Kitbash USMC Staff Sergeant Nantz from "World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles"

This is my attempt at kitbashing a 1/6 scale Aaron Eckhart as USMC Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz 12-inch figure from the current movie showing at the cinema theatres here and in the United States, "World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles".

This is one of the great things I really like about this hobby of collecting 1/6 scale figures. You can customize figures and make them your own by switching heads, uniform / outfits, gear and accessories plus weapons. This isn't possible with statutes or plastic molded figures because they come as they are and it takes a lot more work to change the look. Not so for 12-inch figures because everything is removable and replaceable. That's the beauty of 1/6; the endless possibilities.

Battle: Los Angeles (also known as Battle: LA and World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, and formerly known as Battle for Los Angeles) is a 2011 military science fiction war film directed by Jonathan Liebesman, and starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Peña, Ne-Yo, David Pham, Ramon Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan. Released in March 2011, the film is set in modern day Los Angeles and follows a platoon of U.S. Marines during a global alien invasion, and are joined by an Airman and some Army infantry. [source: wiki]

Having seen the movie and realizing that I have a 1:6 scale Hot Toys Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent from "The Dark Knight (2008)" head sculpt lying around, I decided to bash my version of USMC Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz. I know that this probably isn't the most movie-accurate USMC SSgt. Nantz figure but this was just a fun project I wanted to do over the weekend by putting together what stuff I could find from my stash :) Hope you all like the pictures.

USMC SSgt. Nantz is missing his hydration pack on his back - one of those things I need to get to make the figure more complete.

The other reason why I like these 1/6 scale figures is their realistic outfit and gear. It was really FUN putting him together and I'm glad I've finally found a use for the Hot Toys Aaron Eckhart / Harvey Dent head sculpt.

Here's a look at the headsculpt without the helmet. In the film, Aaron Eckhart did NOT have such long hair. He had it short like all Marines do.

The actors went through three weeks of boot camp, in order to learn how to realistically operate as a marine platoon. In addition, Eckhart had done training with the Marines for a few months beforehand in weapons training and drills. [source: wiki]

Eckhart broke his upper arm when he fell off a ledge during an action sequence, but continued to work for the remainder of the film without having it put in a cast. Now that's true professionalism :)

Hot Toys Aaron Eckhart head sculpt is really very well done and has all the likeness of the actor and the resemblance is really good.

At least in this movie, the actors keep their helmets on throughout like real Marines do. Unlike in "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe", the actors didn't even wear their helmets or even have one, probably because the movie producers want to make sure they get maximum mileage from the actors and need to make sure their faces are not obscured or blocked by such an important item as a helmet during battle!

More pictures of kitbashed 1:6 scale Aaron Eckhart as USMC Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz in "World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles". I'm quite pleased with how he turned out.

I only began noticing Aaron Eckhart for his portrayal of Nick Naylor in "Thank You for Smoking (2006)" where he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. In 2008, he starred in the big-budget studio film "The Dark Knight" as District Attorney Harvey Dent and the villain he becomes, Two-Face.

Finally, here are some shots of Aaron Eckhart as USMC Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz AND Aaron Eckhart as EX-District Attorney Harvey Dent / Two-Face standing side-by-side.

Click on the picture below for a bigger and better view. Landscape pictures don't blow up as large as the portrait ones so clicking on them helps. One of those setbacks when you choose a standard template setup that is provided but I'm happy that it allows me to blog and post. Otherwise, this dinosaur will still be stuck in the hard copy world of print.

For more pictures of Hot Toys 1:6 scale Harvey Dent / Two-Face 12-inch figure from "The Dark Knight", check out my post HERE

Just some of the other kitbashes that I did :)
As you can see, I'm having lots of FUN!
Daniel Craig as James Bond in "Quantum of Solace" (wearing suit & overcoat)
Daniel Craig as James Bond, wearing casuals (black polo T-shirt, jacket, jeans)
Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski in "Defiance"
George Clooney as Major Archie Gates in "Three Kings" posted HERE
George Clooney as Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Devoe in "The Peacemaker"
Jason Statham as Frank Martin in "Transporter 3"
Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane in the "Iron Man"
Josh Duhamel as US Army Captain William Lennox in "Transformers"
Keanu Reeves as Jack Traven in "Speed"
Samuel L Jackson as John Shaft; need we say more?
Will Smith as Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville in "I am Legend"
William Fichtner as Gotham National Bank Manager in "The Dark Knight"