Review 1: Art Figures AF-010 1/6 scale Soldiers of Fortune 12-inch action figure "Lee Christmas"

In the 2010 action film "The Expendables" and the follow-up film / sequel "The Expendables 2" directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, former SAS soldier Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) is Barney Ross's (Sylvester Stallone) worthy right hand man. Lee is a martial arts expert, very adept at hand-to-hand combat, close quarters knife combat and is especially good at knife throwing. Interestingly enough, there was an actual person by the name of Lee Christmas. Lee Christmas (born February 2, 1863, Livingston Parish, Louisiana - died January 24, 1924) was an American mercenary in Central America. (source: wiki)

This is Art Figures recently released AF-010 1/6 scale Soldiers of Fortune 12-inch action figure and let's just say its release just before Christmas was most timely and apt, don't you think? I had to get 12-inch Lee Christmas for the season right? And I'm most glad I did :) What a fine figure this turned out to be. Scroll down to see more pictures, including the box packaging and contents. Very NICE indeed.

Art Figures AF-010 1/6 scale Soldiers of Fortune 12-inch action figure comes in a very nice box packaging with magnetic flap closures just like Sideshow Collectibles 1/6 scale Star Wars 12-inch figures packaging but the box is sturdier and has very nice printing. The design of the logo looks a lot like that seen in "The Expendables" even though it says "Soldiers of Fortune" which is what they were in the movie. So that's not wrong either; just another way of saying it.

Art Figures AF-010 1/6 scale Soldiers of Fortune 12-inch action figure which must have been inspired by Jason Statham as "Lee Christmas" from "The Expendables" movie lies in the tray fully dressed in black T-shirt, black combat suit consisting of long sleeve shirt top with elbow pads and black tactical pants with knee pads, brown leather-like belt, black gloves, black socks and combat boots. He also has his black beret, throwing knives (kept in thigh rig holders), Diplomat rifle with EOTECH red dot sight, KAC foldable sights (front and rear), TAC2 laser pointer, three (3) rifle magazines, bungee rifle sling, Beretta M9 pistol with two (2) pistol magazines, pistol holster, gun belt, two M67 fragmentation grenades, pouch, EOD vest with two (2) throwing knives.

Hers's Art Figures AF-010 1/6 scale Soldiers of Fortune 12-inch action figure inspired by Jason Statham as "Lee Christmas" from "The Expendables" movie with his throwing knives.

These throwing knives are perfectly calibrated and balanced. An expert like Lee Christmas can utilize spinning or non-spinning techniques to throw them accurately across long distances and around corners, whether running or off-balance.

In real life, the throwing knives are actualy ninja weapons known as Kunai. To the ninja, the kunai wasn't a knife but a dagger and not used for killing. It was mostly used as a climbing tool.

In these pictures of 12-inch Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), I haven't dressed him with his EOD assault vest yet as I wanted to show the basic figure as it is straight out of the box. These two throwing knives were stored on his vest and not in his thigh rig holders which holds 2 throwing knives on each thigh.

The 1/6 scale black combat boots are quite nice as they have actual laces that you allow you to lace up properly. It adds to the realism.

His outfit looks a lot like those apparel made by CRYE Precision for military types with elbow and knee pads on them so that you don't have to put on another set of pads over regular BDUs.

Art Figures AF-010 1/6 scale Soldiers of Fortune 12-inch action figure comes with black gloves worn over hands with bendable fingers which allow you to pose them holding throwing knives or clutching weapons, either the assault rifle or the sidearm pistol.

Scroll down to see close-up shots / pcitures of 1/6 scale Jason Statham as "Lee Christmas" from "The Expendables" movie

Here are the close-up views of the Art Figures AF-010 12-inch Soldiers of Fortune action figure 1/6 scale head sculpt. Does he look like Jason Statham as "Lee Christmas" from "The Expendables"? You be the judge :)

More close-up pictures of Art Figures AF-010 1/6 scale Soldiers of Fortune 12-inch action figure OR Jason Statham as "Lee Christmas" from "The Expendables" movie showing off his black long sleeve shirt with inbuilt elbow pads, brown leather-like belt, black tactical pants with knee pads, black combat boots with miniature lace and throwing knives (actualy ninja weapons known as Kunai which were used mainly for climbing).

Here are the rest of his stuff all laid out before assembling: EOD vest, bungee rifle sling, gun belt, pouch, two M67 fragmentation grenades, Diplomat rifle with EOTECH red dot sight, KAC foldable sights (front and rear), TAC2 laser pointer, three (3) rifle magazines, black beret, pistol holster, Beretta M9 pistol with two (2) pistol magazines, throwing knives (kept in thigh rig holders)

The Noveske Rifleworks Diplomat can be separated into the upper and lower receiver groups with extendable stock. In the movie "The Expendables", Jason Statham as Lee Christmas carries a Beretta 92G Elite 1A on his vest in a cross draw holster. He uses it in conjunction with his knives in the final assault on General Garza's fortress.

During the raid on Garza's compound, the majority of the Expendables can be seen carrying the Noveske Rifleworks Diplomat which is equipped with a Vltor VIS-1 monolithic upper receiver assembly. In February 2009, ISS (Independent Studio Services) received 12 Vltor VIS-1s with Diplomat barrel assemblies, with KX-3 flash-hiders. ISS also received 24 EMod stocks from Vltor, which were intended to be used in "The Expendables". They are converted to full auto.

Art Figures 1/6 scale Noveske Rifleworks Diplomat rifle is very NICE and I'm glad they didn't choose the easy way out and just give us an M4 or HK416 which there are so many of already in the market. I really like to see something different in the 1/6 arms market and this is GREAT. Click on the picture for a bigger and better view ;p

NEXT: A fully kitted out and loaded 1/6 scale Jason Statham as "Lee Christmas" from "The Expendables" movie OR more pictures of Art Figures AF-010 Soldiers of Fortune 12-inch action figure