Monday, March 4, 2013

Review ZCWO Mens Hommes MH Vol. 10 1/6 U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform

This is a review of the ZC World ZCWO Mens Hommes MH Vol. 10 1/6 scale U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform for 12-inch figures and could be paired up with the ZCWO 1/6 scale Articulate Body AB-01 (previewed HERE) which I saw in local stores. I felt that the actual AB-01 12-inch figure which looked too dark to me i.e. the skin tone was way darker than I had expected and although he's supposed to be an African American, he looked like he had been in the sun way too long.

This is my version of 1/6 scale Terrence Howard as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes as seen in the first Iron Man film that came out in 2008. Rhodey is a friend of Stark's, and the liaison between Stark Industries and the United States Air Force in the department of acquisitions, specifically weapons development. Director Jon Favreau had cast Howard as Rhodey because he felt he could play War Machine in a sequel. But alas, that fell through.


In the follow-up film / sequel, Iron Man 2, which was released in the United States on May 7, 2010, Jon Favreau and Robert Downey, Jr. returned as director and lead, respectively, with a screenplay by Justin Theroux. Don Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard in the role of Colonel Rhodes, who was also seen as War Machine. For me, Terrence Howard will always be Colonel Rhodes and Don Cheadle is War Machine which explains why I decided that 1/6 scale Howard will be attired in the ZC World ZCWO Mens Hommes MH Vol. 10 1/6 scale U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform. Scroll down to see more pictures of this uniform set :)




This ZC World ZCWO Mens Hommes MH Vol. 10 1/6 scale U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform Set comes with: United States Air Force Garrison Cap, USAF Service Dress Blue Coat, Blue Trousers, Long Sleeves Dress Shirt, Tie, Belt, White Tee, USAF Blue Overcoat, Black Oxford Shoes, Black Socks, Ribbons, Badges, Dog tags, Visitor Card, 3 pairs of hands with pegs, 1 pair of Feet with pegs, Ankle Extension Joint. Note: 12-inch figure is not included


Here are the items from ZCWO Mens Hommes MH Vol. 10 1/6 scale U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform Set laid out before being used. There's an extra pair of item not mentioned in the original list and that is the pair of white long johns looking leggings. I believe they are meant to be worn over the legs of the figure so that the pants can be a better fit. The shoes are not boot-feet like those Hot Toys produced for their figures i.e. you actually slip the feet in like a pair of normal shoes and yet, the socks are cut at the ankles for putting on.


Here's a close-up picture of the 1/6 scale dog tags included in this ZCWO Mens Hommes MH Vol. 10 1/6 scale U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform Set. It appears to have all the person's particulars on it like the actual 1:1 scale version. We know from the dog tags that this belongs to Rudolf Rhodes, 383-46-4358 AF, B POS, No Preference.


One of the two 1/6 scale badges included with this set appears to be the Aviation Badge Command Pilot Badge. Not sure what the other one is.


Here's 1/6 scale Terrence Howard as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes wearing the Light Blue colored Long Sleeves Dress Shirt, Tie, Belt, Blue Pants, Black Socks, Black Oxford Shoes. I did not use the long johns as I felt they aren't necessary


Close-up picture / view of Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes in the Light Blue colored Long Sleeves Dress Shirt with name tag and neck tie. He has the Air Force Blue slide-on loops ("soft rank" shoulder insignia) on the epaulets of the shirt.




The current U.S. Air Force Service Dress Uniform, which was initially adopted in 1993 and made mandatory on 1 October 1999, consists of a three-button coat, similar to that of a men's "sport jacket" (with silver mirror-finish "U.S." pins on the lapels), matching trousers, and either a service cap or flight cap, all in Shade 1620, also known as "Air Force Blue." This is worn with a light blue shirt (Shade 1550) and a herringbone patterned necktie (Shade 1620).


