Er, actually, Very Hot is simply a cheaper, pirated version of Hot Toys. Both me and Rusty agree it's quite 'good' because me and him had been into 1/6 action figure for a very long time (I think Rusty is much longer; I started back in 2001) and liked it for the tons of accessories it provided which makes kitbashing possible. Since VH is a lot more into mass-production than HT's limited edition release, the number of those in production are much higher, thus more accessories to kitbash yourself a whole team at a cheaper price. However, Very Hot isn't a good brand to start with because its quality, though generally good, isn't on par with the likes of Dragon, BBI and Hot Toys.

Once you're into 1/6, be prepared to spend more. Anyway, my recommendation is:
1. Get yourself a loose Dragon Models or BBI figure. I think it should be widely available in KL. I live in KK, Sabah so I don't know much about availability in the Peninsular. In any case, stuff should be easier to get there.

2. Remove ALL of the accessories on the poor-quality Very Hot stock figure. Trust me, the only thing that the stock VH figure could do is to substitute paper bullseye in a firing range!

3. You know what to do: transfer all that equipment from VH to the loose DM/BBI figure you bought. Most of the equipment should fit well except the VH gloves, which would only fit flexible hands commonly found of Hot Toys' figures. If the boots are too crappy, replace it with a loose boot (DM/BBI have good quality boots). Also, if you want to put the vest, you need to remove the figure's head first. There's no other way besides that.

4. This is optional, but do it if you want to (got the money to spend?): replace the default weaponry which came with the VH figure with something more high-quality. The quality of VH's 1/6 firearms is below that of Dragon and BBI. You can clearly tell from the jagged edges, rough seam lines and parts which appear 'mirrored'. Go for ones from Dragon, BBI, Hot Toys, Intoyz and World Weapon Collection.

5. As for how and where to put the equipment, I really can't help you on this one. When I first started out, I was pretty much clueless on which goes where but thanks to my instinct and some reference photos from books, I was able to assemble my figure's equipment. So the only advice can offer here: trust your instinct, look at military photos for reference. Remember:
- Balaclava/ski mask are always worn before wearing the gas mask and finally the helmet.
- Body armor goes in before tactical vest unless the armor and vest are integrated together.
- Drop-down holsters are always on the right; extra side pouches tend to go on the left; bags and buttpacks tend to go to (where else?) the back.
- Put all of the small equipments (carabiners, extra magazines, grenades, weaponry, etc) only after you're finished with the above!
- All accessories and gears which came with the figure are to be fully utilized. That means, if the figure came with 12 gears and accessories, chances are you're gonna use all of em' at once. This applies only to boxed figures and doesn't apply to kitbashing.

Next time, try starting out with a quality piece. Go for the older 2001~2003 Dragon Models series or the older/recent releases by BBI. They're quite easy, straightforward and doesn't cost you an arm and a spleen unlike those released from Hot Toys, Medicom Toys and Three-Zero (these three companies made pricey figures). Once you gained a bit of confidence, try your hands on kitbashing: buy loose figures and accessories/accessory set, buy some VH and scavenge it for parts, combine this and that with older figures that you're already bored with and make something awesome.

Ah, those good ol' days when 1/6 action figures were far cheaper and more affordable. Even at that time, there are still some people who complained about the price being too high!

Yep, because I'm a member there and I'm sure you're also a member there too. You'll get 15% discount and on 15th of February and 20th of August, you'll get 30% discount! Prices there tend to be higher than the ones in the Peninsula for obvious reasons and it's too bad there isn't that many good stuff there now besides old stocks with pricetags that seldom went down and an overstock of stuff for overrated series that sells (Gundam Seed models, Nartuo merchandise, etc).

Now that I have better confidence in getting stuff online from either the Peninsula or even abroad (had ordered from Singapore so far), KK Toys felt forgettable unless I'm looking for older stuff that are hard to find.

I bought the Carlos figure twice; Scar once. All of em' are priced at RM70 - 15% member discount. Lots of part to loot! The plain OD BDU from Scar has a potential to be used as either clothes for a Nam' kitbash or Hamas/Hezbollah kitbash. Now I'm looking for a middle-easternish headsculpt, 3-hole hood, RPG-7 and a Soviet/Chicom vest that can accomodate AK mags.

