The "Less Than High Speed" 1/6th Military Product Archive

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This is DML's first WW2 US figure IIRC, "Rifleman Scott"

The name "Scott" was picked because it was named after Scott Crawford, DML's US rep, who defended that brand, no matter what, until the bitter end. And, truth be told, they did enough that incited collectors where there was a lot to defend.

The M1 Garand still holds up today, in terms of craft and quality. The "eyelets" and the male end connectors for them were notoriously fragile, they would break all the time. The straps that looped under the boot's mid foot, from the gaiters, was also another fragile point. Based on Ron Volstad's artwork.

 

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This was the "Cyber Hobby" version of DML Scott. IIRC, this was "Operation Cobra"

How it worked was if you ordered directly from DML, you would get a bonus accessory ( Here, he had a poncho and a rifle grenade system for his M1 Garand) . We are all familiar with that strategy as SSC did that too. I.E. SSC RAH Snake Eyes and his bonus "punch dagger fist", stuff like that.

The problem was CH became a source of grief and controversy in the WW2 side of the hobby. People saying they were charged but stuff was never delivered. Tracking numbers that didn't work. Being charged for items they never ordered. Massive wait times and delays on items. At one point, many people said they paid for international shipping cost, but the packages were mass shipped from southern California ( where someone who worked at DML apparently had a relative) It was all a giant mess apparently and became a test of how much could you punish your fan base and customer base and keep them coming back because they were the only real game in town for a while. The culture and tone back then was just different. Consumers are far less pliable for shenanigans like that today.

I added a photo of the back of the box for DML Scott, to show that early on, DML wanted to infuse some background into their product.

 

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"William", who was really supposed to be Bruce Willis from the film, Hart's War.

Since the character was a POW, then no weapons. Very very very difficult to sell a figure with no guns. But back then, headsculpt and celebrity likeness availability was not the same. While these headsculpts look rudimentary today against current hobby standards, this was cutting edge back then.

Interesting what has survived the test of time. That overcoat would still be useful today. But given this set, besides the head, was considered the "anchor piece" The hobby, back then, had more collectors willing to buy an entire boxed set for just one coveted piece or part. But everything around the hobby was different, the loose parts market, Ebay, shipping costs, number of collectors, etc, etc.

 

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"Kelly" or Clint Eastwood from the film, Kelly's Heroes.

Before DML changed over to "Road To Victory" lineups, where there was far more cloth based items, you can see the widespread use of molded items instead.

DML, could not, IMHO, make a Colt 45 pistol worth a damn. It was their methodology. Make something once, and if it's not great, just use that mold no matter what. But what stands out again, is that what has endured in our hobby is the weapons. The best long term piece there is that Thompson.

 

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"Roy" or Sean Connery from the film, A Bridge Too Far

This was a cool set, still many parts would be useful today. That head was widely coveted for a time.

So that holster brings up an interesting issue back in the day. Plastic holsters were the norm, Or some figures had rubber holsters. Depending on the holster and it's material, there could be "burn marks" later on some of the pistols, depending on how long they were in contact and jammed into some holsters.

 

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"Joe" or Charles Bronson from The Dirty Dozen ( or maybe some other film, I'm pretty sure this was from the Dirty Dozen)

This was bar none, one of the coolest headsculpts that DML ever made. Tons of "personality" to it. The suppressor for the Walther pistol was also a cool interesting unique piece. This is one headsculpt I regret never finding in any fashion and still wished I had even today in my collection.

 

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Last one for today. Interesting hobby trivia here. This is "Joe Enders" from John Woo's film, Windtalkers. DML had the official license for this. Unlike many of the rest of their figures.

 

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Notice something interesting here? On the flap is where weapons and accessories would be stored and displayed on an "accessories card" But gone. Apparently Cage didn't want a "toy" made where he's associated with guns. Despite being in a movie where he's using firearms to slaughter tons of people. Despite being in a ton of action movies where he's slaughtering tons of people.

That being said, I think DML got his likeness pretty decent for the production values of the time and place.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

So DML packaged "Joe Enders" with a "Free Gift" carded set separate from the boxed set. Basically the weapons he used in the film. Because they knew no one was going to buy a figure with no guns.

Nicholas Cage said no guns. But his figure ended up with guns anyway. Of course, since this was John Woo as director, Cage's character killed A LOT of people in that film. With guns.

If that all sounds just plain stupid, well I agree with you, because it does seem like a bizarre situation. As I've always said as a collector - The best thing about this hobby is other people. And the worst thing about this hobby is other people.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

This is Ultimate Soldier generation 1 level production. Came out in the late 90s.

This was extremely cutting edge and ground breaking for it's time. Something to consider is that one of the biggest reasons 1/6th took a leap was actually Todd McFarlane. His Spawn series was a massive level up in mass produced toy production at a much higher level of pure quality, especially paint application. Then his "Movie Maniacs" line showed how much interest there was in licensed movie product via adult collectors.

McFarlane wanted to be the David Fincher of toys. Mercurial lavish micro managing narcissist that represented the pained unappreciated artist. McFarlane was a huge baseball fan and bought one of McGwire's historic home run balls. As legend goes, McGwire refused to meet him and sign it, saying stuff like that should be put into a baseball museum or in the hands of a fan who caught it at the game. And rumored that broke McFarlane deep, as McGwire was his big baseball hero, and that ended up reflecting in his product development.

McFarlane was Howard Chan before Howard Chan was Howard Chan.

The buttpack, to the left of the canteen, was the most coveted piece in that set. No one had made anything like that, cloth wise in the hobby, to that level of detail and craft. For a very long time, it was the only cloth buttpack on the market.

