It came as no surprise to me that DiD released Captain Miller (the lead character in the movie Saving Private Ryan) and based on what they did with Private Daniel I really had high hopes on this one.
Unfortunately, with higher expectations comes greater disappointment.
The packaging is what we come to know of DiD. The picture of the figure is at the front and the back shows off the accessories. Decent and nice as always.
What made me disappointed is the head sculpt. I know this figure is not an official merchandise of the movie and I did not have to foot extra for the cost of the movie license. Hence I cannot fault DiD if the head sculpt is not up to my expectation.
If this figure was just depicting any Captain in the 2nd Ranger during WW2, I would give it 2 thumbs up! The sculpting is very good with extremely good detailing and texture. The painting is also very good and I like the protruding stubble. It looked extreamly realistic.
However if it was supposed to be the Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) from the movie, than it is a thumb down. Yes you can see the resemblance but I think the sculpting falls slightly short.
Ok...Ok...I must be getting really spoilt as the standard for 12" figures have improved so much!
DiD has always been very generous with their accessories and this is still the case with this figure.
You have the standard equipments that a 2nd Ranger will have to haul over the beaches of Normandy and the best part is that the majority of the accessories are the equipments used by Captain Miller in the movie.
An interesting accessory is the Bangalore torpedoes and its wooden casing. A Bangalore torpedo is an explosive charge placed on the end of a long, extendable tube. It is used by combat engineers to clear obstacles that would otherwise require them to approach directly, possibly under fire.
Obviously the Bangalore torpedoes were given as accessories because in the movie, during the battle at Omaha, Captain Miller used it to clear obstacles and barb wires to open up Dog-One.
A nice touch!
Bangalore torpedoes and its wooden casing
We are given 2 sets of hands and interestingly enough, we get a set of "flat" hands or in my own words "slapping" hands. My best bet is that this set of hands was given because in the movie Captain Miller's hands would sometimes shake uncontrollably and he would look at his hands. Another nice touch.
"Slapping Hands"
"Why do my hands shake?"
Well you could do a salute too!
I have watched the movie many times and I think this is how the Captain's items line up in his belt.
Overall, I am slightly disappointed. Just solely because I thought we would have a better head sculpt that looked more like Tom Hanks. But if you just want a WW2 2nd Ranger Captain, this is actually a very well done figure.
As for me, with Private Daniel in the bag, how can I deprive the private of his captain!
Getting ready to storm Omaha beach
Talking to Private Daniel, the marksman in Captain Miller's squad
Rangers in action!
