New from VeryHot: Sniper Preview

Another sniper will appear on the 1/6 scale market pretty soon and this one is by VeryHot. Just a gentle reminder that VeryHot usually just produces the uniform sets, so no 12-inch figure will be included. That means no head either. Just the clothes that maketh the man.

A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles.

In addition to marksmanship, military snipers are also trained in camouflage, field craft, infiltration, reconnaissance and observation. Snipers are especially effective when deployed within the terrain of urban warfare, or jungle warfare.

Many snipers use ghillie suits to hide and stay hidden. Ghillie suits vary according to the terrain into which the sniper wishes to blend. For example, in dry, grassy wasteland the sniper wiil typically wear a ghillie suit covered in dead grass.

The VeryHot Sniper ghillie suit (jacket, pants, boonie hat) is made on the older DCU camo pattern uniform with re-inforced elbows, abdomens, and knees.

The M40 is a bolt-action sniper rifle used by the United States Marine Corps. It has had four variants — the M40, M40A1, M40A3, and 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.

The original M40 was a military type-classified version of the Remington 700; it was factory-made, and had a one-piece wooden stock. The M40A1 and A3 switched to fiberglass stocks made by McMillan, with new scopes.

Each M40 is built from a Remington 700 bolt-action rifle, and is modified by USMC 2112 (Armorers) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, using components from a number of suppliers. The M40A5 incorporates a detachable magazine and a threaded barrel to allow for the use of a sound suppressor or other muzzle device.

The paddings on the shirt sleeve appear to be sewn on incorrectly, with the netting for the scrim on the inside of the forearm and the padding on the outside. Hopefully they correct for that.

The verb "to snipe" originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India where a hunter skilled enough to kill the elusive snipe (a type of bird) was dubbed a "sniper".

Some sniper teams in Afghanistan have killed large numbers of Taliban in quite short periods of time. For example, whilst in Helmand Province, two British snipers (part of the Welsh Guards Battle group) shot dead a total of 75 Taliban in only 40 days during the summer of 2009. In one session of duty, lasting just two hours, they shot and killed eight Taliban. On another occasion, the same team scored a "Quigley" (i.e. killing two Taliban with a single bullet) at a range of 196 metres.

A sandbag can serve as a useful platform for shooting a sniper rifle, although any soft surface such as a rucksack will steady a rifle and contribute to consistency. In particular, bipods help when firing from a prone position, and enable the firing position to be sustained for an extended period of time.

The key to sniping is accuracy, which applies to both the weapon and the shooter. The weapon should be able to consistently place shots within high tolerances.

A sniper must have the ability to accurately estimate the various factors that influence a bullet's trajectory and point of impact such as: range to the target, wind direction, wind velocity, altitude and elevation of the sniper and the target and ambient temperature.

Snipers zero their weapons at a target range or in the field. This is the process of adjusting the scope so that the bullet's points-of-impact is at the point-of-aim (centre of scope or scope's cross-hairs) for a specific distance.

The VeryHot Sniper uniform set includes the Ghillie Suit Jacket, Ghillie Suit Pants, Ghillie Suit Boonie Hat, Sniper Rifle, M4 Carbine, Beretta Pistol with Serpa style drop down holster, coyote brown Rifle Drag Bag, Gas Mask Sub-Load, Binoculars, FROG Chest Rig, Tan cloth nomex gloves, Sunglasses, Lightsticks (x3), zipties (x2), Carabiners (x2), and Oakley style tan boots

A spotting scope would have been a nice addition, or if they went with snow or woodlands camouflage instead of desert, which seems to have become the standard since the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And that sneaking suit looks brand new with rather large gloves.