Merit International Crye Warrior “Spanky”

Howdy friends, today we will take a look at Merit International’s Crye Warrior “Spanky” figure. I did a little web browsing to learn more about this figure and came across the following blurb over at the One Sixth Warrior forum:

” Merit International is no stranger to supporting charities. From “Honor The Fallen” to “Special Operations Warrior Foundation”, Merit International demonstrated that there is plenty of heart in our hobby.

With proper licenses from Multi-cam and Crye Precision, Merit International presents an unique 12″ action figure series titled “Crye Warriors”. First in the series features an impression of an operator from the Joint Special Operations Command, “Spanky”, to benefit “Special Operations Warrior Foundation”, a Spec. Ops charity that helps put children of fallen Spec. Ops soldiers through college.

There are 800 figures made and 50 of them will be set aside for this meaningful program. “

I am not sure how this has played out, or whether or not the figure reviewed herein is one of those 50, but it’s a nice that consideration was taken for the above mentioned charity.

I should mention before going any further that I had already weathered the weapons, and reworked the head-sculpt before taking pics of the fully outfitted figure. I did however take before and after shots of the weapons, and head-sculpt themselves for the purpose of comparison. I waited to add weathering to the figure’s uniform and gear until after the first set of pics. In other words, the figure is fully personalized ( weathered, painted, etc ) in the second set of pics. I apologize for any confusion this may cause, and I will give more thought and planning to in future reviews.

Head-sculpt and base body…

I am uncertain as to whether or not the Spanky sculpt is intended to depict an actual person, but after a little paint application I did begin to think that he looked a bit like MMA legend Chuck Liddell. The sculpt is decent aside from some “room for improvement” paint applications. I always look at bald sculpts as having more potential for bashing and customizing. For one thing they provide a good blank slate ( so to speak ) for the application of custom Sculpey hair apps. In addition, they are my preferredhoice for bashes and customs where I will be using a balaclava or dive suit hood alone without a helmet over the top ( you get a much better fit ). So Spanky automatically scored points even with the less that spectacular paint.

The head is attached by way of a ball and socket neck post similar to the type first introduced with BBI’s G3 series of bodies. The base body is reported to be the MiL V2.0, and this is my first experience with the MiL body. These days if you are going to develop and market a base body, it needs to have that balance of necessary articulation and sturdiness. If it is lacking in either category it will behoove you to go back to the drawing board and make some improvements. Luckily for us Merit seems to have hit all the marks. One of the first things I look at in a base body are it’s ankle joints. In my opinion you must have multi-directional ankle articulation. This allows for a more natural range of motion ( including pronation and suppination – the side to side movement ) that allows a figure to stand in more extreme or action-oriented poses. In addition, I also look for ankles or feet that can be popped on and off. This allows for easier wardrobe changes of the pants variety ( imagine having to unlace and remove the average 1/6 scale cloth and real lace boot from a figure just to switch out his trousers ).

Also featured with the MiL base body are the rotational wrist joints – or pegs. These also allow for a more natural range of motion and posing options. Along with the head and body, Merit has given us two sets of hands. The first is a bare hands set, the second a molded gloved hand set fashioned after Oakley’s SI gloves. Both hand sets come with wrist pegs ( for a total of four pegs ). Taking all of this into consideration I feel that it is fair to award Merit with four stars out five stars in this category.

Uniform…

By now most of us have probably heard of or seen Multicam. And by now most us have probably seen and or handled some 1/6 scale version of the stuff. To say that there has been long and voluminous debate over who has the most accurate version and why, is a gross understatement. The debate has gone on so long that in some ways it has left many jaded and wary of anything Multicam. Shame that. I have owned a 1/6 scale Multicam something or another from BBI, Very Hot, Soldier Story, Barrack Sergeant, a company that didn’t seem to have a name, and now from Merit. And despite my inability to tell you which is the closest to Crye’s original design, I can tell you that each and every example/sample I have seen and laid hands on is different. Some are more brown, some are more green. Some are said to be too dark, some too light. The debate literally goes on and on. So is all of this disputation and varyation good or bad? Well, in my estimation, in the case of the varyation it is a good thing. Let me explain… The more color varyation there is in a camouflage the more creative you can be with it’s use. It may not help much, if at all, when it comes to mixing and matching various 1/6 MC wares and wardrobe, but it might just find it’s best fit in varying the use to suit the varience. That is a lot of variables… Working on a jungle or woodland OPS figure – use the Multicam pattern that is the most green, making a desert OPS figure – go for the one with more brown it it. The point is, take the limitations created by variety ( yes, I know how that sounds ) and get creative.

