BBI Elite Force 1/6 USMC Sniper "Snake"

Another "Snake" but this one has got nothing to do with "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" Naked Snake which I'd posted earlier. This is a 1/6 scale 12" United States Marine Corps (USMC) Sniper code-named "Snake", released by BBI Elite Force in 2001. This USMC Sniper "Snake" came complete with a ghillie suit with "strips" (in this instance, fabric strings) which you had to attach yourself piece by piece to the netting on his suit to complete the look. But you must admit, the final outcome is quite satisfying. "Snake" also came with a sniper scarf and t-shirt, camouflaged M40A1 sniper rifle with working bolt, sling and 6 individual bullets, Beretta M9 pistol with removable magazine, web belt with OD holster, SDU-5/E strobe light (in front left pocket), AN/PCR 119 Radio with Handset, Die-cast M16A3 assault rifle with removable clip, MK III Navy knife with sheath, hydration pack, digital watch, and Sniper Spotting scope with stand.









A ghillie suit, or yowie suit, is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble heavy foliage. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of cloth or twine, sometimes even made to look like leaves and twigs. Snipers wear a ghillie suit to blend into their surroundings when they feel it is important for them to camouflage and hide themselves from enemies or their targets.

Snake's hydration pack hidden under his ghillie suit

MK III Navy knife in sheath

Die-cast M16A3 assault rifle with removable clip - back-up weapon for closer encounters


"Snake's" sidearm: Beretta M9 pistol with removable magazine, holstered until he needs to use it


The M40 is a bolt-action sniper rifle used by the United States Marine Corps. It has had four variants — the M40, the M40A1 the M40A3 and the M40A5. The M40 was introduced in 1966. The changeover to the A1 model was completed in the 1970s, the A3 in the 2000s and the A5 in 2009.

Each M40 is built from a Remington 700 bolt-action rifle, and is extensively modified by USMC 2112 (Armorers) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, using components from a number of suppliers. New M40A3s are being built, and A1s are upgraded to A3s as they rotate into the armory for service and repair. [ source: wiki ]

Accessories as mentioned: Sniper Spotting scope with stand, AN/PCR 119 Radio with Handset, digital watch and 6 "bullets" (these has since been improved to real "full metal jackets")

Close-up of the sniper spotting scope

And AN/PCR 119 Radio with Handset

In addition to marksmanship, military snipers are also trained in camouflage, field craft, infiltration, reconnaissance and observation techniques.

Tom Berenger played US Marine Sniper Thomas Beckett in the film "Sniper (1993)" whose job was to seek out rebels and remove them using his sniper skills. One of the scenes I remembered from the movie was when he crawled inch by inch to take up a shooting position in his ghillie suit whilst surrounded by Panamanian rebels. It really showed how the ghillie suit worked in that situation.

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