This post has been edited by Hangmen: Oct 28 2006, 06:47 PM

Actually, same here (monthly allowance is quite low back then) but strangely, I'm not complaining. The 1/6 'propaganda' is so infectious I'd blow myself up for a modern Dragon Models figure and its accessory set.

This post has been edited by Hangmen: Oct 29 2006, 09:40 AM

Hey wifi, the camo seemed a lot more into concrete urban areas. I think it'll be much better if his head is left clean, but that's pretty much up to you. He would've looked nicer with more gears IMO.

Hey Rusty, the guy on the last pic seems armed with just about anything that the US Army has. I can tell that he's a grenadier of some kind (lotsa nades' hanging on his vest; manly tattoo) and chose to sacrifice some firepower and settling for something lightweight like an MP5 so that he can carry more things that went BOOM. Argh, now I'm getting some crazy bonar for an M249 SAW (never had one in my armory; nice mod BTW).

New stuff from Toy Soldier: ACU Plate Carrier Set.

http://www.echobasetoys.com/More_12_inch_S...dier/TS-333.htm

It's available for pre-order in Echo Base Toys, for those who has credit/debit card or Paypal, which I unfortunately don't possess.

Bonus:
http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59364

Some dude's visit to Guangzhou, China, the main hub of 1/6 distributors and wholesalers.


LOOK AT ALL HIS LOOT!
Dammit, those commies have better access to loose equipments and accessories!

Don't mess with communism!

I'm not interested, yet, but I suggest the pricerange of RM3 or RM4 sounds reasonable for it.

Exactly, 'hot commodity many years back'. While flourishing elsewhere, 1/6 seems to be... slowing down a lot here in Malaysia, except for a hardcore few like myself and a number of other Malaysians in 1/6 threads found in other hobby-related Malaysian forums. It's like as if a 'drought' is happening here, with few local retailers willing to bring in rare things or selling mass amounts of loose parts.

My latest kitbash:

75th US Army Ranger "Larry" gets redeployed with new gears and guns to give himself an edge in the battlefields of today and tomorrow.

For details on this kitbash, go to my blog here. Its a new blog which is specifically for everything 1/6. Its currently still brand new so don't expect anything great yet. If you have a website or blog related to 1/6 figures you wanna share, leave me a comment at my most recent entry and I'll add you to the sidebar.

For the rest of the pics, go to this thread in the OSW forums.

PS: hey Rusty, mind if I borrow those pics you took for your World Weapon Collection review? I wanna make a blog entry about it when I have some time to spare since I don't have enough 1/6 guns to make a good comparison with.

Just ditch the crappy Very Hot figure. That RM70 BBI figure would do just fine. Of course, since SDU is a Hong Kong special unit, it might seem a bit odd to use a Caucasian figure, but lets just assume that he's SAS (same equipment), for now . Also, since you just started with collecting 1/6, try not to push yourself too hard early on, kay? Take it easy and your collection will eventually grow. It took me two years to have a substantial amount of figures and other 1/6 guns and accessories.

Ah sorry, but unfortunately, I don't have any interest yet in selling my stock accessories. Nonetheless, you may try getting some stuff from Action Figure 2002.

The best things about AF2002:
1. Lots of stuff.
- Nuff' said. They carry plenty of things there.

2. They got stuff for female figs and casual wear.
- For those of you who collect 1/6 females (not me, for now), AF2002 has plenty of RAWR! outfits for your femfigs. Also, AF2002 is one of the few places that sells casual wear for 1/6 figures.

3. Ease of payment.
- The dude who ran the place has a Hong Leong Bank account, so depositing payment is very easy.

Although, I don't really recommend buying from him because:

1. Some of his stuff are seriously overpriced.
- Compare the meager price for a single box of World Weapon Collection in XL-Shop which is just RM16.80 to AF2002's insane USD15.99 (RM58.44)! Please keep in mind that not all of his stuff are that overpriced. Just look around and some of the items he sell might be a bargain compared to others. In this case, I recommend buying from only if you can't find things here in Malaysia or elsewhere and in desperate need for that particular item.

2. Very, very slow at responding to your orders.
- Believe it or not, it took me close to a month and a half just to get my stuff. I should've been able to pay him much earlier if it wasn't for the ultra-slow response to my orders: it took him THREE WEEKS to reply me and there wasn't even any explanation for his delay in reply. Then I replied him back that I wish to pay via his Hong Leong Bank account and that's another TWO WEEKS of waiting before his next reply came. Due to his slow reply, I'm forced to delay my payment because it was approaching Hari Raya.

