Well, he finally arrived yesterday and I am greatly pleased to own such a fine figure. This is also the first American WWII figure I've bought from Dragon and I must say that I prefer their rendition of the American uniform much better than 21st Century's. Tak is an exclusive figure for Marco Polo Import and was created with the help of the Japanese American National Museum.
If you have Dragon's Scott or Dave then you'll know what to expect in terms of Tak's uniform. He wears the green HBT uniform and the tan jacket over it. He's also got the same leggings and boots. All of these are meticulously detailed. The jacket and uniform have buttons and fit naturally. The leggings and the boots are two seperate pieces.
Tak's helmet is just like Scott's with the netting over the usual helmet. The inner lining of the helmet can be removed, making it possible to remove the netting as well. The detail of the hemet is astounding in this regard as everything is modeled after the real thing from the inside out.
Tak's equipment list includes the BAR ammo pouches/belt with suspenders, four extra clips, two grenades, knife and sheath, trenching tool, canteen, and of course, the Browning Automatic Rifle. Everthing is modeled in great detail. The ammo pouches all open up, although the front two are the only ones that can actually hold ammo. The canteen, knife, and trenching tool all attach to the belt by using little metal brackets which fit into tiny eyelets at the bottom of the belt. The suspenders can also be attached/detached from the belt in a similar fashion. The BAR is nicely detailed with folding legs, removeable clip, moveable handle, and a moveable flap on the buttstock whose purpose is unknown to me.
The figure itself is slightly smaller than other Dragon figures. I think this is very cool since we all need a little variation in our troops' hieghts. Tak's headsculpt is supurb, and as with other Dragon figures, is very nicely painted. Some people don't like the "shinyness" of Dragon's painted heads, and I used to be one of those people but have since come to prefer it since the paint job is so dang good. The head is pretty realistic, although he doesn't look strikingly "Japanese" to me. Don't ask me what makes a person look Japanese, it's just one of those things I can't put my finger on, but know it when I see it. He's got a determined look on his face and a slight 5 o'clock shadow is showing. Tak's hands are the ungloved, bendy type, allowing for a great number of grips and poses. I've got to pick me up some extra pairs of these hands because I like em so much.
The box is also something of interest when it comes to Dragon figures. You can open Dragon figures up and put em back in without any damage to the box. This is awesome but I don't see this working for TUS because of how they are generally sold on shelves in places like Toys R Us where people like to open things up and sometimes steal certain pieces. There is also a folded slip of paper which lists Medal of Honor Recipients and a chronology of Japanese American in WWII. On the back is the motto of the 100th/442nd: "Go for broke!"
And I guess that's it. This instantly became one of my favorite figures not only because of my Japanese American ancestry but because it's a quality figure. Highly recommended.
