Hot Toys "Platoon" 1/6 scale Chris Taylor 12-inch Collectible Figure review (poor man's version)

This is the Hot Toys "Platoon" 1/6 scale Charlie Sheen as Chris Taylor head sculpt and body wearing the Sideshow Collectibles 1/6 scale Private Chris Taylor outfit and gear. I didn't want to pay for a whole new boxed figure when I already have the Sideshow version so I ended up just picking up the 1/6 scale head sculpt instead. The only thing that says Hot Toys is the head and 12-inch body.

"Platoon" is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 1989's "Born on the Fourth of July" and 1993's "Heaven & Earth".

After his tour of duty in Vietnam ended in 1968, Oliver Stone wrote a screenplay called Break: a semi-autobiographical account detailing his experiences with his parents and his time in Vietnam. Stone's return from active duty in Vietnam resulted in a "big change" in how he viewed life and the war, and the unproduced screenplay Break was the result, and it eventually provided the basis for Platoon.

Sideshow released their 1:6 scale 12-inch "Platoon" figures in 2002, starting with the trio of Pvt. Chris Taylor, Sgt. Barnes and Sgt. Elias. I only managed to pick up Pvt. Chris Taylor (with Charlie Sheen's likeness) and am quite pleased with the figure. So I decided I'll stick with this figure but only change the head sculpt for an updated look.

Nope! I didn't get the Hot Toys olive drab BDU shirt with pouches, olive drab BDU pants with belt, olive drab towel and one scarf, army utility belt with two ammo pouches, pair of olive drab and black colored jungle boots, rifle, M72 light anti-tank weapon (LAW), bayonet with sheath, machete with sheath, fragmentation grenades and smoke grenade

I kept with what came with the Sideshow Collectibles 1:6 scale Pvt. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) which consisted of towel, dog tags, Tropical Combat Uniform of jacket, belt, pants and jungle boots with his web gear comprising H-harness with belt plus 2 canteens with carrier, 2 ammunition pouches, 1 Compass Case and a first-aid pouch, 3 fragmentation grenades, M7 Bayonet with M8A1 Sheath, M18A1 Claymore mine with plastic trigger and detonator wire carried in a bandolier, and M16 assault rifle with removable 20-round magazine.

I added the 21st Century Ultimate Soldier ARVN Rucksack / backpack and machete with sheath. The production ARVN Rucksack featured a non water-resistant cotton pack with two outside pockets mounted on a steel X frame. A webbing hanger for attaching an intrenching tool cover was located on the top flap and side straps were provided for carrying extra equipment. The pack's comparatively small size meant it could be worn higher on the back than the Lightweight Rucksack.

In "Platoon", Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young American who has abandoned college for combat duty in Vietnam. Being the FNG ("effing" New Guy), nobody gives a s**t about him and he is thrown right into the thick of things and looks to the compassionate Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe) for directions whilst being ever mindful of Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), the enemy from within.

These are close-up pictures taken of the Hot Toys "Platoon" 1/6 scale Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) head sculpt. Charlie Sheen had his first major role in this Vietnam War drama "Platoon (1986)".

Upon arrival in the Philippines, the cast was sent on a two-week intensive training course, during which they had to dig foxholes and were subject to forced marches and night-time "ambushes" which utilized special-effects explosions.

Stone explained that he was trying to break them down, "to mess with their heads so we could get that dog-tired, don't give a damn attitude, the anger, the irritation... the casual approach to death".

Willem Dafoe (who played Sergeant Elias) said "the training was very important to the making of the film," including its authenticity and the camaraderie developed among the cast. "By the time you got through the training and through the film, you had a relationship to the weapon. It wasn’t going to kill people, but you felt comfortable with it."

This is the alternative hair style for the helmeted look i.e. for Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) to put on his helmet, he cannot have the spiky hair style because they are plastic molded and will stick out like a porcupine!

Here's Hot Toys 1/6 scale Chris Taylor with helmet. First produced in 1951, the post WWII design M1 Helmet was standard issue for U.S. Soldiers and Marines throughout the Vietnam War. Worn with the liner (Infantry or Parachutist) the M1 helmet weighed approximately 3.16 pounds and protected the wearer from shrapnel and glancing bullet blows, but would not stop a direct hit.

Developed during the Korean War, the reversible Mitchell pattern camouflage consisted of a green leaf 'summer' design with a brown cloud 'winter' pattern on the underside. The Mitchell pattern helmet cover was introduced in 1959 and was used by Marines and Army troops throughout the Vietnam War. The helmet cover featured buttonholes for attaching foliage and early versions had shallow cut flaps, which necessitated an additional slot for the helmet strap.

The famous saying written on Chris Taylor's helmet: "When I die, bury me upside down so the world can kiss my ass." Worn down by the exhausting work and poor living conditions, Taylor's enthusiasm for the war soon wanes and he wonders why he volunteered for the war.

The film was marketed with the tag line, "The first casualty of war is innocence", an adaptation of Senator Hiram Johnson's assertion in 1917 that "The first casualty of war is the truth."

The M16 (more formally Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle. The M16 entered United States Army service as the M16 and was put into action for jungle warfare in South Vietnam in 1963, becoming the standard U.S. rifle of the Vietnam War by 1969, replacing the M14 rifle in that role.

Early models featured a 3-prong flash suppressor, but its tendency to catch on the jungle undergrowth lead to the development of a new closed-type "birdcage" suppressor.

The M16 was called the "black rifle" and "Mattel toy" by the grunts, no thanks to its appearance.

Currently, the M16 is in use by 15 NATO countries and more than 80 countries world wide. Not bad for a weapon made in the early 1960s.

Shorter than the M14 and equipped with a fiberglass rather than a wooden stock, the M16 weighed 7.4lbs, 2.5lbs less than its predecessor.1 The rifle's 5.56mm ammunition was also lighter than the M14s 7.62mm cartridge, which made carrying large quantities of ammunition easier. Throughout most of the war the M16 magazine had a capacity of 20-rounds, however a 30-round magazine became available towards the end of America’s involvement in Vietnam.

1:6 scale M18A1 Claymore mine with the plastic trigger and detonator wire carried in a bandolier. The M18A1 anti-personnel mine fired approximately seven hundred steel ball bearings in a sixty-degree arc and was lethal at close range. Each mine came with an M57 electrical firing device and an M4 electric blasting cap assembly, which initiated the C-4 charge.

Introduced during WWII, the M1942 machete had an 18-inch steel blade and a riveted two-piece plastic handle. It was used by both Army and Marine Corps soldiers for clearing jungle vegetation.