SAS Commando - Variants

[paulitoy]

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Great that you're getting stuck in to this Hopper.

There are a few less basic parts than you've listed and they can be cut down a bit.

I haven't checked but off the top of my head :

AM 1 is the same as AM 11 and AM 2 is the same as AM12

BM 4 is the same as BM 2

LM 1 is the same as LM 10 and LM 2 is the same as LM 11

Am I wrong? I can't remember...

[Andy1672]

The BM1 body molds are totally different for the desert rat, US paratrooper and 2 para.

AM7 - AM8 Deep Sea divers arms are different to Us Paratrooper which also differ from the mission pilots arms.

LM2 Mountain and arctic legs are different to the arctic assault leg


am I reading the list wrong and making a tool out of myself ?

[jamarmiller]

Welcome to the boards Hopper! good to have another old timer here! LOL

[Hopper]

Greetings to you both, and cheers.

Paul

To judge from photographs BM4 is different from BM2 – BM2 has “zipper” groove running all the way from chin to crotch, whereas the commander (B4) doesn’t. That said, I’m only working from photographs so please feel free to question and correct.

I don’t think that LM1/2 are the same as LM10/11 – LM10 and 11 have a torch and small arm holster at the side, LM1/2 has two packs.

AM1/2 is not the same as AM11/12 – AM1/2, at least on my figures, is the ‘flat hand’ type, rather than the rounded version of AM 11/12.



Andy1672

Desert Rat is different, unique I think – thanks for the correction.

Are you sure about 2Para and US Para? They look the same to me (obviously colour aside) – do you have any photographs? I may just have a variant figure.

Also are you certain about the Deep Sea Diver’s and US Para’s? I don’t have the figures, so please correct me, but they look the same from the photographs, just that DS Diver has his stuck at an awkward angle because of his shape.

You are right about the mission pilot not being the same, they seem to match those of the commanders – AM6 & 7. I’m getting a mission pilot sometime next week so I shall compare and contrast!


Thanks for taking the time guys, this is exactly what is needed.
Keep it coming!

[The Baron]

First of all, welcome to the gang Hopper! Nice to see you've made yourself at home. If you need help figuring out posting images and the like, there are some FAQs here: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5408

Secondly...

Must be loads of unknown variants about, has any one got the with 's body mould? I never seen one, the toy section mentions it but has no photo, is it really rare figure, or just an over sight by the over worked

Impudent Cur!



Thirdly...

the Aussie Jungle Fighter doesn't have a beret...

he's a 'bare' head, of the type later used for Breaker and Sky Raider.

so, he's HM12

where'd you wanna put in the new heads from series 2?

Infantryman/Wheels
Ironblood
Security Trooper/Patroller (unique head/torso)
Engineer (entirely unique)
Kraken (entirely unique)
Skeletron (entirely unique)
Red Wolf (unique head/torso)

is also a 'bare' head mould, just with a different paintjob.

Now, I hate to pour cold water on a cracking idea, but I do believe there is a simpler explanation. The original 'Action Man in Miniature' wave 1 stands alone, it's a completely different concept to the Red Shadows and Teams wave 2 , so I think it's an added and unnecessary confusion to class the Commando as a variant of the original Commando figure. Probably an easier way to work it would be by character name.

As we know, wave 2 came in two releases, let's refer to them as wave 2.1 and wave 2.2. I think a great many of the variants are due to this. I'll focus on . and were released with straight legs and thin hands. had the grey camo paintjob, had the all-black. Now, I've looked at my figures and can only see four types, all of the versions with flatter hands have the (or Morris Dancer) tassled legs. There are no exceptions to this rule. I think the distinction is simply between waves 2.1 and 2.2.



As we have seen with the variant , the second release had a remoulded head, arms and legs. Wave 2.2 also had thicker paintjobs (look at the eyebrows on the SAS group shot) and were made from a bendier plastic.



Let's not forget that the and ranges were released a few months after , and the , due (I think) to the Brighton Toyfair (Dave Tree mentioned this a few months back, I may be misquoting him). So it's safe to assume that when the boys first hit the shops that the variant Morris Dancer leg had not even been designed at that time.

I propose the notion that any figure who made the transition from wave 2.1 to wave 2.2 was simply redesigned with better limbs. Which simplifies the concept down to one variant per character. I've just had a gander at my figures and I can't see a clear difference in any of my or figures. Also worth noting that they are no bent-armed figures in either range.

But it's not completely clear-cut, as evidenced there is a variant out there, although it could well be a prototype. There was also a thread about variant paintjobs among IIRC. Both figures are from wave 2.2

[Chopper]

Holy hand grenade guys. I've tried to skim this whilst having my morning coffee and have to say welcome aboard Hopper and thanks for the headache Are we going to include SATT as well? I have 3 Quickfire variants if you include Schnellfuer.

Oh, and what about Tracker?

[SteveD]

Tut tut - variant a prototype???? Never in all my years have I heard such a thing!!

Got some pics on that front later, but trying to give structure I was going to start at Series 1 in another, seperate thread, and then we can work our way through. Perhaps a few figs a day to keep the thread going?

I can't see a clear difference in any of my or figures

I think the only "variants" with those were paint variants - highlighting of the Morris Dancer tassles etc. Good point with the arms too Baron - straight arms were obviously preferred once the range really got going. I can REALLY relate to that (sighs heavily)...

[Hopper]

Hi all! And thanks for the welcome.

Yup, sorry about the 'Variant Bomb' I seem to have dropped

I'm actually a secret agent working from the My Little Pony forum, sent to create chaos and in-fighting about variants whilst we yellow horses sneak in the back door and start combing our unfeasibly long hair in the Z-Force command centre... i am the cyber equivalent of that most hated enemy - your little sister!

OK, my fantasy moment is over, back to this... 'sigh'

Quote
"so I think it's an added and unnecessary confusion to class the Commando as a variant of the original Commando figure. Probably an easier way to work it would be by character name."

Yes, definitely! The commando and commando thing was just to get things straight in my head - if you see what i mean. Clearly the commando was a repaint of the original, and so i was thinking more in terms of evolution, how the figure changes - the archaeological term for this is a "chrono-typological study"

Anyhoo, whaddya think people, start by listing the constituent parts of the figures, adding new moulds when we come accross them, and working from there? Or do it some other way? List a character, then list variants of the figure?

I suppose a good way to do that would be for someone to publish a photo of a single figure, and we all rush off to see if we have anything different - if someone does, then that would also need a description and a photo ideally. The most common would become the canonical version (Type 1), anything else a variant (Type 2, Type 3 etc.). We could continue with the moulding numbers so that we can talk about specific limbs (LM3, etc.).

We could start with Release 1 and take it from there.

Speaking of commandos, one hesitates to question his imperial redness - The Baron himself - but are you absolutely certain that there were no 'round-handed' commandos with grey camo and MC Hammer pants? They were all 2.2. If this is the case, then yes, the whole thing becomes a bit simpler - "round hand = 2.1, flat hand = 2.2", etc.

Just some thoughts.

and Chopper, hope i didn't ruin your coffee!

[Red Laser]

Welcome to the crazy house Hopper.

[SteveD]

I'm actually a secret agent working from the My Little Pony forum!

DAVE TREE!!!! I've been wondering where you've been mate! Is Hopper just an assumed name so we didn't recognise you then? (only kidding you Dave - you know we love ya round here [in a manly way, obviously!]

New thread about to be started with some wave 1 goodness....