At least the delivery from Hong Kong to Malaysia is fast: 7 days for my stuff to arrive, judging from the date of the parcel.

This post has been edited by Hangmen: Nov 16 2006, 05:54 PM

As for me, I get my stuff online from XL-Shop and The Falcon's Hangar, as well as from members in the XL-Shop forums. Offline, I got em' from local stores in my state like KK Toys though the supply of 1/6 is quite low here in Sabah.

Chances of getting older figures depends on which shop you go around Malaysia, as such shops may still have em', though their prices can be stubborn to drop at times. Also, if you have credit/debit card or Paypal, consider yourself lucky, as there are many hobby stores based in the United States that may still carry old figures and dozens of loose items from older series with it at very low prices.

I'm not into the WWII theme, but I heard a company called Dragon In Dreams (DID) are currently leading the way for WWII figures. On the other hand, companies like Dragon Models (not affiliated with DID I think) are quite good too, as they are one of the first pioneering companies that brought the revival of 1/6 figures in the hobby market.

They still do have the BBI Terminate and Cy Girls series in stock. Google 'KK Toys'.

A very awesome kitbash from an OSW member:


MGS2's Gurlukovich Soldier.

http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59799

Duane goes tactical.
http://16ops.blogspot.com/2006/12/duane-goes-tactical.html


This is my first military action figure that is not a redo (i.e more of the same with added gears) nor does its theme related or affiliated to any military groups or special forces out there. In fact, I'd say, this is my first non-themed kitbash. Since it's currently without any particular theme, this does open up a potential as a possible sci-fi teambash in the future, considering the type of weapons and gear he's equipped with.


I wanted to equip Duane with a G36K + grenade launcher combo, but I didn't have enough money to buy em', for now. That explains the reason behind the grenade pouches on his back. So, for the time being, I'd settle for a G36C from World Weapon Collection.


Duane's armament. A HK G36C from WWC attached with a scope taken from Very Hot SDU MP5. The pistol is a HK P7M13 with an extended barrel. Made by Intoys, it features an interactive pistol slide that slides back into position when pulled.


This is where it gets fun: taking pictures of my action figure while messing around with a laser pointer/illuminator in near-total darkness.

Go to this thread in the OSW forums for more pictures.

Cool. More pics please.


Anyway, here's a teaser for my upcoming 1/6 figure (and I got myself a new handphone LOL).

This post has been edited by Hangmen: Jan 11 2007, 12:01 AM

I got 2 Carlos and 2 Scars. Guess I'll keep buying em' until KK Toys have no more stock. The rifle is AK109 from World Weapon Collection.

I have written a review for three 1/6 items: DID XM8, DID M14 and TS ACU Plate Carrier. The review can be found here.

http://16ops.blogspot.com/2007/02/review-t...id-xm8-did.html

While true that I can just copy and paste things, I keep getting strange warnings about exceeding image limit even though I didn't (the one I attempt to post is a thread-friendly version in XL-Toys forum), and everytime I tried to post the second part of the review, the thread went nuts and delete my previous post.

This post has been edited by Hangmen: Feb 7 2007, 01:20 AM

Thanks. If you wanna check elsewhere, try The Falcon's Hangar. I sometimes buy from them when stocks here are not available or to receive stuff early before XL. I ordered the three items mentioned in the review from TFH about a week earlier before XL-Shop has em'.

I do payment via Telegraphic Transfer. You can ask TFH how to do it. For the bank of choice with the lowest TT charges, I'd say its Bumiputera Commerce (RM10) but I'm not so sure if there are any other banks lower than this.

This post has been edited by Hangmen: Feb 8 2007, 07:06 PM

Hot Toys USMC Sniper looks great, but its kinda bland considering the popularity of US Forces in the 1/6 market. However, I'd buy some of its accessories if it were to be sold loose.

Also, that kickass Face Hugger needs a nice face to kiss.

Hey Wifi, if you're selling those guns and equipment loose, I'll consider buying, but only if you can handle shipping.

Which part of Sabah are you from?

*Dies* (+_+)
I FAILED.

This post has been edited by Hangmen: Mar 2 2007, 11:11 PM