From the very beginning when VHT started releasing figures, they have followed closely along Hot Toys' footsteps albeit a few steps behind. The first figures VHT released were the 1/6 scale HK SDU (Hong Kong Special Duties Unit) which Hot Toys had released earlier. They were almost identical in every way in terms of the figure's outfit and accessories except perhaps in the area of quality. VHT's quality at the very beginning were shoddy and far from ideal. But they persevered and amazingly, they are still around today and have released quite a number of outfits and uniform sets over the years. Quality is still an issue with some hits and misses but their customer base seems to be growing steadily over the years as well.
These two new 12-inch fighter pilot figure sets being offered (see this post and the NEXT) resemble the ones previously released by Hot Toys some years back when Hot Toys was producing and releasing 1:6 scale military figures. VHT has recently gone into releasing figures with the outfits / uniforms (they had only released uniform sets in the past) and these two sets will most likely follow the trend of the previously announced sets where they will be available as a fully boxed figure and a gear / uniform only set.
What I find most intriguing is that not only does VHT's first two 12-inch pilot action figures have 1:6 scale head sculpts that bear strong resemblances to famous Hollywood actors who have played the role of fighter pilots in their career, VHT is following HT's footsteps exactly as HT had also released their first two pilot figures based on these same two actors. Hot Toys released their 1:6 scale F-14 Tomcat pilot figure (also their very first pilot / movie figure) "Jack Carter" - see my post HERE - alongside 12-inch F-18 Hornet Pilot (Will Smith as CPT Steven Hiller in the 1996 movie "Independence Day" or ID4") "Alan J Nance" in the year 2000. That's 14 years ago now! Wow, that's a long time back.
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Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41) also known as the "Black Aces", is a United States Navy strike fighter squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California (USA). The "Black Aces" are an operational fleet squadron that flies the F/A-18F Super Hornet. The Black Aces are attached to Carrier Air Wing 9 (CVW-9), which are currently deployed aboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74). Their radio callsign is "Fast Eagle" and their tailcode is NG.
Related posts:
October 24, 2008 – Hot Toys 1/6th scale F-14 Tomcat pilot figure (their very first pilot / movie figure) "Jack Carter aka Tom Cruise as LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell" as seen in "Top Gun (1986)" posted HERE
January 17, 2008 – BBI Elite Force 1/6th scale United States President George W Bush as seen on USS Lincoln (2003) pictures HERE
NEXT: Very Hot 1/6 scale United States Navy VFA-154 Black Knights 12-inch pilot figure
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