Need a Hand?

After playing in my room last night, and knocking my shelves about on accident, I've decided to make a list of some figures that have become notorious for not being able to stand up on their own. Some are worse than others, but all of these are "guilty" of being not so stable. Whether it's due to an ambitious pose that over-weights one side, or simply due to a skimpy base, these guys are always the first to fall in battle.

The Airfix American Bazooka guy. Nice compact figure, good sculpting, a tad small by today's new standard, but still a nice addition to a battle, except for the fact that you spend half the battle setting him back up. His left foot and right knee, the anchor points for the figure, are just a little too aligned. Sort of like a bicycle trying to stand by itself without a kickstand. Just doesn't work.

A part of CTS's Mexican army. Has a nice open stance, looking like he's getting ready for something. Not actually part of the fighting just yet, but getting ready to maybe climb a ladder, or bust through a door, 0r simply just a few steps behind the frontline of fighters. Problem is, before he can make his glorious debut into the fight, he usually falls flat on his face. All of my poses like this lean a bit to the front, causing him to be a just a bit overbalanced in the front.

Revell British Infantry... actually I think it's actually a Scottish themed set of some sort, but never mind those details for right now. Let's explore this character. A great pose, wonderful sculpting, and a lot of action. This guy is under fire, rushing for cover, hoping against hope that the next bullet isn't meant for him. But, he isn't going to make it to cover, because like the Mexican soldier above him, he's going to land flat on his face. Overbalanced and too small of a base are going to spell the end of this loyal Brit.

Now this is a real tragedy. This guy was really going someplace. You can tell, with one foot lifted off the ground, a satchel holding all important... stuff. It is imperative that this guy make his rounds. Under fire from Japanese snipers, he dodges through jungle brush and across sand dunes, but just before he makes it to his destination, he falls down on his left side. If he's lucky, he might find a palm tree to lean on to make it through the rest of the battle. His base is wonderfully sculpted, but just doesn't give him enough support on his left side.

Not quite as noticable as the others listed here, this guy is usually propped up by the wall he's throwing his rock over. Tricky, tricky. But as a ground fighter, you have to watch him. As he goes to bash that wounded guy over the head with a rock, he inexpicably changes his mind and decides to crush him with his entire body weight instead. Just a tad over balanced in the front, I think because the base thins out towards the front of the figure. Mine just might be a mis-mold on my two figures.

Next time we'll explore five more figures (mostly Marx) that can't quite seem to stay upright.