1/6 Facepool FP-011 Claus von Stauffenberg (Operation Valkyrie, 1944) + FP-011C Afrika Korps (1943)

[amarcord]

is there a photo of the DID and Facepool Toms side by side?

 

[Asta]

Facepoolfigure​

Favourites · 3 m ·

Facepoolfigure FP011 Operation Valkyrie - Shipping SOON!

 

[Asta]

 

[JacktheRipper]

Funny how all those heads are the same sculpt and are suppose to resemble Cruise, but many of them don't look like him.

 

[Asta]

Funny how all those heads are the same sculpt and are suppose to resemble Cruise, but many of them don't look like him.

It's like Where's Wally, except you have to spot the Tom Cruise sculpt they hid in the picture.

I still have DID's Stauffenberg Tom Cruise spare, and will have two more from Facepool's sets.

At some point I'll use them on figures that can have scarves wrapped around their faces.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

When Stauffenberg was let into that meeting room, was he required to surrender his pistol? It's been a while since I've seen Valkyrie, but IIRC, Cruise hides the bombs in the small of his back under his jacket, so he has to take off his pistol belt first. I do vaguely remember seeing the holster.

Couldn't he have just shot Hitler in the head? Or his aide could have done it? If pistols were taken before meeting Hitler, then how hard would it be to sneak in a pistol somehow? You only need one good shot to the head.

 

[Asta]

When Stauffenberg was let into that meeting room, was he required to surrender his pistol? It's been a while since I've seen Valkyrie, but IIRC, Cruise hides the bombs in the small of his back under his jacket, so he has to take off his pistol belt first. I do vaguely remember seeing the holster.

I think everyone had to leave their pistols outside the room, because Hitler was rightfully paranoid.

Couldn't he have just shot Hitler in the head? Or his aide could have done it? If pistols were taken before meeting Hitler, then how hard would it be to sneak in a pistol somehow? You only need one good shot to the head.

Stauffenberg had to get out alive. As Chief of Staff for the Reserve Army his second task was to implement Operation Valkyrie itself, which was to activate the Reserve Army in Berlin to take over the infrastructure for an emergency continuity of government.

 

[Asta]

Facepoolfigure​

3 m ·

FP011 Operation Valkyrie Shipping NOW!

 

[Asta]

https://bbs.bbicn.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=399718&extra=page=1
Unboxing by metalfrog:

 

[Asta]

The Deluxe and the DAK arrived today.

I had a scare when I opened the outer box because both art boxes are identical - the DAK version even has the same photos of the Deluxe on the back, and no photos of the DAK or any reference to it at all.

The only difference is a sticker on one end showing FP011B on the Deluxe and FP011C on the DAK.

The rank is still wrong:

Two pips is for an Oberst (full colonel), but Stauffenberg was an Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) while in North Africa. He wasn't promoted to Oberst until 1st April 1944.

That's not a problem for me since this one won't be Stauffenberg. I'll swap the sculpt and have him as another Oberst on the General Staff.

I had no idea what height Facepool would go for with these: 6' 3" (12.5") Stauffenberg or 5' 7 ¾" (11.29") Tom Cruise owing to the ridiculous casting?

They didn't try one way or the other as both figures are just about 12" tall, so I'll add height to the Deluxe.

I was thinking of using a CooModel Extra Tall body for this one, as it would be almost exactly correct. I also wanted to used DID's pale regular tunic as it was closer to the one Stauffenberg was wearing, but it's a bit short in the sleeves on the CooModel body so I'll probably just increase the ankle height of Facepool's body.

 

[Asta]

The bag of documents also included four tiny photographs:

The Soldbuch and "Hauptquartier des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht" (Headquarters of the High Command of the Wehrmacht) books are flat card that need to be folded, and are blank on the other side.


I started with the DAK figure. Both figures are wearing black padded undersuits, which are integrated vests with legs that reach to above the knee.

My first choice for a replacement sculpt was DAM Toys' SR-71 Tommy Lee Jones, but his neck looked a bit short. I removed the fat suit to see if it allowed the shirt to sit lower, but that caused an issue with the breeches. Without the fat suit the waist band is too wide, even when tightening the belt that runs around inside them.

My second choice with the fat suit back on was perfect: the George C. Scott from DID's Patton accessory set.

It would have helped if the factory had put the holster on the belt before putting the belt through the loops on the breeches. It would've taken them a lot less time to do than it does to remove and replace the buckle.

The little strap with the D ring on the belt hangs downwards. By rights the ring ought to be on the top as this is used for attaching Y straps when a single ammunition pouch is worn on the left side, and maybe a map case on the right side. The strap and ring make up for the lack of a hook on a map case, which hangs from its loops on the belt.

On the other hand, if no Y straps are being used, then maybe the officer would turn that strap so that the ring hangs downward - DID showed their DAK Hauptmann, Wilhelm, like that in their promo shots and unboxing.


The belt buckle on the breeches causes the officer's belt buckle to stick out awkwardly, so I moved the lower buckle as far to the side as I could get it.

The fiddliest thing by far though was putting the watch on. It's a lot harder fastening the strap when the hand and wrist are a single piece.

When I put him onto the desert stand the crotch grabber was so high that his feet didn't touch the base. The rod doesn't want to go any further into the base so appears it was designed for a taller figure. It was even too tall for DID's Patton so I had to cut about a centimetre off the rod. It works well for him as it's large enough for Willie Patton to stand on it as well.


