Our Walmart usually does not have much in the way of Army Men. I was surprised, therefore, to see this large clear plastic can of troops. It was The Corps Elite 120 Pieces Army Playset. The set claimed to include "soldiers, bases, vehicles and more..." I could see that these were army men unlike any others in my collection. I had seen similar figures shown on our Army Men Homepage Face Book page by several members.
Getting the can home, I opened it. Not an easy feat, as it was triple sealed. Inside I found a cardboard cone in the middle. Around it were soldiers in three colors, a tiny tank, small attack helicopter, tiny jet and odd "robot" thing. There were also two sandbag walls, two stands for machine guns, a three-piece wall that looked like a refueling station, six fences and three antitank obstacles.
The tank was about 1/76 scale and was loosely - very loosely - based on the Abrams tank. The helicopter was between 1/100 and HO and very loosely inspired by the Cobra. The jet was small and the robot was about twice the height of the soldiers. Frankly, the vehicles were not much.
 |
| Tank obstacles, Wall, machine gun post |
The terrain pieces were passable. The sandbag walls each had a machine gun. The odd three-piece wall had an industrial look to it. It would fit Starship Troopers or Aliens. The fences were good enough. There were three each of two different fence types
 |
| Sandbag Wall with Machine gun |
 |
| Soldiers come in three colors |
Included with all this were 96 soldiers. These came in eight different poses. There were equal numbers of each pose in three different colors: light green, tan and terra-cotta. The troops are uniformed along modern lines, but more in the manner of futuristic action figures. They remind me of troops from Starship Troopers, Aliens (Colonial Marines) and Space-Above and Beyond. Weapons have a boxy look to them, except for a man-portable mini -gun. So far as I know, there is nothing comparable in the real world to these weapons.
With these troops, we are blurring the line with science fiction. In fact, they would be excellent for near-future combat against aliens, zombies and monsters. A little paint and other touches could produce Colonial Marines or Starship Troopers. A plain paint job is all that would be necessary needed to make Space Above and Beyond Marines.
Figures are in the 45 to 50mm range. Because none of the poses are standing fully upright, I had to get creative. A measurement was about 50mm size. They are larger than the 45mm Colonial Marines included in a recent bagged set of Aliens figures. (The Aliens marines look equal in size only because their bases are thick.) The Elite figures also have a much better look. Of course, the Elite figures are shorter than the Tim Mee M16 soldiers. The Elite figures have a thicker look than the Tim Mee figures.
 |
Elite compared with Tim Mee soldiers
Elite compared with Aliens marines
******
Where do these troops fit for toy soldier games? In my opinion, they are too futuristic for playing current scenarios. The Corps Elite figures look very much like the Starship Troopers and Space Above and Beyond. They could also be used as Aliens. Characters similar to these figures are often found in post-apocalyptic and dystopian type films. The "vehicles" are pretty much useless. but the fences and walls make for good diorama and gaming scenery. Scale is between 1/35 and 1/40.
|
