they been rendered in a subdued field appropriate hue that more closely coincided with the tones and hues of the Multicam uni and gear.

The base body is the Soldier Story S2, and it is a decent base body in my opinion.

Special note: I received two FCS TF figures – one to review and modify, and one to keep for myself. The one that I photographed and worked on for the review was fine, the one that I kept for myself was broken in two at the waist. Interesting… Both figures were shipped to me in the same parcel, so there was a 50/50 chance that I could have selected the box with the broken figure to open and use for the review. Had that been the case, the score in this category would have been very low despite the cool sculpt. In fact, the only reason I even opened my figure was to look to see if it too was missing the velcro unit patches that were supposed to come with the figure. And that is an issue to be discussed in the uniform category.

Lastly, you get a a pair of uniuqly interesting leg muscle add on sleeves. I simply cannot describe how bizarre they look when you take them out of the box and lay them on the counter in the bathroom for someone to stumble upon with no note of explanation… “Hey Mike, I found your………… I found some… I found something disturbing in the bathroom….”

So, let’s get to the score… I like the sculpt, I like the body ( although I am vexed about the breakage issues with the other figure ), I like the gloves as well. I therefore will go with a high score ( not letting the broken figure in my set influence things ). I feel that 4 out of 5 stars is in order in this category. Had the gloves been a different color the score would have been higher.

Uniform/wardrobe…

With the FCS TF we get the venerable Crye Precision Combat shirt and pants. We also get a belt, a tee shirt in a nice dark greenish brown color, a tan shemagh, a doo rag in Multicam, and a pair of cloth Oakley SI Assault boots. All of the uniform elements are top shelf – with high quality, and attention to detail throughout. The materials are an appropriate weight, the stitching is clean, and the fuction/detail is astounding.

I also have to mention something that I found refreshing about the finishing on the shirt and pants – the cuffs tabs on both the shirt sleeves and pant legs are sewn shut. Why do I mention this? In the past we have had both large and small scale velcro used to fasten cuff tabs shut. And while velcro can certainly do a decent enough job, it just doesn’t seem to work all that well on 1/6 scale cuff tabs. Maybe it is the small amount of velco used – maybe there just aren’t enough velcro hooks and loops in such a small swatch to achieve a secure bond. Whatever the case may be the result is much futzing with the tabs to keep them fastened. In the case of the sewn tabs that isn’t an issue, so you don’t have to worry about the tabs unfastening when posing the figure’s arms or legs. Good stuff.

Now let’s get to the score… I mentioned the oversized cut of the legs on the Crye Combat pants, but that becomes less of an issue once the figure is fully kitted up. Hopefully if we see these pants on future Soldier Story figures, they will have an updated, more tailored fit. Despite the baggy legged pants, I have to go with a high score here – a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Gear: ( soft lines – or web and cloth gear )…

First off in this category is the Crye Precision Range vest. I am not a huge fan of this vest – it looks more to me like a bird watcher’s vest or something you would see a photo safariast wearing on the Savanna. It is however, a nice piece of 1/6 tailoring. We have all of the bells and whistles mentioned in the previous category by way of detailing and finish. Add to this a decent fit, and functionality that you would expect to find in the 1/1 scale version, and you have a decent vest – even if I do find it to be a bit pedestrian. We also get a whole slew of pouches which feature the web tab and loop securing system ( molle ). I am keeping an eye out for multiples to be had as a loose parts purchase for the Soldier Story FCS Multicam Armor Chassis that I will some day purchase.

We also get a Crye blast belt, a SoTech GoBag, and a CAT ( Combat Application Tourniquet ). I love the CAT – such a nice addition to 1/6 scale – and the GoBag is tres’ chic. Between the previously issued and current Multicam FCS gears and uni, we have almost all of the necessary ingredients for a screen accurate “Lennox” bash.

The quality and functionality of the soft line gear is such that I feel a full 5 out of 5 stars is in order in this category.

Gear: ( hard lines – or sundry parts )…

The highlight for me of the hard line gear are the ITW Fast Mag cells ( I choose to call them “cells” as pouches seems somehow inappropriate for something that is made from high impact polymer ). I just love these things, and again, this is some FCS TF schwag that I will be on the lookout for as a loose parts purchase.

In addition to the ultra sexy Fast Mag cells, we get a pair of M67 fragmentation grenades, a pair of Mk18 smoke canister grenades, a quartet of 40mm grenade for the M4203, a SureFire HL1C LED light gizmo, a Tag Huer looking watch, and a pair of debutaunte-esque shades – which many folks have voiced outrage at, but once you get them on the figure I don’t think they look all that bad.

Despite the limited amount of gear in this category, what we do get is decent. I feel that the addition of a radio, and knife would have been a good call, but alas, this is beyond my control. I can however, award what I feel is an appropriate penalty to the score for what I consider to be a glaring omission in not including at the very least an ICom sytle radio. Soldier Story certainly has a decent range of 1/6 comms in their arsenal, so the absence of even a basic unit here is odd. I am awarding a 4 out of 5 stars in this category.

Weapons…

Let’s start this category off with the M4 with 203. Soldier Story M4′s have grown on me… I really like the functioning bolt, and easy to break down engineering ( great for weapon modding ). In this case we get the usual M4 goodness, and the nifty, partially metal 203 40mm grenade launcher. We also get an EoTech sight, a SureFire tac light, an AN-PEQ, a suppressor, and a black bungee sling. For ammo, we get four standard M4 magazines with Magpul Ranger Plates, and four of the shorty 20 round Magpul P mags with Ranger Plates. Not too shabby.