All disclaimers aside, I was very interested and excited to lay hands on the Multicam that Crye actually gave it’s stamp of approval to. Again, I can’t say that it is or isn’t the right shade of accurate, but with all of the 1/1 scale MC out there we may never have an accurate or meaningful scale by which to judge. So I used my 1/6 scale set of criteria as a metric to judge this set, and right out of the gate I was impressed. The first thing I tend to look at when scrutinizing a 1/6 scale cloth anything is the look and feel of the material used. Is it too thick or too thin – does it drape well, does it have scale appropriate weave and waft? All of these considerations can make or break a piece. I also look for detail and quality of construction. Is the cut/fit decent, are the seams straight and clean, are the added details ans embellishments good ( such as properly scaled zippers and buckles ), does the piece look good on the figure? All of that matters, and all of that adds up. In the Merit’s case they passed on all points.

I should take this opportunity to list the different elements that go into the set: Crye Precision Gen1 combat pants and shirt, Crye Precision Gen1 blast belt, and Crye Precision ball cap. Also included in the set is the Crye Precision Range vest, which I will discuss in the next section. It may be worth mentioning that there is some potential here uni-wise for a G.I. Joe tie-in ( the movie version at any rate ), especially when adding in the Shannon Tatum-esque sculpt produced by Soldier Story. In addition to the Crye goods we get a pair of molded Oakley SI Gen1 boots. While these boots are molded they do feature real laces – an odd mix of elements by today’s standards, but given the clean look and mold of the boots as well as the decent paint application, I have to award these bad boys an appropriately decent score. I mean let’s be honest, there are actually still cases out there of molded boots looking as good, if not better than their cloth counterparts.

Also worthy of addition to this section is a quick discussion on what I call “Thread Patrol”. Let me explain… One of the byproducts of sewing is leftover thread. This is an unavoidable outcome that can be solved with some deft scissor work. For the most part 1/6 companies do a fair job of removing the surplus thread remnants, but there is always something leftover. Often times the amount of leftover ( overlooked ) thread remnants is roughly equal to the quality of the garment ( the better the sewing – the better the finishing ). And in some cases ( I won’t mention names as I don’t want to hurt any feelings ), the amount of leftover thread can be downright ridiculous. With that said, part of my preparation of a figure always includes the removal of the thread remnants from any and all of the cloth elements – I feel it just looks better to have the figure’s uni and gear neat-looking and squared away. My preferred method for removing the pesky threads is the use of a butane lighter. I simply pass the flame over the loose end of the thread and viola… it’s history. In cases where the loose thread is longer that an inch or so I will trim it down with scissors before giving it the butane lighter treatment. The lighter not only burns the thread down, it also cauterizes ( or seals ) the end of the thread thus helping to keep the seam from unraveling. This method requires some practice as you want to melt the thread without burning the garment. But once mastered it can become an invaluable finishing tool. In the case of the Merit/MiL cloth goods I had very little Thread Patrol duty and clean up.

Getting back to the review… All of these factors add up to a score of five out of five stars… Well done Merit/MiL on nailing ( in my opinion ), the important points, and delivering the goods with a decent Crye set up.

Gear: ( soft lines – or web and cloth gear )…

Now we come to the afore mentioned Range vest and it’s host of pouches. I was impressed with the cut and detailing of the both the vest and pouches ( even if I was a little in the dark about it’s use in the field having no discernible ballistic protection properties ). I did take some exception to the weight of the cloth webbing used to attach the pouches to the vest. It could have been a little thicker in my opinion. One nice thing is that despite it’s weight (or gauge ) the webbing was more than long enough to make the weaving through the molle loops on the vest all the more easy. In fact, the webbing was so long that I ended up trimming it to length after I finished looping it through the molle webbing slots on the vest.

Once the vest had it’s pouches sorted out and filled I was well pleased with the results. However, the large zipper pull on the front of the vest is conspicuously out of scale to the other micro scale zippers used on the uniform. Not unusual to find this odd zipper scale disparity throughout the 1/6 scale world. You can literally have a vest or jacket with a half of a dozen micro scale zippers and one big grandaddy of a 1/1 scale zipper right along side. Usually these big zippers are the ones used to secure the placket area of the vest or jacket, so one could argue that they have to be able to stand up to more ware and tear… But there are more than enough examples of micro scale zippers used on both jacket and vest plackets to render that argument wobbly and shaky. There must be an X factor involved. Also included with the soft line goods is a super sexy S.O. Tech Gobag in MC. Nice. After much debate, I have opted to give a score of four and a half out of five stars in this category. Had the zipper and webbing issues been absent the score would have been a perfect five out of five.

