Head Sculpt: Karl comes with a bigger head, as many inexperienced reviewers have pointed out in past reviews. What these past reviews failed to point out was that the head sculpt does have allot of personality. Yes, the head sculpt does have that smiling "unrealistic" looking face that doesn't match the situation that he is in (war is hell people), but as with many of the earlier head sculpts done by Dragon, the head in the early figures shows Dragon's inexperience on how to make a realistic looking "war face" head sculpt. Presently, Dragon has some of the best WWII head sculpts, due to their trial and error period with their first two years of figures. Karl's face is very plain, with very little facial lines. I think for the year that this figure represents "1941" this young face is appropriate. The only reason I picked up this figure was due to the fact that he was a military police figure and it was one of the orginally released figures that I still didn't purchase yet. Besides, the Military Police figures are a much needed breath of fresh air. I hope for many more military police figures from Dragon in the future. Thus far Dragon has only produced four German military police figures and one American military police figure that has not been released yet. I hope they hurry with the American MP figure, because there will be no discipline among the troops without the MP's keeping them straight.
Grade: 8.0 (B).
Body/Articulation: Older style body that seems a bit more flimsy then the bodies we see on Dragon figures today. The articulation is still the same on Karl, but they gave him the hands where you can bend the fingers. A good choice of hands for this particular figure, since he is directing traffic in Leningrad. Not much to say other then the clicking noise on the older body really can be annoying at times. Grade: 9.0 (A).
Uniform/Equipment: The uniform that Karl is wearing is the older issued "stone gray" colored uniform that German soldiers were issued in 1935. The collar is green in color with a silver border indicating he is an NCO (non-commissioned officer/the most important people in any army). The piping around the should board rank is orange in color, representing the military police branch of the German army. On the left breast pocket is the German physical fitness badge. The gorget that is worn around Karl's neck is done very well. The detail is very good on the German Army national emblem eagle. The gorget is made of real metal which really adds to the overall "realistic" appearance. The field torch is a very nice touch to this figure. It is attached right under the outside portion of the right rank shoulder board. The M38 overseas cap is made of none bendable rubber/plastic that is done very nice, but is hard to get on Karl's head. The soutache on the cap is a red/orange in color representing the military police branch. The German army nation eagle emblem on the hat is not bad, but you can't distinquish a swastika under the eagle. On later versions of this hat, the swastika is present, but on this early version, it is not there. The M35 map case is the early version that is black in color and presents a brand new, just issued look. The boots that Karl wears are the first issued version of the "jack boots". They are done very well. The traffic baton is a very nice touch with this figure, along with the road sign that is included in this set. The P38 pistol and holster are also done very nice, but the pistol is a solid piece of plastic that does not have a functionally slide. Finally, the belt and silver in color "Heer" belt buckle. This particular belt is made out of a leather type material as compared to the rubber type belt that came on Hans and Gerhard. Not a bad choice for this particular figure, since you don't have to stretch the belt around a big overcoat. The belt buckle is very detailed. Dragon still has some of the most detailed German belt buckles on the market. Overall, the uniform and equipment is done rather well. Grade: 9.0 (A).
Overall Grade: 8.6 (B+).
Closing Comments: It took me three years to finally decide to get this figure, but the wait was worth it. It is a very decent figure that I'm glad I picked up. I had to do a review of this particular figure, due to some of the other piss poor reviews I read from other collectors. I picked this figure up at "Toy Maniacs" for $28.95, a very good deal considering that this figure is a little over four years old. Military Police figure are some of my favorite figures, especially since there aren't really that many produced and myself being an MP.
Review Posted: 26 October 2003
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