SOLDIER STORY FRENCH SPECIAL FORCE 1/6 SCALE ACTION FIGURE SS085

When Soldier Story announced this figure in 2014, it surprised a lot of people, and opened up quite a discussion. The title 'French Special Force' may be a bit misleading to some. Special Forces in the American military means the Army's Green Berets, with "special forces" often being a term used by various sources to reference special operations forces around the world. This figure is accurately uniformed and equipped like a French commando who was killed in the 2013 operation to secure the release of a French hostage, from Al-Shabaab, in Bulo Marer, Somalia. He was part of a reported 50 man unit, composed of personnel from DGSE's Division Action. Starting with the body, it is a sturdy, decently proportioned S2.5, featuring detailed tattoo forearm "sleeves". It comes with five hands (two bare, and three with fingerless gloves), and bare feet. Topping the body is an excellent headsculpt, which very much resembles actor Djimon Hounsou. Out of the box, he is clad in a black t-shirt and dark blue military-style shirt (beneath these, an elastic cummerbund, to fill out his middle), and a pair of French 3 color desert trousers with a olive brown webbing belt. These are dirty to the point of being filthy. On his feet a low cut pair of "trail" boots, which are well executed. Further clothing items include a blue-green, thin hoodie, a green nylon "anorak" style windbeaker (this with a concealed, functional hood under a zip in the collar), and a tan-brown neck gaiter. The tan MBAV vest, ten assorted pouches, a "universal" tactical holster,and OG backpack with internal hydration bladder system (not in the pack) have been described by some as "not French", but are items used by many modern SOF operators, and have been documented as having been carried on the raid. The same with the detailed FAST helmet in MC finish, with NODs and goggles. The suppressed H&K MP7 and Glock 19 are, as with all SS weapons, both incredibly detailed, and sufficient tools for breaching purposes are supplied. Comms, a watch, tourniquet, a rectangle of various patches, spare batteries, and a multi-tool complete his load out. OK...I left out the frag, or as Dennis Hopper called it, the "f*** you Charlie". No knife is included, but there is apparently no photo evidence of one being found. As has been discussed before, elsewhere, the connection with Djimom Hounsou lies in his role as an operator in the 2011 "Special Forces" ("Forces spéciales"). The supplied CPA10 patch was worn by members of his team in that film. By supplying this nude, Soldier Story provided kitbashing options for hobbyists. All in all, I am personally very satisfied with this figure. It has potential for a number of things besides how it is straight out of the box. One of my favorite figures, in a year that has produced a variety of great releases.