As a figure Facepool's DAK officer isn't doing much for me at the moment. I intended for him to stand alongside Rommel and Hauptmann Wilhelm, but he doesn't look right. Maybe it's the limitation of the solid arms with no other choice of hands or the ability to do anything with them.

I feel happier with him as more of a background character:

 

[Asta]

Working on the Deluxe and deciding how to use him.

A comparison of the DID (on the left) and the Facepool wearing DID's pale tunic. Both figure are height adjusted:

The DID is wearing an older pair of DID officer boots as I preferred them to the ones they gave Stauffenberg.


The main reason I bought Facepool's was that the sculpt reminded me of Sterling Archer.

Between the two I still prefer Facepool's.

The belt is too long, which is good as I can use it on my fat Major Achbach, and Achbach can give DID's Stauffenberg belt to Facepool's Stauffenberg.

The Facepool wearing the Facepool cap:

The Facepool wearing DID's cap:

One of them ought to be wearing the eyepatch. Stauffenberg only put his glass eye in when meeting VIPs, as I think he found it uncomfortable. However, according to Joachim Fest's Plotting Hitler's Death, on 20th July: "All day he had worn his black eyepatch, but now he took it off as a sign of capitulation."

That is, he removed it after the fire-fight at Bendlerstrasse when he was trying to get in touch with his fellow conspirators in Paris.

He also wore the pale grey tunic on 20th July 1944.

Facepool's eyepatch is a tie-it-yourself job, whereas DID's is on a rubber band which will be easier to put on and remove as necessary.

 

[Asta]

With DID's eyepatch:

The Deluxe stand looks nice, but it's also a nuisance because it's so tall. A heightened Stauffenberg could just stand on it in a Detolf as long he's not wearing a cap.

Since the Facepool books don't stay closed when folded, which also reveals that they're blank inside, I tucked them into the DID brief case. The rest of the DID accessories are inside, apart from the glass eye.

I managed to use the table end by propping it against the glass, using Stauffenberg's leg to prevent it falling over:

With the DAK version I went back to using the Tommy Lee Jones sculpt as it doesn't look so bad now, and seems more appropriate than George C. Scott for this uniform. He can also hold the clipboard map, which is about the limit of his action:

If I could keep the sculpt raised at this level it'd work better:

 

[Asta]

I can't make my mind up about the DAK figure. There's something off with him that makes him look awkward to my eyes.

Not just the unusual set up of the combined arms, wrists and hands, but his shoulders seem disproportionately wide, even with the padding that expands his waist.

Some of the shoulder width is down to the puffiness of the shirt, which I've now tried to tame.

It's been a game of musical heads... and now hats. I've gone back to the George C. Scott due to the longer neck, but I'm not done yet. I may even try the Tom Cruise sculpt because it's not a perfect likeness. From certain angles it's easier to forget that it's meant to be him.

The Facepool cap and goggles are currently on my photographer:

 

[Asta]

I think this will have to do. The Cruise sculpt has a longer and wider neck which offsets the issues I saw with the body in hand.

Only now do I notice that the eagle needs straightening up.

It was seeing this photo that put in mind using the European visor cap:

Also, Facepool's Afrika Korps cap doesn't appear to be piped in silver for an officer. They may have intended it to be silver, but it looks more off-white/dirty white to me so was more appropriate to give it to the photographer. Being tailored differently to DID's examples was another reason to use it on a figure on another shelf.


Another shot of the two Stauffenbergs. I really like the Facepool sculpt with DID's tunic, cap and eyepatch:

 

[thepedant]

Just curious... Which tom cruise headsculpt is better?

 

[Asta]

Just curious... Which tom cruise headsculpt is better?

It's hard to say. Facepool's is fuller in the face, but it lacks his characteristic nose profile. DID captures his nose better from the side, but from the front it looks too narrow.

I'm pleasantly surprised after putting the Facepool sculpt on the DAK figure how little it reminds me of Cruise. Companies are obsessed with producing celebrity sculpts for all manner of random figures, but this one, made as a specific Tom Cruise role, actually presents itself to me as largely generic.

If you're looking for Cruise as you turn the sculpt in your hand you'll see him somewhere in there. In profile I was actually being reminded of Paul Newman.

 

[Nara Ramanujan]

It's hard to say. Facepool's is fuller in the face, but it lacks his characteristic nose profile. DID captures his nose better from the side, but from the front it looks too narrow.

I'm pleasantly surprised after putting the Facepool sculpt on the DAK figure how little it reminds me of Cruise. Companies are obsessed with producing celebrity sculpts for all manner of random figures, but this one, made as a specific Tom Cruise role, actually presents itself to me as largely generic.

If you're looking for Cruise as you turn the sculpt in your hand you'll see him somewhere in there. In profile I was actually being reminded of Paul Newman.

Is there Any chance you could show us a side-by-side of the Cruise headsculpts?

 

[Asta]

Is there Any chance you could show us a side-by-side of the Cruise headsculpts?

The DID is fixed to a body and I don't want to pull the sculpt out, so I can't put them right next to each other. I photographed them standing, then laid down so I could put the Facepool closer.

DID is on the left:

 

[Nara Ramanujan]

The DID is fixed to a body and I don't want to pull the sculpt out, so I can't put them right next to each other. I photographed them standing, then laid down so I could put the Facepool closer.

DID is on the left:

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Thank you so much for doing that! This is really helpful!