Last Haul of 2011 or Last Good Bye (Buy) as 2012 Approaches

These were the last things I got before the year came to a close :) so this makes it the last post of 2011. There are many things to look forward to in 2012 but it's always nice to end the year on a positive note. I got myself the VeryHot 1/6 scale PMC Sniper uniform / outfit set and the latest Hobby Japan MIL-FIG Customized 12-inch Military Action Figures book.

VeryHot has previewed at least SIX sniper figures thus far but this was the only set I got because this set allows me the flexibility to mix and match if I choose to kitbash a figure. The other military specific snipers cannot be used for any other purpose other than building up a 1/6 army /  marine squad.

You can see the PREVIEW pictures in my earlier post HERE. This set comes with all that you see in the picture below - no 12-inch figure body or 1/6 scale head sculpt is included although from the pictures of the model used by VeryHot for posing purposes, you can tell that the head sculpt is based on a certain famous footballer who has been playing soccer in the United States for a while and has recently won the MLS (Major League Soccer) Cup with the Los Angeles Galaxy. David Beckham is a shooter but of a different kind haha

One of the items of this set that caught my attention is this 1/6 scale Maxpedition JUMBO EDC (for Every Day Carry) Tactical Nylon Sling Shoulder Bag

It's because I have a 1:1 scale version of the same bag in UCP (Universal Camouflage Pattern) which is used by the U.S. Army for their ACU (Army Combat Uniform) and the 1:6 scale black Maxpedition JUMBO EDC (for Every Day Carry) Tactical Nylon Sling Shoulder Bag is almost an exact replica of the actual bag in every detail.

Besides the VeryHot 1/6 scale PMC Sniper uniform / outfit set, I also got this latest Hobby Japan Mil-FIG Customized 12-inch Military Action Figures book. Every year Hobby Japan will release a book filled with beautiful pictures of customized 12-inch military figures done by the likes of amazingly gifted and skilled customizers such as Kaz, asa, Jun MATSUI, k-inoue, amie, jack, shiva, suiken and TETSU. The content and text are all in Japanese but there are a lot of pictures and the pictures pretty much gives you an idea what the words are trying to say. The final outcome of the 1/6 scale realized figures look so stunningly real it boggles the mind ;p

Here are some pictures of the double spreads from the book. There are lots more where these came from and it's such an eye-popping, mouth-drooling experience seeing what these amazing customizers can do to make a good figure look GREAT! Click on the pictures to see the ENLARGEd views

Click to see a BIGGER & BETTER picture :)

Click for an ENLARGEd view ;p

Here's an example of the kind of dedication and skill these customizers put into their craft. They actually make more cuts to the 12-inch figure bodies to increase the articulation and make the figures look even more realistic and able to achieve some pretty amazing poses.

Click to see in greater detail :)

There's also a section comparing the different 12-inch body types available in the market at the time of print, showing the different neck and wrist joints. What more can I say? Go grab the book. It's an amazing resource and shows you how skillful craftsman can turn this hobby into an art form :)

Click to see clearer ;p

This latest Hobby Japan Mook Mil-FIG Customized 12-inch Military Action Figures book is the fifth in the series and I have the other four earlier released books / manuals as well, starting with SpecFigures which had features on the BlackHawk Down D-boy (US Army Delta Force), US Navy SEAL Team 8 VBSS and US Air Force Pararescue.

The Hobby Japan Mook SpecFigures 2 12" Action Figure Guide Book had a special feature on British Soldiers from World War II to the Present plus a feature on the USMC Scout Sniper "Jake", Green Beret in action and even Girl in Street Fashion ;p

The Hobby Japan Mook SpecFigures 3 12" Action Figure Guide Book had a special feature on U.S. Marines from World War II to the Present plus a feature on the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan, US Navy SEAL CQC and more.

The Hobby Japan Mook SpecFigures 4 12" Action Figure Guide Book had a special feature on U.S. ARMY from World War II to the Present plus a feature on Imperial Japanese Army Infantry, British Army Blues and Riyals, U.S. Air Force PJ etc.

And before all these Hobby Japan 12-inch figure books were released, there's this 2000 published Special Forces & S.W.A.T. Figure + Hobby book which gave a very good insight into the 1/6 scale Special Forces figures available at that time from the various companies such as 21st Century Toys, Dragon Models, Hasbro, Blue Box Elite Force and Medicom Toys. All these companies (except Hasbro) no longer release 12-inch military type figures. A lot has changed in ten years.

With that, I bid you Adiós (Spanish for "farewell") to 2011 and see you back here in 2012 ;p