And Then There Were Three (3)

Here's a group shot of 3 Naked Snake released by Medicom (the 4th is the one with square camouflage and painted skull face) for comparison. From left to right: "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" MGS3 Naked Snake (Cold War version), Naked Snake in "Snake" camouflage (Splitter) and Naked Snake in Tiger-striped camouflage.

Comparison of the first Naked Snake released by Medicom and the most recent

The M1956 LBE web gear with ammo pouches, canteen and cover, M1961 combat field pack (also known as butt pack), M1916 black leather holster and STABO harness/rig are the same. The only difference is the uniform/BDU (Battle Dress Uniform)

Naked Snake has two good eyes (original version with Tiger Stripe camouflage) when he started his mission but ends up with an eye patch after losing his right eye.

Medicom has improved much in the painting of the head sculpt since the first release

Naked Snake with Splitter camouflage

Comes with an M16 assault rifle with suppressor

And fake Gavial head (or "Gharial", one of the longest of all living crocodilians) which Naked Snake used to avoid detection in water


Closer look at the M16 assault rifle

Here are all three Naked Snake together again

More pictures of:
Medicom MGS3 Naked Snake (Cold War version) HERE
Medicom MGS3 Naked Snake with fake Gavial head HERE
Medicom MGS3 Naked Snake (the First version) HERE

Just Funny XD

This "Sherman's Lagoon" comic strip appeared in The Sunday Times and I thought it was relevant to post it here, especially since I can identify with it - HA! HA! Noticed how Sherman takes over the submarine from Herman eventually and the last part when the wife has to put her "foot" down - priceless! That's the secret to the fountain of youth - remaining a child LOL. Actually, the truth is: Boys don't grow up, they just grow old!




And here are two 1/6 World War II German U-boat crew that were released by Dragon in 2001: U-boat Kapitänleutnant "Herbert" of the Kriegsmarine (German War Navy) wearing his double-breasted deck and bridge leather jacket over his U-boat crew uniform.

I'd posted pictures of him HERE under the heading "Das Boot (1981)".

Kriegsmarine Warrant Officer "Georg" was released in 2002 (pictures HERE). The actual head sculpt that came with this 1/6 figure bore the resemblance of actor David Duchovny. I'd since kitbashed him as FBI Agent Fox Mulder from the "X-Files" TV series (Full review HERE)

Mine-sniffing rats head to Asia

This was in Saturday's The Straits Times front page news - This African Giant Pouched Rat is trained to detect lethal buried landmines in Mozambique. Belgian innovator Bart Weetjens has trained rats to detect landmines due to their powerful sense of smell. He calls them HeroRATS. Their next frontier is the Thai-Cambodia border, where hidden landmines have caused immense loss of human life and limbs.

The story of HeroRATS began in the 1990s, when Bart Weetjens travelled to Africa to observe demining techniques that relied on clumsy, risky mechanical detectors or dogs. Back in Belgium's University of Antwerp, Bart developed a system, training rats to detect TNT vapours and other components of mines. In six to eight months, rats are ready for the field and placed on a light leash. On finding a mine, they signal to their handlers by digging vigorously. The reward may be a piece of peanut or banana. The plus point is that the 1.5kg rats are too light to trigger the explosives which have a trigger point of 5kg. This results in a speedier process and no mess to clean up if any mine was detonated.

Rats are also cheaper than dogs for the job. It costs US$5,000 to US$6,000 to train, feed, house and transport each rat throughout its lifetime, compared to US$20,000 to US$25,000 for canines. The rats have an eight-year lifespan, and spend five years in action. A trained rat can search 100 sq m of land in 20 minutes. Similar work would take a human deminer two days, working in dangerous conditions.

Bart Weetjens, a former soldier turned Buddhist monk's rat regiment has recently swept a small minefield in the village of Pfulwe, clearing the way for the national electrical company to set up grids and now 10,000 villagers have lights in the evening.

The landmine problem is global. Landmine Action, a London advocacy group, reports that mines contaminate more than 80 nations. The most affected areas are Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia, Eritrea, Iraq, Laos, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Sudan. Each year, there are up to 20,000 new casualties, many of them children. The mines block access to land, water and vital resources; post-conflict reconstruction is also hampered.

Medicom RAH MGS3 Naked Snake (Cold War version) Review II

Naked Snake is the protagonist of "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater", a former Green Beret and a field operative for the newly-formed FOX unit. FOX (Force Operation X) is a military group in the United States of America affiliated with the CIA. It is led by Major Zero in the game, and is specifically designed to handle top secret Sneaking and Infiltration missions and possibly other black-ops. [ source: wiki ]

After laying down all the kit and weapons (see previous post), now we see Medicom RAH (Real Action Heroes) MGS3 (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater) 1/6 Naked Snake (Cold War version) in full gear, wearing his Cold War camouflage pattern BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) as seen in the game (although how that is considered camouflage is beyond me, unless the entire landscape is in red, white and blue), M1956 LBE web gear with ammo pouches, canteen and cover, M1961 combat field pack (also known as butt pack), M1916 black leather holster and STABO harness/rig, and armed with the Browning 9mm Mk 1 .45 cal automatic pistol with suppressor/silencer, SOG CQC knife and Combat Knife.

