ANZAC Aussie/New Zealand Page

ANZAC TEAM
Soldiers from Australia and New ZealanD

When the Australian Jungle Fighter went on clearance at Target for around $6, I couldn't resist... I had to pick a couple up to extra to make an ANZAC squad. Our squad consists of a vintage Soldier of the World figure, a new Timeless AA figure, and a Real Hero figure. You'll note that the vintage figure has those awesome Cotswold "action hands" while the Real Hero has his standard Captain Action-like hands; they're actually a lot softer and more useful than vintage Captain Action's, though. It's really too bad that Hasbro didn't include rifles with the Jungle Fighter figure.The SOTW Lee-Enfield is terrible compared to the 21C or Palitoy version, but if you just need the rifle to be background decoration or to lay about in a Jeep, then it's fine. The rifle is too doggone thick and out of scale for Joes to really hold it. This vintage Joe obviously prefers the Palitoy version of the Lee-Enfield. (Since this pic, the whole team upgraded to 21C or Blue Box Lee-Enfields.)

Here's what we did with our Aussies. We gave 'em a tan jeep to ride around in while engaging in dangerous Backyard Patrols. This is the same MIRV jeep from my website (http://gijoe.adventureteam.com) only I removed the winch, crane, and all that jazz. This is probably the coolest jeep made yet in 1/6 because off-th-shelf it's unmarked with military insignia, has a removable .50 MG, has a windshield, and it's tan. Very versatile.

The figure at left was a Real Heroes FDNY firefighter on clearance (right beside the clearance Aussie on the shelf at Target). At $4.24 I couldn't resist. He looked like he'd be a great replacement for the standard, ugly TC Aussie! He's ready for combat with a Formative a lend-lease Thompson .45 SMG. The Real Hero headsculpt isn't the greatest, but it helps avoid the Clone Army look!

At right is a Timeless GiJoe Action Soldier. The skin tone is extremely dark (I lightened the pic a lot so you could see him). I thought this figure was appropriate because the Pacific Islanders have a wide variety of skin tones, including those who are very dark. Besides, he looks cool.

This wasn't a customization effort, but I liked the look of the ANZAC troopers and thought I'd put 'em on a web page to add to the site. LMK what you think of my humble little site!