Hot Toys Sergeant Barnes Platoon

Platoon was a damn good movie and the character of Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) was one of the more memorable and cool characters.
Sergent Barnes was a bad ass...you don't get a scar running across the side of the face picking your groceries at your local market.
Damn...he is so bad ass that even a nalpham bomb dropped by a fighter jet could not kill him.

With Hot Toys doing the movie licence, we have already gotten Taylor and Barnes. As the hope of getting Elias starts to fade every day because this line will never be as popular as compared to Iron Man and Terminator, I must say that what we have got so far is pretty damn fine.

The packaging is pretty much the same as what we got for Taylor. Only difference is the front of the box which shows the picture of Sergent Barnes.









Over the years, Hot Toys has set a very high standard for sculpting and the way to rate them in sculpting is how close to perfection the sculpt is.
I must say this is pretty close to perfection.
Barnes has a very distinct look due to the heavy scarring on the side of the face and Hot Toys nailed it perfectly.
The resemblance to Tom Berenger who played Barnes is also very good. From the actual sculpt to the expression used is just perfect.

Just like the bandana used for Taylor, the do-rag for Barnes is also made of cloth and glued on. I like the approach here as it makes the sculpt more realistic. The only thing that I will nit pick is those little strains of hair sticking out of the do-rag at the forehead. Not that great looking but I appreciate the idea.

This time round, Barnes looks so much nicer with the helmet on as compared to Taylor.
Even though it is a pretty tight fit to put the helmet on due to the do-rag, I must say once it is on, the figure looks pretty nice.

Segeant Barnes








With the Helmet on








I really had a hard time putting on Taylor's accessories the last time round but this time round it was not that bad.
It was mainly because of two reasons:

1) Most of Barnes's accessories are re-use from Taylor. So with better experience, I had a much better time
2) Much lesser equipments as compared to Taylor hence lesser chance to break something.

Another cool thing this time, included in the instruction sheet is where to put the stuff onto the webbing. I am a sucker for screen accuracy so this was a big help.
The accessories as expected are amazing and the details so good.

With Barnes you get:
- CAR-15
- pistol
- pack of magazine
- bayonet with sheath
- push dagger with scabbard
- Two grenades
- Helmet
- Dog tag and can opener
- Webbing
- Bandoleer
- 3 big pouches and 1 small pouch
- Watch
- Bracelet
- A stick of cigarette
- Backpack
- Canteens with cover
- Entrenching tool (E-tool) with cover
- Figure stand
- 3 additional hands

All of Barnes's equipments




Just as I was beginning to breeze through getting the pouches, canteens and bayonet onto the webbing I realised that the small pouch which was already attached to the right side of the webbing was not movie accurate!
Arghhh! It was supposed to be on the left side. It took me an extra half an hour to switch it over.

Wrong Side


There is also some handi-work that needs to be done.
Included with the figure is a piece of green tape.
It is used to tape the scabbard of the push dagger onto the webbing.



All Done.


On top of that, the magazines are also needed to be taped together.
Soldiers usually do this so it is faster to load the gun.



Finally all the equipments are on the webbing.
It definitely took a lesser time as compared to the time taken for Taylor.



Barnes with his webbing




The Entrenching tool (E-tool) with cover and backpack is the same as Taylor's.





Another nit pick is that the body used is the same as Taylor's, however in real life Barnes is much taller than Taylor.
An easy fix but I think I can live with it...too lazy to correct it.

Overall I am very satisfied with Barnes.
Taylor and Barnes looks good displayed together.
Come on Hot Toys, give me Elias.

Sergeant Barnes






Sergeant Barnes in full battle order


































Barnes and Taylor








Caught between a hard place and a rock!


You can also read the Sideshow version of Elias and Taylor here.