There goes the neighborhood.
When CooModel showed off their Templar and Teutonic knights earlier this week, I was a little behind on the uptake. Those were a surprise, it felt like totally out of left field. And while we kinda knew DAMToys had other figures planned, I certainly wasn’t expecting something else so soon. And I definitely did not expect this angry little bastard.
And make no mistake, the unit this guy represents were bastards. The 2nd SS Panzer Division (Das Reich) were an armored division that saw action against the Soviets in the early years of the war, before being deployed in France shortly before Normandy. They were in some of the worst fighting of the entire war, including the Battle of Kursk, and by the time they shipped west, they had suffered some of the worst attrition of any German division. In addition to a fearsome battle reputation, they also add “War Criminal” to their resume. Murdering civilians in reprisals was sadly a regular dirty Nazi tactic, and they were no exception.
So, you can easily see this as a controversial choice, and it’s definitely not for everyone. For history buffs though, this choice makes sense, as the 2nd SS were involved in many pivotal battles of the war, like the Battle of the Bulge. So that means he provides accurate and important opposition to guys like the 101st Airborne, and his mere existence all but guarantees those GIs will follow. As a big time WW2 buff, announcements like this one spell certain doom for my wallet.
Okay. Sorry, but I can’t stand when people ignore context when we’re talking about figures and characters based on history. So the takeaway should be that Nazis, especially ones like the Waffen-SS are rotten human garbage, but they are important players in the history of warfare. All clear? Good. Please refer back to this before commenting.
Historically-accurate figures, especially in smaller scales, is tough work. Plan B toys famously did a fantastic job on this, and it feels like DAM is going to honor their legacy. The riding pants, flecktarn jacket, rigging and weapons are spot on. The MP-40 looks to even have a leather sling on it, and they gave the plastic (or bakelite) parts a different color. I would say from what I can see in their pics, it might even have ball-jointed ankles, which is a big step up even from a lot of 1/6 figures.
And also of 1/6 caliber is that smug sonovab—-‘s headsculpts. The skin pigment, eyes, expression, and that yelling “Achtung!” option look amazing.
For scale, we’re doing this “in the palm of my hand” thing the kids are all into, but that only gets us so far. I’m just hoping that dude has big hands. I don’t want Mezco Cap to look like he’s stomping a teenager.
That’s about all I can tell you for now, so I’m sorry for giving you more of a history lesson than a solicitation. But, that’s why you guys come to me, right? If this is something you are interested in, check out onesixthkit. They are currently holding several hundred dollars of mine in preorders. And there’s always our buddies at BigBadToyStore, who didn’t have a listing as of this writing but should soon.
