Thursday, October 30, 2008

Indiana Jones by Medicom, 2008

It's here! Medicom's Indiana Jones

This Indiana Jones figure has nothing to do with the latest instalment "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (thank goodness because in the 4th movie, Indy has really grown old, slow and lost his edge but certainly gained in age. Not a good thing for an adventurer, is it? Did I mention old?)

Medicom's Indiana Jones box - Cover picture shows a much younger Indy. In fact all the advertising materials don't show Indy's age

Indiana Jones straight out of box figure (not complete with accessories yet). As usual with all Medicom's packaging, no twisties or anything to tie the figure down. Out pops Indy, just like that.

Indiana Jones' A-2 bomber jacket and British Mark VII gas mask bag with leather strap to replace the original cotton strap, used to keep his journals, his father's pocket watch and his glasses, among other handy items.

The hat maketh the man - Indiana Jones' famous high-crowned, wide-brimmed fedora by Herbert Johnson of London. He has favored the fedora since it was given to him by a looter in 1912 (this was shown in the third movie with River Phoenix playing young Indy). When young Indy (River Phoenix) first used the bullwhip to tame an irritated lion in a carriage on a circus train, it left a distinctive scar on his chin (this was written into the script to explain the scar on Harrison Ford's chin).

Medicom's Indiana Jones comes with (in chronological order) the Urn of Nurhachi, Sankara Stone, Golden Idol, headpiece to the staff of Ra and Holy Grail

From left to right: The Urn of Nurhachi, containing the ashes of the first emperor of the Manchu dynasty, desired by Lao Che and used by Indy to exchange for the Eye of the Peacock diamond, which can be traced back to Alexander the Great. This supposedly happened in 1935 at a nightclub in Shanghai called "Club Obi Wan". From Shanghai, Indy would end up in India searching for the Sankara Stones, marked with three white lines that represent the three levels of the universe and when the stones are brought together (there were five of them, supposedly presented by Shiva to Sankara, a priest of Shiva to combat evil), the diamonds inside them would glow red hot. All these events occur in the second Indiana Jones' movie "The Temple of Doom (1984)".

The Golden Idol, a golden representation of the Chachapoyan goddess of fertility and childbirth, located inside the Temple of the Warriors in Peru, South America. This was the opening scene in the very first Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)" and supposedly occurred in 1936 in Indy's timeline.

The headpiece to the staff of Ra which could pinpoint the resting place of the Ark of the Convenant once the lost city of Tanis is discovered in Egypt. Lastly, the Holy Grail, the cup of Christ, long sought after by Henry Jones Snr and it reunites father and son in the third instalment "The Last Crusade (1989)"

Extra hands including one holding the Smith & Wesson M1917 .45 caliber pistol. I suppose the hand can be removed from the revolver but it comes in box grasping the weapon.

Indiana Jones sans jacket - a scrawny looking Indy wearing his trademark khaki shirt (a long-sleeve cotton poplin shirt with shoulder epaulets sporting two distinctive pleats that run from the shoulders through the pockets to the end of the shirt-tail) and battledress trousers made of traditional cavalry twill. His preferred footwear is a pair of weathered brown Alden ankle boots.

Close-up of Medicom's Indiana Jones head sculpt - Harrison Ford is hiding in there somewhere



Indy with his bag and whip added


With his gas mask bag slung across and his bullwhip coiled in a quick-release catch.



The Webley holster for his pistol carried on a separate belt with his whip

Indiana Jones in all his glory






Other Indiana Jones: Sideshow IndyToys McCoy Indy, Whipping Indy, Talking Indy and Kenner's and Kubrick Indy

Up next: Henry Jones Snr by Medicom

Harrison Ford, the actor who made Indiana Jones also played Han Solo in Star Wars, US President James Marshall in "Air Force One (1997)" and Captain Alexei Vostrikov in "K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)", among the many roles he did.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

15th The King's Hussars

Hussar refers to the light cavalry created in Hungary in the 15th century and used throughout Europe and even America since the 18th century. The Polish winged hussars were a sight to behold, as they looked like Pegasus when mounted. Some modern military units retain the title 'hussar' for traditional reasons. The hussars played a prominent cavalry role in the Napoleonic Wars (1796-1815). As light cavalrymen mounted on fast horses, they would be used to fight skirmish battles and for scouting. Most of the great European powers raised hussar regiments.

The 15th The King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1759 and distinguished themselves under the Duke of Wellington in Spain and Portugal in the Napoleonic Wars, including Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815).

DiD's Napoleonic Series has been exceptional and their latest release "15th The King's Hussars" is no exception. This is the BEST of the series by far.

Basic Hussar "George" figure out of box

The tight fitting braided jacket worn by the hussars was known as the dolman. "George" comes with two pairs of trousers.

Calvary boots were made in soft leather and the V-shaped front gave flexibility at the knee

"George" looks rugged and the sculpt is quite nice

Check out his side burns

The hussar also wore reinforced breeches which had leather on the inside of the leg to prevent them from wearing due to the extensive riding in the saddle. There is a red stripe running up his breeches on the outside.

Hussar's belt with his saber and scabbard

Sabertache - a distinctive leather satchel carried by calvarymen, hung from the saber belt, used to hold writing and sketching materials

A very well dressed calvaryman indeed


His cartridge box carried on a crossbelt worn over the left shoulder

A fully decked out (almost) King's Hussar

The King's Hussar wore a fur busby with plume. Note the other crossbelt with clip for carbine fastened together with the cartridge box and belt by a stud







Hussar with saber drawn

Close-up of the King's Hussar's saber

A complete 15th The King's Hussar by DiD with his pelisse: a short fur-edged jacket which was often worn slung over one shoulder in the style of a cape, fastened with a cord. This garment was extensively adorned with braiding (often gold or silver for officers) and several rows of multiple buttons. It was worn over the braided dolman or tunic.



What can I say? A FINE figure by DiD. They didn't hold back on this one.

DiD's other Napoleonic Era soldiers include the 42nd Royal Highlander Regiment and the Royal Scots Line Infantry Regiment.

DiD's other period piece was 24th Regiment of Foot Private Williams

One of their most outstanding figure of all - Samurai Date Masamune