Gear: ( hard lines – or sundry parts )…

Included in this section are all of the little plastic thingamajigs that make up the rest of the set minus the weapons. Not a lot to cover, so let’s get on with it. First off, we have a couple of MK18 smoke grenades ( at least I think they are MK18′s ). There is also a MBITR radio with PTT switch and head set, which very closely resembles the set that came with BBI’s MEU Chopper figure. At some point I will consider posting some of my thoughts on the whole issue of company X having wares suspiciously similar to company Y ( in some cases right down to the issue number stamped into the back of a head-sculpt ). But that is for another time.

The final item in this section is the pair of Oakley SI M Frame Strike ballistic sunglasses. They are decent, and are one of those things that we used to expect to pay a premium for when and if we could track them down loose. Nice to have then included in this set – and they are a nice alternative to the ubiquitous “Minute” style frames we have become accustomed to. Despite the lack of oodles extras here, I have to go with a high score as the parts included are of a high caliber. Thus said, I feel a score of four and half out of five starts is fair in this category. No doubt a decent knife and flashlight would have been enough to give is a higher score. Or even a helmet with an NVG rig.

Weapons…

Okay, on to one of my all time favorite 1/6 scale weapons… The FN USA Gen2 SCAR L. This is not the first time that I have laid hands on one of Merit/MiL’s SCAR’s, so I was prepared for the incredible detail and workmanship. Bear in mind, I have owned or handled SCAR’s from Hot Toy, Toy Soldier, and Dr. Figures, so I am familiar with the competition ( aside from the ACE Workshop SCAR that is ). In my opinion, Merit/ MiL has the best version out there ( again, I have to mention that I cannot make a comparison to the the ACE Workshop version as I have never owned nor handled one ).

That aside, I am really impressed with the version that comes with this set. Clean lines, crisp details, cut out detailing on the flash hider and along the top of the foregrip frame, a working charging handle that also opens and closes the bolt detail at the ejection port, a folding stock that has the right balance of function and durability, clean manufacturer markings, and decent paint applications. My only gripe is the that the seam line along the top and under stock railings seem to be too wide. Perhaps a separate piece of plastic to represent the rail ( or RIS ) would have improved the look. But then again, this may be accurate to the 1/1 scale SCAR.

Also worthy of mention are the accessories that come with the SCAR, including an FN 40mm grenade launcher, a Trijicon ACOG scope, a dual beam laser module with a flip up grenade launcher iron sight, and a Tangodown foregrip. All of these accessories are highly detailed and very well constructed. I did have to file out the inside of the mag well on the FN 40mm grenade launcher in order to slide the SCAR magazine through, but this was not the case with the launcher that came with the MiL carded SCAR set I picked up a year or two back. Weird. Along with all of this we get three additional SCAR magazines ( for a total of four magazines ), and six 40mm grenades for the launcher. Also included is a Beretta M9 handgun with four magazines ( one for the gun and three for the magazine pouches supplied with the vest ), and a pair of baseball style fragmentation grenades. All of this adds up to a well deserved score of five out of five stars in this category.

Things to be mindful of/overall score…

One thing to watch out for is the connective webbing strips on the pouches that are used to secure the pouches to the vest. If you are not careful these can tug loose easier than should be the case. This is partially made up for with the longer length of webbing which make securing the pouches an easier task. One possible fix to take under consideration is the application of a small drop of either Superglue or FabricTac to the end of the webbing to allow it to be adhered to the backside fo the pouch. While this would allow for a more permanent and secure fit, it would still leave you with the option of easy removable in the future should you decide to reconfigure the pouch layout of your vest.

Also, make sure to test fit the SCAR magazine into the grenade launcher magazine well before attaching the launcher to the rifle. Worst case scenario, you may have to do a little clean up with a needle file or hobby knife to make extra room for the magazine. All of these factors taken into account, along with a tally of the scores from the individual sections, gives me a final overall score of four and a half out of five stars. Not bad for Merit/ MiL’s first ( and hopefully not last ) modern figure.

Score recap:

Head-sculpt, base body, hands: 4 out of 5 stars.

Uniform: 5 out of 5 stars.

Gear ( soft lines ): 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Gear ( hard lines ): 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Weapons: 5 out of 5 stars.

Grand total: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

What I changed and added…

Not much to add here. I did repaint the eyes and mouth, and added beard shading. I also added weathering the uniform and gear, and weathered the weapons. All of this went a long way to personalizing the figure – and to making him look more like the Iceman.

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