1/6 UJINDOU U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) Recon Team 1-0, Laos, 1967

[abake]

Damn, I thought I was going to be treated to an awesome figure of Captain Willard, only to find myself slapped in the face by a Charlie Sheen look-a-like from that ridiculously over hyped Platoon movie...

 

[Asta]

I don't think this figure has anything to do with Platoon, and I don't think Ujindou has ever made a movie figure.

This one's historically based, but with a slight facial resemblance to Charlie Sheen. Sculpts have been Ujindou's only nod to movies, which is the unwelcome legacy of DML basing everyone on a celebrity. The less they look like anyone famous the better, unless it's supposed to represent an historical figure.

 

[Nyhargo Dirge]

I’d like Viet Nam-era figures. I think an update would be great. Lots of good material to work with. My favorite Dragon was Oscar in his tiger stripe pattern. Ron was the SOG release, I think. Good figure for their time.

I’d love to have Kurtz, Willard, Kilgore. DeNiro from Deer Hunter would be cool. Sgt. Barnes would be really cool, too.

 

[shells075]

Still waiting on a Sgt Elias figure from HT after all these years.

 

[FlyAndFight]

I would have picked up Barnes and Taylor but didn't want to be stuck without that important third figure.

 

[shells075]

I would have picked up Barnes and Taylor but didn't want to be stuck without that important third figure.

Yeah its a shame no one has completed the trio yet, no chance from HT but another company could surely do a decent Elias.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Yeah its a shame no one has completed the trio yet, no chance from HT but another company could surely do a decent Elias.

I remember Sideshow going pretty deep with the line but a new set of figures at today's level of detailing would be most welcomed. Same goes for "Black Hawk Down".

 

[shells075]

I remember Sideshow going pretty deep with the line but a new set of figures at today's level of detailing would be most welcomed. Same goes for "Black Hawk Down".

Yeah the old Sideshow Platoon figs were very good for the time. Probably about 20 years old now those figs. I really have no problems with the HT Platoon figs, they still stand up pretty well against modern figs. They came out just as I was getting into collecting.

 

[ridetofight]

Your best source of information regarding MACV-SOG history are the books written by John L. Plaster. I've got the following three and they are fantastic. Highly recommended if you are interested in the subject matter.

View attachment 631934

Emphatically agree with your recommendation. I own quite a bit of Vietnam literature, from "Fire in the Lake" to "Tiger the LRRP dog" and Plaster's books are the most interesting and engaging. The Vietnam section of my library came to a close after finding his books - they felt like they fulfilled what I'd been after from the beginning. It makes me really happy to see other people appreciate them just as much as i do.

When MACV-SOG is mentioned I'm always reminded of the lightning strike in one of his books, it's always stuck vividly in my mind. Being as proficient as humanly possible at being undetectable to all living things, and then the hand of god comes down to tap them on the shoulder, like "I still see you!" As if everything else going on there wasn't crazy enough.

Speaking of which, may I recommend "Very crazy, G.I." by Jorgenson as well. A cheap, quick, easy read non-fiction book of word of mouth stories from vietnam dealing with the eerie, supernatural and extraordinary - pretty good fare for the type that would hang around sideshow's boards i think.

 

[Asta]

Having pre-ordered the Ujindou MACV-SOG, and currently rewatching the Burns/Novick The Vietnam War series, I wanted to address the issue of the two fantasy ACE girls.

I made one into a more probable nurse, and made the other into a guy on a DID Slim Short body with the Cillian Murphy sculpt from Ujindou's Commando Sniper. The T-shirt came from the Ekuaz Grim Reaper HUNK (and was completely concealed and wasted on the Ekuaz figure).

View attachment 633222

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I had this photo from when I originally pre-ordered the ACE figures, when I planned to make them into nurses or photographers:

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Did a Google image search on it today and found the background story:



https://www.shorpy.com/node/7086

It doesn't appear there's a thread here for the Ace Playgirl duo.

I've switched them around several times in an attempt to make them more realistic, and some weeks ago reversed the gender swap. They're both back to being something closer to nurses, with one posing with an M16.

Since dark haired Jenny went off to join the Red Army as a medic, I've replaced her sculpt with the funny one from Flirty Girl's Mystery Inc. Daphne set:

 

[Asta]

He's in stock with Kit now.

