1:6 Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump

This is a re-post of an old entry dated April 24, 2010.

"Stupid is as stupid does"

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film stars Tom Hanks as an adult Forrest Gump and the story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a simple Alabama man who travels across the world, sometimes meeting historical figures, influencing popular culture, and experiencing firsthand historic events of the late 20th century.

This 1:6 scale 12-inch figure was produced and released recently (that was April 24, 2010). It is not clear which company made this "Toms Forrest" (obviously referring to Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump portrayal) figure but I must say this figure is quite well done. The packaging is pretty simple and straightforward. The amazing thing is, there's supposed to be the bench Forrest Gump sits on inside the package as well.

Here's the 1/6 scale 12" Toms (Hanks) Forrest (Gump) action figure out of the box, wearing his white and blue plaid short sleeve shirt plus jacket, belt with buckle, pants, and socks with NIKE shoes. He also comes with his ping-pong (table tennis) bat. While in the hospital recovering fromhis injuries suffered while fighting in Vietnam, Forrest had taken up ping-pong. Rather than returning to Vietnam, Forrest was assigned to the Special Services, entertaining wounded veterans with his ping-pong skills. He would later travel to the People's Republic of China during the Ping Pong Diplomacy period.

The suit that Tom Hanks wore as Forrest Gump was more of a beige (cream) color compared to the much darker version Toms Forrest is wearing.

Here's a closer look at the 1:6 scale Toms Forrest head sculpt. Not altogether Tom Hanks but you can see he's hiding inside there somewhere. I didn't like the short neck that came with this figure, making him look like he didn't have any neck at all because of the shirt and jacket he's wearing so I "lengthened" the neck just a bit and me thinks he looks better :)

The outfit he comes with is stitched quite well too. Not Hot Toys standard but then again, this isn't Hot Toys price either. Just an interesting figure to have with the accessories he comes with.

The 1:6 scale miniature ping-pong bat Toms Forrest comes with has got two sides: one side is the standard red rubber pad and the other side has an image of Chairman Mao

The most well known shoes Forrest wore were the Nikes that Jenny gave him as a present. They were white running shoes with the signature swoosh in red.

Toms Forrest's 1:6 scale luggage (related to the act of "lugging" things around) bag. The catch works too :) and the bag opens nicely. The suitcase comes packed with quite a few accessories inside.

There's a "FORBES" magazine, an Uncle Sam recruitment leaflet, a "Curious George" storybook, an Academy Award statue (the film won six oscars including best picture at the 67th Academy Awards in 1995), a red baseball cap with "Bubba Gump Shrimp Company" AND a gift box (mine's quite crushed). Remember the other famous line from the movie: My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." There's also a miniature feather, not shown (oops). In the opening scene, Forrest Gump is seen sitting at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia, and watches as a white feather falls to his feet. Various interpretations have been suggested for the feather present at the opening and conclusion of the film. "Does the white feather symbolize the unbearable lightness of being? Forrest Gump's impaired intellect? The randomness of experience?"

This is the 1:6 scale bench Toms Forrest comes with. It is packed loose with the packaging and a tube of glue is included along with a set of instructions on how to assemble / build your very own wooden bench. Thanks to Adrian of Little Plastic Man who rightly pointed out that the included instructions are WRONG! There should only be three (3) wooden planks on the back of the bench and not four (4) as stated if you want this bench to look like the one Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump sat on in the film. Check out his post HERE. Interestingly enough, in the preview pictures, it showed the bench with three (3) planks instead of four (4).

And here's Toms Forrest sitting on his bench, waiting for the bus to bring him to Jenny. You can see the socks he's wearing from this photo.

As with all hats and caps in 1:6 scale, it'll always be a little too big due to the scale and size. This red "Bubba Gump Shrimp Co." cap is no exception

Tom Hanks won an Academy Award for the role he portrayed as the adult Forrest Gump and rightly so. He certainly deserved it.

Related posts:
Young Forrest Gump (Michael Conner Humphreys) grows up and joins the Army posted HERE
BEST 1:6 scale Tom Hanks head sculpt posted HERE