 

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21st Century Toys had it's own "hotline" and fan club. You could call them and tell them you had a broken part in a set, and they'd mail it to you. If you subscribed to the fan club, occasionally you got a newsletter that highlighted previewed product, which was a big deal, as there was no locked in widespread PC/computer access in lots of people's homes. Even back then, not everyone had a cell phone. Hell, back then, some dial up plans were still based on minutes of usage for cost rates. A desktop PC could cost you 1500 dollars. Life moved slower I suppose. So the hobby could support a small fan club for a brand.

 

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The CCT set was hugely coveted. Since the cost of 1/6th was cheaper then ( relatively), it was more feasible for hobbyists to engage in "squad building" If you wanted a modern radio man, you needed this set. This was the first 1/6th modern Sat Com on the market.

Woodland pattern camo will still the US military standard back then. Hence the large share of woodland in early 1/6th modern development.

 

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TUS also made the first 1/6th rappelling harness that functioned. ( GI Joe had a Delta guy that has some elements but not the whole thing) But the prize here was the "soft patrol cap" shown just above the boots.

Early 1/6th has a massive shortage of good quality headgear. Any set could be hit or miss for how headgear would work. Or not. And the headgear might fit one figures head, but not another. The shortage of good head gear probably lasted a good decade. Lots of trial and error in the early days. Obviously the brands did their best given their limits. But early hobbyist had to do without more often and make due with what they had frequently. A big change from the hobby today. Expectations were measured. Not less, just "measured" because the idea of instant gratification wasn't so ingrained as currently.

Product was more "low speed" in some ways, but you need high creativity to maximize it. I miss those days. Flaws and all, I do miss them.

 

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Occasionally you run into something that still translates even today. Even decades later.

The parka in the Night Ops set is still useful today. It's not perfect and it's clearly on a 2nd generation level, but with some work and love, you can do quite a bit with it. Early TUS did not have "ported barrels" in the weapons. Meaning there was no "hole" at the end of the barrel to simulate showing the rifling, etc, etc. You were just expected to get a small pinvise and carve out your own barrels back then. That weapon magazines were removable was a distinctive element of 2nd gen TUS.

 

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What about the boots? You were expected to microwave a cup of hot water and dip those bad boys in them. Then slip them onto a figure's feet. Sometimes it would help to use a little dish soap inside first. Lots of people broke their figure's feet and ankles or warped them beyond repair, trying to do "cold boot swaps" Dealers who did loose parts would complain about "prune fingers" Having to take off dozens of boots from boxed sets to part them out for sale.

 

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This is where old customizing stories get interesting.

That "full brim" patrol boonie was highly coveted. So some people wondered if they should try to make their own. So a strategy in the old days was to take one apart. Literally pull the stitching out and see the parts as a core "template". To try to replicate making more boonies on their own, using existing uniform material on the market. Lay the template pieces over your material, trace it out, then cut it, then try to sew it. So people would sacrifice an entire uniform top to just get the back of the shirt/jacket, to have enough material to make more headgear. Kind of.

It's very difficult to appreciate how cutting edge this stuff was in the late 90s until you had to conceive sewing one those little damn hats together yourself.

 

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A pistol with a removable suppressor. Cutting edge.

"Gloves" which was really like a sock you pulled over the hands with an "eyelet" for the thumb. Cutting edge.

And the coveted black balaclava, so you could make SWAT guys and masked villains to your hearts content. Cutting edge. One of the drawbacks of TUS molded items is they often had the "21st Century Toys" imprint on them. This was done because they wanted to avoid mold lifting used against them by competitors. Also they were accused of stealing molds from others in the hobby.

This was common back in the day. Engage talent to do some work for you, then not compensate them or give them less than what was promised. This kind of stuff got ugly. As a former Staff member at the old Warrior Forum ezboard, I had to settle some brand disputes in private, over these kind of problems. The tension and bad blood spilled out in the open forums, etc etc.

Here's what I can say from first hand experience. I appreciate all artists in our hobby. But many are not good business people. Not even close. You can be good at one thing, but bad at another, and that's enough to sink you. Lots of fledgling 1/6th start ups died that way.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Want to see a figure tip over?

Put a parachute on him that's made entirely of molded plastic.

There was no such thing as "figure stands" back then. You just had to lean your guys somewhere. Since quality control on joints like knees wasn't very good sometimes, often you end up with "floppies", figures that just flopped around. You had to put some watered down glue in the joints to stiffen them up. And if the gear was too heavy, they'd just double over.

An entire squad of your best spec ops commandos. All leaning against a wall behind a shelf. The great "Leaning Brigade"

 

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One of the rarer sets. Did not see this on the shelves of TRU very often. Foreign themes just did not sell that well in our hobby at the time. If you wanted to sell something, odds are you should make an American soldier first.

I give TUS credit, they took some risks and tried to make a very expansive line into all other modern militaries. If you wanted Russian figures, for example, sometimes all you had were 2 - 3 sets across the whole hobby as a practical choice.

There was no widespread understanding of modern inventory, "Moneyball" concepts, etc, etc. People just did the best they could with trial and error in producing this stuff.

 

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Last one for today.

TUS made the first modern 1/6th M60E3 light machine gun. Also the first M249 SAW. You could get both in a set for 9.99. Plus plenty of ammo boxes, pouches and even a couple of sandbags. Early TUS, IMHO, was produced very much in reaction to "sticker shock" to the way the hobby was priced out in the early 90s. The design here was just pure value in the set that was cost controlled. If you tried to sell a single weapon for 15 bucks ( remember this is 15 bucks and what purchasing power would get you 30 years ago) to a hobbyist, but his other option was to get all this for 9.99, without having to call and mail order it, then it all became pretty obvious which would win out.

TUS made new and cool stuff. But they also became a brand that offered pure bang for the buck for overall value for your dollar. We would not have our military side of the hobby today, not even close, without these humble beginnings.