Like I said, I think Medicom is the only 1/6 company that makes hands that hold knives. The rest just make hands for firearms. Here we see him with his SOG CQC (Close-Quarters Combat) knife, about to do what he does best. I switched the position of his sheath by inverting it as it would allow him to retrieve his knife more effectively with a downward pull rather than an upward tug.


And here he is with the Browning 9mm Mk 1 .45 cal automatic pistol with suppressor/silencer, very basic weapons indeed.







Close-up of the improved head sculpt of Naked Snake. Mostly it is the new paint job. Previously, the face was just painted in one flat color, no tones or shades. Now it has more definition.




More close-up shots of Naked Snake. The bandana is a standard head gear for him. In Operation: Snake Eater, he is sent on a follow-up mission to assassinate The Boss. He fulfills his mission but ends up losing his right eye in the process. Kind of remind us of another Snake: Snake Plissken, a fictional character in John Carpenter's films Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., played by Kurt Russell.

Medicom RAH MGS3 Naked Snake (Cold War version) Review I

Despite being allies against the Axis powers (see previous post), the USSR, the US, the United Kingdom and France disagreed during and after World War II, especially about the configuration of the post-war world. At war's end, they occupied most of Europe, with the US and USSR the most powerful military forces.

The Soviet Union created the Eastern Bloc with the eastern European countries it occupied, annexing some as Soviet Socialist Republics and maintaining others as satellite states, some of which were later consolidated as the Warsaw Pact (1955–1991). The US and some western European countries established containment of communism as a defensive policy, establishing alliances (e.g. NATO, 1949) to that end.

The Cold War (1945–1991) was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II (1939–1945), primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States. [source: wiki]

Set in Cold War-era Russia around the 1960s, "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" (the game) centers on FOX operative Naked Snake as he attempts to rescue a weapons designer and sabotage an experimental super weapon.

Medicom just released this latest 1/6 scale version of Naked Snake from MGS3 (there had already been three previous versions) and it is the Medicom RAH (Real Action Heroes) "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" Naked Snake (Cold War version).


The box flap reads: "SNAKE the ORIGIN. Naked Snake Cold War ver. 310mm height. Faithful realization of Cold War camouflage pattern as seen in the game. Includes custom gun with suppressor, CQC knife and Combat Knife..."

Medicom RAH 1/6 scale Naked Snake (Cold War version) in his tray

Naked Snake in his Cold War camouflage pattern. The intent of camouflage is to disrupt an outline by merging it with the surroundings, making a target harder to spot or hit. So I'm not sure why they called this a camouflage pattern.

Until the 20th century armies tended to use bright colors and bold, impressive designs. These were thought to daunt the enemy, foster unit cohesion, allow easier identification of units in the fog of war and attract recruits. In addition, bright uniforms, such as the red coats formerly used by the British, tended to deter desertion. But this is supposed to be the 1960s. As for me, I just LIKED it!!


I always wanted to know what he wore under the shirt. Let's find out - it's a wetsuit. Actually just a wetsuit jacket, with no coverage for the legs.



American Hip Hop Rappers like to wear their pants this way but if Naked Snake did that, he'll be tripping and falling all over before he even begins his mission.

Now that's much better


Medicom RAH MGS3 "Metal Gear Sold 3: Snake Eater" Naked Snake (Cold War version) also comes with three extra gloved hands - one for holding his pistol, another for grasping his SOG CQC knife and the third for additional posing.

The 1/6 scale Browning 9mm Mk 1 pistol is just one molded piece of plastic and the suppressor / silencer is slightly bent :(

I think Medicom is the only 1/6 company that makes hands that can grasp a knife properly. Hot Toys gives its movie licensed characters knives which they cannot grasp at all since they only have hands for gripping their firearms (e.g. Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer). Same goes for Ignite which released ninjas whose hands cannot hold their swords correctly (see my post HERE). Here's a closer look at the 1/6 scale SOG CQC (Close Quarter Combat) knife.

All 4 versions of Medicom's RAH (Real Action heroes) MGS3 "Metal Gear Sold 3: Snake Eater" Naked Snake (Cold War version) came with the M1956 LBE web gear with ammo pouches, canteen and cover, M1961 combat field pack (also known as butt pack), .45 cal automatic pistol holster with the STABO harness/rig that was invented by Sergeant First Class (SFC) Clifford L Roberts, US Army Special Forces. The STABO extraction harness was a device which allowed military personnel to be extracted (by helicopter) from field locations which prevented the conventional landing and boarding of a helicopter. It was a widely used and highly successful extraction device employed during the Vietnam War. Dragon did release a 1/6 special ops operator "Ron" with Charles Bronson's likeness from MACV-SOG in 2001.

This large piece of cloth was rolled up and tucked into the buttpack. Not too sure of its purpose, if any.

Close-up view of the M1916 black leather holster

The inside of the LBE revealed 1/6 ALICE clips. Soldier Story recently released a 1/6 MACV-SOG military figure with Willem DeFoe likeness who also had LBE with ALICE clips (pictures HERE).

You can also see the sheath for his SOG CQC knife attached to the STABO rig/harness

Naked Snake also has his radio with throat mic and earpiece on him for his covert ops

Let's not neglect his tropical combat boots, more popularly known as jungle boots

Well secured on his right calf area is his Combat Knife in sheath

NEXT post: We'll see a fully kitted-out Naked Snake!