Now, let’s touch on the paint scheme used for the M4. It’s an odd color isn’t it? A sort of cross between a stick of Rigley’s spearmint chewing gum, and a raw oyster. I am not sure what color this is meant to represent, but I have to say that I actually kind of like it. It is enhanced by an over-spray break-up effect that was no doubt achieved by using a swatch of mesh fabric as a stencil. Looks good, if not a little minty or anemic.

The other item in the weapon category is the railed M1911. By now almost everyone knows that Soldier Story makes a mean M1911. You get crisp detail, decent paint, and some very tiny moving pieces, which include a pivoting slide release and safety switch. In the case of the FCS TF M1911, we also get a removable taclight with a clever switch set up. I have to give Soldier Story props for the way they engineered the switch assembly. Along with the M1911, we get a total of four magazines – one for the magwell, three for the double mag belt pouch. Double good. Also worthy of mention is the holster that comes with the M1911… It is of the hardsell variety, and is a somewhat new-looking configuration. The holster itself mounts to the thigh platform via three pins, and this is a point of interest in that a resourcful/bold customizer might want to consider convertingthe holster and platform into a southpaw rig. It is possible by my estimation, but would be a major overhaul, and would no doubt involve some cutting and a repaint.

I also want to touch on something that I found really neat about the leg straps on the thigh rig. They are an elastic material that is more akin to a fabric type of elastic as opposed to a webbed or variegated type of elastic ( imagine the elastic slings that came with early DML rifles and sub guns ). This webbed type of elastic has, in my opinion, always been plagued with issues of unravelling, and not being particularly easy to work with – even too thick for the scale in some instances… This fabric type is much thinnner, and seams to be more scale appropriate with it’s finely woven surface and light gauge. It is similar if not identical to the elastic material used on the magazine pouches that come in this set – as well as to the material Soldier Story has used for the securing straps on their recent goggles. Great stuff – I wish I had a ton of it in my customizing kit, along with a few thousand yards of small scale grossgrain and “0″ scale zippers.

To wrap the weapon category up, I am going to award a full 5 out of 5 stars for the crisp clean details, and well thought out engineering that went into each of the pieces.

Price/value…

For the most part I have intentionally left price out of the picture with respect to my reviews for several reasons…

1. I didn’t want to completely rip off other reviewers who have included a price/value section in their reviews. Instead, I just ripped off most of the rest of their review template.

2. The figures in the reviews are customer figures – so I do not purchase or keep them. They are sent to me for review, and are afterward customized to some degree or another, and are then returned to the sender.

3. I will never be able to honestly say that any action figure over the price of $25.00 is a good deal.

So how would I score this one? I give it a score of “true” as I have no influence on pricing, and get a little discouraged every time I think about how much figures cost.

Things to consider…

If you have an eye on this figure, be mindful that you may have to add some things here and there to round it out – a radio for instance. Cost wise, he is right up there with all the of the rest, so you are looking at around $110.00 on average. The head-sculpt and most of the gear are appropriate to mix and match with other modern era pieces for kit-bashing purposes – just be aware that not all 1/6 scale Multicam is created equal.

I posted a thread at OSW with respect to the breakage issue I had with my figure ( not the one in this review, or in the accompanying pics ). The responses thus far have indicated that I am not the only one who has experienced this issue. Further more, a surprising number of respondents experienced the problem with an FCS TF figure. Perhaps Soldier Story should look into this. There is also the issue of the missing patches. I have not heard if this is a product wide omission, or relegated to a portion of the figures.

Score recap…

Head-sculpt base body: 4 out of 5 stars

Uniform: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Gear ( soft lines ): 5 out of 5 stars

Gear ( hard lines ): 4 out of 5 stars

Weapons: 5 out of 5 stars

Price/Value: N/A

Grand Total: 4.5 out of 5 stars

What I changed and/or added…

I went a little heavier with the weathering on the uniform and weapons as it is harder to weather Multicam that other patterns or solids. I also went a little more into the weathering on the M4 to help offset the mint green look. I added some pastels to the head-sculpt to tone down the sun chapped look, and to better match the skin-tone of the head to the skin-tone of the neck. I didn’t get as close as I would have liked, but that would have meant a repaint to either the head or the neck, and either would have been more of a detraction than an improvement.

With the M4, I decided to drill out the inner wall of the suppressor so as to allow it to fit further down onto the barrel. I really like the look of the suppressor being more snug to the fore grip area, and not hung out on the end of the barrel near the flash hider. Just a personal preference thing with me. Lastly, I used some acrylics to weather the side soles of the Oakley SI boots. The differences can be seen in the series of pics marked “CUSTOM”. The out of box pics are marked “STOCK”.

Happy birthday to the man, the myth, the legend Michael Skram II. Thanks for all your hard work and thanks for the great custom figures. Michael will soon have a customs section on the website that you can purchase his figures from. Coming soon. Be ready to get some.

Just a quick note. Keep looking for rare older mint in box 1/6 scale figures. We are putting them up every week. Also more figure reviews from Michael Skram II. Look for the new review of the Hot Toys T-800 and the new SS figure.

Thanks for looking and reading our blog.

I downloaded this new app and I can add posts from my phone. Pretty cool.