"I never knew except that if any man who struggled in the snow and the cold, in the many attacks through the open and through the woods, ever deserved such a medal, it was our medic, Gene Roe."-Excerpt from Stephen Ambrose' book, Band of Brothers-
Honest to God, this is one of my most anticipated 1/6th scale action figure this year (apart from the upcoming MMSDX Joker[s] and Sideshow Darth Vader). As a fan of the Band of Brothers book (yup, I read the Stephen Ambrose book before I watched the mini-series) and later through endless/countless re-watching of the mini-series, I grew very fond of the characters portrayed in the excellent re-telling of the real-life drama that the men of Easy Company went through during WW2.
As I already have a (supposedly through his uncanny resemblance) Capt. Lewis Nixon action-figure, naturally i waited eagerly to see DiD's next offering, whether it'll be a Major Dick Winters (wishful thinking!), a Sgt. Bill Guarnere, Pvt. Shifty Powers or any of the brave guys in E-Company. Shocking enough, DiD then announced that they'll be releasing the medic Eugene "Doc" Roe. Strangely (and competitive) enough, another 1/6th action figure company by the name of Soldier Story went ahead before DiD and released their version of an Airborne medic, from the 82nd Airborne Division. This is a review of the said figure from an online scale military toystore. An excellent figure too to say the least, but I knew where my passion lies, it's gonna be the 101st Airborne Division for me through and through. If I have the extra cash, I'd definitely get both for that matter!
An interesting point to ponder, would it have been different if the Band of Brothers mini-series focused on the 82nd Airborne Division instead of the 101st? Would WW2 fanboys all around the globe go crazy over the 82nd Division too? I wonder....."double-As" instead of a "Screaming Eagle"....?
Nevertheless, let's now enjoy the pictures of this excellent figure, shall we? Let's start by taking a look at the box art/packaging....
On to the figure itself!
The Thompson machine gun is made out of real wood and iron! It weighs considerably heavy for a 1/6th equipment!
Aptly named "Gilbert" rather than Eugene, I could only guess that DiD again did not acquire proper permission to use the likeness of the character portrayed by British actor, Shane Taylor as they had failed to do so during their take on Capt. Lewis Nixon's figure; brilliantly portrayed by American actor Ron Livingston in the mini-series (whose figure was re-named "Albert Ross" by the way!).
Below is the picture of his main parachute bag and the reserve 'chute bag which he carries around in front of his stomach. I wasn't really keen in posing him with these 'chute bags, so here they are, lying around waiting for a future paratrooper to utilize them!
What's a medic without his medical kit! These came with the figure! Pretty cool! Read on and you'll know why....
Close up view of the 'identification tags' used to identify 'fallen' soldiers...so it'll be easy to recognize them once it's time to 'go home'.
These miniature safety pins really work!!! Amazing!
Some of the many medicinal items that the medic came with. These were magnified so that we can see how insanely detailed these miniatures can get! Although there is a typo error to spell the word 'burn'......
My favourite item from the medic kit, his surgical utensils! Look at these shiny kit! Scissors, scalpel and all!!! The scissors really work by the way, I wish the same could be said about the scalpels!
The Geneva Convention clearly states that if you knowingly fire at a medic while his insignia has been clearly been displayed, you can be tried for war crimes!
Head sculpt resembles more towards actor George Eads, who played Nick Stokes from the hit TV series, CSI (Vegas)! Actor Shane Taylor, who played Pvt Eugene Roe in Band of Brothers has a narrower jawline IMHO!
Eugene Roe came with an excellent 'steel' stretcher which is very useful to 'stretch' off his wounded team members! Thanks to Capt. Nixon for volunteering as a 'wounded' trooper!
Pvt Eugene Roe pictured with Capt. Nixon....
Just for further tribute, this is a real-life website dedicated to the actual person, Eugene Roe, created specially by his children and grandchildren to honour the brave and honourable medic during his time in WW2:
Comments
dah termasuk line DID pulak yer?? hahaha...
btw, accessories DID byk yang DIECAST, itu yang membuatkan aku puas ati banget!!! tak rugi kalau beli 1/6 scale DID kan?? XD
Aku mmg dah lama aim line DiD ni, cuma headsculpt yg lama2 tu 'kureng' sikit..until baru2 ni dia org improve their headsculpt tremendously!
The diecast accesories are superb! And the price which is way cheaper than most 1/6th figures really gives you value for your money!
heheheh...
Long live DiD!!!!
I waited anxiously for this figure to come out. And yeah, I've mentioned about Soldier Story's medic in paragraph 2 above...hehehe....
Anyway, it boiled down to choosing between the 82nd division medic OR the 101st division medic....in the end my gut feeling had always been with the 101st...being a nut for the BoB mini-series!
Although the SS version came with extra accesories i.e. gas mask, gloves, life preserver jacket (cool!).....but I just had the funds to get only one and I wanted to ensure that it will be in line with my enthusiasm on the paratroopers who got stuck in Bastogne in Dec 1944, hence I chosed Eugene Roe over the 82nd dude! :)