Monday, February 19

A new 16th scale Alamo Scout from Alpine Miniatures...

Alpine Miniatures & John Rosengrant have teamed up to make their latest 1/16th scale figure. The famous Alamo scouts of WWII are the subject. We look at the figure & the scouts in our preview...

A new 16th scale Alamo Scout from Alpine Miniatures...

"The Alamo Scout" US 6th Army
From Alpine Miniatures
Sculpture by John Rosengrant
Box Art by Calvin Tan
Figure no #16045
Shipping on Feb. 26.
The latest figure from Alpine Miniatures is sculpted by the masterful John Rosengrant, with the box art being done by another master, Mr Calvin Tan. What a dream team! We have information on the 16th scale figure, plus photos of the assembled resin kit painted and unpainted here in our preview.

Fist, the Subject: The Alamo Scouts of WWII
The Alamo Scouts were also known as the U.S. Sixth Army Special Reconnaissance Unit. These soldiers were an elite fighting force in World War II. Their mission: to go behind enemy lines to provide desperately-needed intelligence for U.S. Army special missions throughout the Pacific. They conducted rescue missions of individuals and groups. The unit assumed a central role in organizing large-scale guerrilla operations, establishing road watch stations, attempting to locate and capture or kill Japanese flag officers. While not on missions, Alamo Scout teams were assigned as bodyguards for their General Krueger and had specific instructions to kill the general if capture was imminent.
Below: 6th Rangers move through the grass to take up positions prior to the raid on the Cabanatuan Prison compound. The Nellist and Rounsaville Teams with Filipino guides led the Rangers into position and covered the retreat of the 513 POWs after the successful rescue.
It was no accident that when General Krueger began planning the raid on the Dutch POW camp in Cabanatuan in 1945, he sent for the Alamo Scouts, proven operatives who derived their name from his connection with San Antonio, Texas. The scouts were teamed with elements of the 6th Ranger Battalion and Filipino guerrilla units to liberate 513 POWs in a daring night attack. The scouts provided reconnaissance and tactical support for the 6th Ranger Battalion during the raid of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp. The Scouts performed advance reconnaissance of the POW camp prior to the 6th Rangers' Raid on the camp. Prior to the raid, two of the scouts dressed themselves as local Filipino rice farm workers. These two scouts then set up a covert observation post inside a shack in the rice fields that surrounded the POW camp. This hidden observation post was located within a few hundred yards of Japanese Army guard posts at the camp's fence line. The scouts were never discovered by the Japanese during this reconnaissance. The Scouts were credited with the capture of 84 Japanese prisoners of war, and only two Scouts were wounded in the mission.

Alamo Scouts after the Raid at Cabanautan, February 1945.
Near the end of the war Alamo Scout teams were preparing for the invasion of Japan, where they were slated to conduct pre-invasion reconnaissance of Kyushu as part of Operation Downfall, but the war ended.

The Alamo Scouts performed 110 known missions behind enemy lines, mainly in New Guinea and the Philippines, without losing a single man. The unit was disbanded at Kyoto, Japan, in November 1945.

To find out more about these soldiers, check out this amazing website that covers pretty much anything you want to know about them...

The new figure from Alpine Miniatures:
This figure is sculpted by John Rosengrant. A wonderful sculptor who has a great knack for capturing a figure, but without a real "signature" that we can make out. The faces he sculpts are realistic but showing a separate emotion to others every time it seems (well, to us anyway). 
The figure comes in light grey resin unassembled parts, with the choice of two different head gears, like all of Alpine Miniatures figure sets. We see the figure below unpainted so you can pick out all of the detail, with special note to the clothing and the equipment, and how it pinches, pulls and sits on the man's body.

U.S. Army Alamo Scouts, two in HBT uniforms like this figure is seen in. Cape Kassoe, Hollandia, DNG. August 1944
This figures shows just the one head version, the one with the peaked cap. The head without the hat is also included. Details like his watch, the tabs and buttons on his pockets and collars and his gartered boots are a standout from the front of the figure.
You can see he carries the folding stock version of the M1A1 Carbine Carbine. These faithfully served a broad genre of Marines in the balmy jungles of the South Pacific. In the Pacific theater, soldiers and guerrilla forces operating in heavy jungle with only occasional enemy contact also praised the carbine for its small size, lightweight and firepower.
Other soldiers and marines engaged in frequent daily firefights (particularly those serving in the Philippines) found the weapon to have insufficient stopping power and penetration. You can see laces on the sides of his USMC Boondockers & leggings / gaiters which are new to a lot of people.
On this scout's belt you can see the khaki-colored lightweight cotton, Jungle Medical kit, M-2 and the M3 trench knife. The way his wrinkled HBT uniform fits into the top of his boon dockers is impressive, with  lot of wrinkling crying out for some great painting work like Calvin Tan has done in some of the photos below. 

The HBT uniforms, WW2 Military Army USMC Marine Corps P44 HBT Cap and Boondockers & leggings are shown below...
The camouflage job is elite!
Looking from behind you can see his ribbed cloth belt and his marked U.S. canteen & ribbed canvas cover. On his right hip you can see the Colt pistol in tis holster. The paint job is so well done here, it highlights the lines on the herringbone combat uniform and the wrinkles in the legs especially.
The canteen M2 First aid kit & colt pistol in its's holster below.
Painted up with both head choices. You can see how different this figure can be with either choice, and a great alternative for those looking for something somewhat original.
A nice walk-around gallery of Calvin Tan's painting job of this kit showing both headgear choices and what can be done with this kit under a good paint job.
The kit is shipping this coming week - February 24th...

You can now purchase all of this from Alpine Miniatures Online Store or their distributors worldwide. If you are in the USA, you can now purchase Alpine products directly from their online store with free shipping (within the US) on all orders.