Packaging: The box for the Brotherhood of Arms series of American Civil War soldiers by Sideshow Toys has excellent graphics. The front flap has a historical and patriotic theme (see photo above). The inside cover discusses in detail the history of the 2nd Sharpshooters created by Louis Berdan and also lists the battles in which they distinguished themselves in combat. Berdan was a wealthy business man who outfitted several Union batallions with his own money. During the early part of the Civil War, there were many volunteer batallions on both sides of the war. Some were outfitted by local business men, others were just made up of volunteers from the same towns or cities. For more information and links, a couple of sites to visit are The Civil War or the Civil War Soldiers' Museum.
Headsculpt: Mat Falls did the sculpting. He is the sculptor on many of the Sideshow creatures also. The face of Sharpshooter reminds me of Boris Karloff. It certainly has a lot of the character lines that were the mark of many actors back in the 1940s-1950s. From almost any angle, Mr. Sharpshooter's face seems to be alive. This is a very good sculpt.
Articulation: Dragon-like body with cut-joints at the upper wrists, biceps, thighs, and ankles. The hands move up and down at the thumb instead of at the palm of the hand. The hands are a bit more rubbery than is good for gripping weapons, tools, etc.
Outfit: A long jacket and pants in hunter green. This uniform was designed with camouflage in mind. The Jacket and the pants are tailored to fit. The jacket has snaps at the sleeves to make it easier to pull the hands through when removing the outfit. The belt is made of a soft black rubber, and has the nasty rubber nipple latch which is very hard to affix correctly. I unfastened the belt in order to hook the backpack hooks into the rubber belt, and then it took a few tries to get the black rubber belt to stay fastened. Those rubber nipple belt fasteners are a very cheap alternative to the metal hook & latch; or the nicer 21st Century belt fasteners. The buckle on the belt and on the pouch look very authentic.
Gear: Since this is an American Civil War Commemorative Collectible 1:6 Scale figure, there should be some expectations of historical accuracy. The figure brings various pouches, a canteen, scabbard & bayonet, tin cup, and a roll and backpack. The pouches and backpack are all made of the famous resin that plagues most 21st Century Toys also. Pouches made of blobs of hard plastic cannot be opened or used for any purpose beyond decorative.
Price: The two soldier set is priced at about $60. from most online dealers. Once it is out of production it will be harder to get and the price will probably go up.
Overall: A great headsculpt, very good outfit, but the historical gear was slightly disappointing (but still pretty good). This set is a must for Civil War collectors and customizers!
GRADE: B