There's also a review on BBICN:

https://bbs.bbicn.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=396645&extra=page=1&_dsign=bbc0e01d
The text, if you can decipher the translation:

Nowadays, Plank Road is launched very quickly via satellite, and its shipments are also very fast. Two models (SOG and Youth League) were shipped at once.

When I got the sog this time, I really sighed that the quality was getting better and better, and the quality was improving very quickly.

Let me briefly talk about my views on this model. Since ACE left the military circle, the Vietnam War theme has basically bid farewell to the public eye.

Except for Dam who also made a Spring Festival Offensive with sentiment, the Vietnam War is basically invisible in the market. I hope Plank Road will get off to a good start and revive the Vietnam War wind, especially if it can continue to delve into the special warfare series.

The fabric pattern and mold opening precision of this model are no less than those of first-line brands. I hope that Plank Road will continue its efforts and it is best to produce sog2.0 3.0 4.0.

When I opened the box this time, I changed the hand shape of the original body, added 56 punches, and a base, and the rest are in the original box.

 

[FlyAndFight]

That looks amazing. So the poster changed the body, left off some of the kit and added a custom base... Fantastic job, all around.

 

[Asta]

That looks amazing. So the poster changed the body, left off some of the kit and added a custom base... Fantastic job, all around.

It looks like they changed the body, though the bad translation seems to only say they changed the hands.

I changed the hand shape of the original body, added 56 punches, and a base, and the rest are in the original box.

Besides that, the M56 pouches and weathering, it appears to be all stock parts.



I'm going to give the Grease Gun to the Ujindou Big Red One figure, so he can in turn donate his Thompson to my Ujindou Chindit (to replace the cheap Hot Toys Captain America version).

The MACV-SOG can have the DX11 Joker's S&W M76.

 

[Asta]

 

[FlyAndFight]

It looks like they changed the body, though the bad translation seems to only say they changed the hands.



Besides that, the M56 pouches and weathering, it appears to be all stock parts.



I'm going to give the Grease Gun to the Ujindou Big Red One figure, so he can in turn donate his Thompson to my Ujindou Chindit (to replace the cheap Hot Toys Captain America version).

The MACV-SOG can have the DX11 Joker's S&W M76.

Excellent plan. Upgrading figures has been a great part of our hobby (although can get pricey...)

 

[Asta]

https://bbs.bbicn.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=396694&_dsign=b9a58709

Simple evaluation: The packaging of the benchmark ACE and HT Vietnam War has its own characteristics. The box has two layers, the upper layer is a solid figure and a weapon backpack, and the lower layer is some equipment and other related accessories. In terms of uniforms and fabrics, the materials used by ACE.DAM are relatively thin, but the workmanship is very detailed. The leather of the boots is very soft, and they look more real compared to ACE boots. Not much to say, if you like the Vietnam War theme, this is a good choice.

 

[Asta]

Loads of gear...

This is a job for tomorrow because it's getting hotter and hotter here!

 

[Asta]

I decided to make a start on him and ended up almost finishing him despite some major frustration in the middle.

I spent ages trying to get the front suspender straps short enough so they'd hook onto the belt at the right height, and failed. I had to fudge it and tuck the straps down unconnected. Even if I could've shortened them enough there's no guarantee they'd have stayed hooked in because they kept falling out during testing.

Managed to get the rear straps right, and since they have spring clips, as the real thing does on the back, they're secure.

Everything slid onto the belt with loops apart from the four water bottles, which had to be fastened with sliding ALICE clips. Haven't had to do them since the Ace Vietnam girls .

The Ujindou actually felt like it might've been an Ace figure due to the quality of most of the parts.

I gave him the Hot Toys DX11 Joker Smith & Wesson M76, so I could give his Grease Gun to the Ujindou Big Red One. (The Big Red One gave his Thompson to the Ujindou Chindit, which was a massive upgrade to the Hot Toys Captain America version he was using).

 

[Asta]

Finished assembling him this morning. Everything from the box is on the figure apart from the Grease Gun.

 

[Nyhargo Dirge]

He looks great.

Question: one one of my bashes, it’s a PITA to get the pants into the boots. On reference photos, almost all of them had the pants tucked into the boot tops.

Was it regulation/SOP for uniforms? Optional? Meant to keep snakes and bugs away from yer junk?

Just wondering since his pant cuffs are untucked, for lack of a better word. I just feel your pain on putting all the stuff on. That was my spirit breaker on my LRRP. It was miserable trying to get the pants in in a way that didn’t have my LRRP looking like he had a heart condition from ankle swelling