Enlisted airmen wear cloth rank insignia on both sleeves of the jacket and shirt, while officers wear metal rank insignia pinned onto the epaulets of the coat, and Air Force Blue slide-on loops ("soft rank" shoulder insignia) on the epaulets of the shirt.


Officers also wear a band of dark blue cloth sleeve braid loops 3 inches from the cuffs of the sleeves of the coat. Braid is worn in a 1/2-inch width for officers in the rank of colonel and below and in a 1-inch width for general officers.


Heres' a look from the back


I have to say, this ZC World ZCWO Mens Hommes MH Vol. 10 1/6 scale U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform set for 12-inch figures is very well made / stitched. The uniform is very fitting and looks very nice when it is put on the figure and it makes Terrence Howard look very smart as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes


This is certainly a great addition to any 12-inch Iron Man collection. The 1/6 scale cast of the Iron Man films is steadily growing. I already have 1/6 scale Tony Stark (see my post HERE) and Obadiah Stane (see kitbash 1/6 scale Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane HERE).


Scroll down to see close-up pictures of 1/6 scale Terrence Howard as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes wearing ZC World ZCWO Mens Hommes MH Vol. 10 1/6 scale U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform set for 12-inch figures


For the U.S. Air Force Officer Service Dress Uniform, Center silver metallic name tag on wearer's right side, between the sleeve seam and the lapel. Bottom of name tag will be parallel with bottom of ribbons. Ribbons are mandatory. All ribbons and devices must be worn


The ribbons and badges have to be pinned on and some patience is required to get the alignment right.



Here's 1/6 scale Terrence Howard as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes standing side-by-side with 12-inch Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) as he appeared in "The Avengers"



NEXT: For cold weather, there's the U.S. Air Force Topcoat and / or All-Weather Coat. The coat can be worn with the formal dress, mess dress, service dress, semi-formal dress and service uniforms. See how the 1/6 scale USAF Blue Overcoat is worn in my next post.

7 comments:

desmond said...

Very nice kit bash indeed :)

Anonymous said...

FYI the ribbons he is wearing are from the Civil Air Patrol, not the Air Force (other than top row and two on second row). There's a fun easter egg for you. Looks awesome though!

alex teo said...

Thanks for that info :)

Anonymous said...

Other than some details, he looks good and is a good start. Tie should be blue, same color as trousers and jacket, not black. Collar is NEVER unbuttoned when a tie is worn. Ribbons are not correct for USAF. Some are not USAF at all. Ribbons have a precedence order which MUST be observed. Devices on USAF ribbons are either a V device (valor device) on very specific ribbons for medals which may be for merit or valor and were awarded for valor or oak leaf clusters, bronze or silver, for multiple awards of the same decoration. There are a handful of ribbons/decorations on which a numeral or other unusual device might appear. Bronze and silver star devices are NOT used on USAF ribbons. Also, the lapel should not overlap ribbons. Instead, ribbons should start to be two per row aligned on the outer edge for full rows, rows not full should be centered. Jacket sleeve length and trouser length should be checked. The badge location and precedence should be checked. The jacket sleeves appear to be a little too long. The trouser length should just touch the top of the shoe with no break in the crease. You can look up all the ribbon/decoration and uniform information on line from USAF sources.

Anonymous said...

One last observation, dog tags should be the same size and content. Neither should be notched. A notched dog tag has not been used since Vietnam and, then, only unitl WWII and Korean war stocks were depleted. One tag is on the long chain. The other tag is on a short chain which is looped around the long chain. Chain lengths IRL are between 24 and 30 inches for the long one, 4 inches for the short one. The long chain ALWAYS stays with the person for identification. The short chain is broken to take the other tag to record casualties. Bead size is 2.5 mm but may be optionally changed to 3.0 mm by the individual.

Marshall Mathers the 4th said...

Where can you buy this.

alex teo said...

This was produced and released in 2013 in limited quantities. I think it will be quite difficult to get hold of these now. Perhaps you can try e-bay. Maybe someone who bought a set then might decide to let it go.