Friday, April 8, 2011

New from DID: Paratrooper 3rd RPIMa Algeria 1961

This is DID's upcoming release, a 1/6 scale Parachutiste 3ème RPIMa Algérie 1961 (translated: Paratrooper 3rd RPIMa Algeria 1961) 12-inch military figure "Henri". Henri will be available in May 2011 (according to their website). This is DID's second French figure after their earlier release - a French Foreign Legion 2nd BEP military action figure as he was in 1954 Indochina (previewed HERE).


The French wear their beret on the opposite side to the U.S. and U.K. i.e. leaning to the left. He's armed with the MAT-49 and a greener shade French lizard camouflage para uniform. The MAT-49 was a submachine gun developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army. The MAT-49 saw widespread combat use during the First Indochina War and the Algerian War, as well as the 1956 Suez Crisis. The weapon found considerable favor with airborne and mechanized troops, who prized it for its firepower and compactness.



The 1/6 scale head sculpt is based on Alain Delon but with the beret on, he does look like Roger Moore in "The Wild Geese". "The Wild Geese" is a British 1978 film about a group of PMC mercenaries in Africa. It stars Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger.




You can pre-order your DID: Paratrooper 3rd RPIMa Algeria 1961 at TFH (click to link)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to shoot you down but this figure is based on Alain Delon's role as Capitaine Phillipe Esclavier from the film Lost Command which also stars Anthony Quinn. The weapons and uniform match those used by Alain Delon's protagonist from the film.

alex teo said...

no worries :) comments are always welcome, especially if it is to make the entry / post correct. thank you for your input