Wednesday, November 4, 2009

1/6 Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford, USMC Scout Sniper

"Jarhead" is a 2005 film based on US Marine Corps Sniper Anthony Swofford's 2003 Gulf War memoir of the same name, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford. Swofford served as a Scout Sniper with the STA (Surveillance and Target Acquisition) Platoon of 2nd Battalion 7th Marines. "Jarhead" is the slang term used to refer to Marines (sometimes by Marines themselves).

When Kuwait is invaded by Iraq, Swofford's unit is dispatched to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Desert Shield. Although the Marines are very eager to see some combat action, they are forced to hydrate, wait, patrol the nearby area and orient themselves to the arid environment. In his book, Swofford recounts the profound disappointment of having trained so long and so hard, only to never have the chance to engage the enemy, due to the brevity of the First Gulf War.

When Hot Toys released a head sculpt that resembled Jake Gyllenhaal, I decided to kitbash a 1/6 military figure of Gyllenhaal as US Marine Corps Scout Sniper Swofford. This was made possible by using most of the equipment that came with a Dragon released 1/6 scale 12-inch SCUD Hunter "Greg", US Army Special Forces Sniper, Gulf War 1991 in 2001. "Greg" came with Angora hat (wool knit cap), PASGT (Personal Armor System for Ground Troops) tactical vest, 6-color "chocolate chip" desert camouflage pattern BDU, web belt with ammo pouches, canteen with cover, LC-2 first aid kit, Sig Sauer 9mm pistol in holster, M4 combat knife in sheath, Motorola walkie-talkie with throat mic and ear piece, Barrett 82A1 .50 Caliber Semi-Automatic sniper rifle with bipod, M17 ABC Field Protective Mask carrier, Combat Boots (Type 1) and Magellan GPS (Global Positioning System).

It was a case of removing the PASGT vest, slap on a Y-harness and LC-2 LBE (Load Bearing Equipment) web harness, drag bag, M16A2 assault rifle and USMC M40 sniper rifle.








Close-up of the Hot Toys Jake Gyllenhaal head sculpt. He was last seen with Heath Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain (2005)" and his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal was last seen with Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight (2008)".


I put a gas mask inside his M17 ABC Field Protective Mask carrier

M16A2 assault rifle and drag bag

The M40 is a bolt-action sniper rifle used by the United States Marine Corps. Each M40 is built from a Remington 700 bolt-action rifle, and is extensively modified by USMC 2112 (Armorers) at Marine Corps Base Quantico.


Magellan GPS (Global Positioning System) - perhaps one of the first in 1/6 scale

The Barrett 82A1 .50 Caliber Semi-Automatic sniper rifle has a working bolt, lens caps on the scope, removable bipod legs and magazine.

"Welcome to the SUCK!"

Previously posted: 1/6 scale 12" United States Marine Corps (USMC) Sniper code-named "Snake", released by BBI Elite Force in 2001.

A recent newspaper article on snipers in the waters off Somalia - "3 shots, 3 kills" HERE

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