Due to the sheer quantity of sculpts and the fact that they're the same - in new colors - let me direct you to the green vs. green review I did last year for sculpt specifics on the army men in this set - they're quite good, and of the same quality... but there are also a dozen of them, and there's not much new to say outside of color. But the other stuff? You want to know about that, so let's go.
When I got the 60mm Tan vs. Green Soldiers Bucket Figure Set in the mail, I was pretty excited to see how the mountain and vehicles turned out, and if the figures were any different. Well, the good news is the tanks are the same quality as the Desert Tank Command and the figures are similar to the bag we looked at earlier - and joining them are a couple of tan jets, a mountain, and two mounted flags. Is it worth $35 just for these new parts? Not really - but if you don't have any of this stuff in other colors, this is the set to start with.
The mostly glossy HDPE figures come in 12 styles, and are the same ones you've seen offered in other colors. The quality is the same, they're the same high-end cheap figure you've wanted. Well, I assume this is what you've wanted, I'm quite fond of them in their many other incarnations.
Rather than go into intense specifics, let me just say the 12 styles continue to be excellent and are molded well. When you get a bucket of anything, you expect a certain amount of smooshing and warping. I see very little of that here. The tan is a nice color which actually brings out the detail better than the other shades I've picked up so far, while the dark green looks more army man-ish. It reminds me more of some of the cheap military toys I had as a kid, minus the whole cheap feeling. They're glossy and seemingly sturdy, but I wouldn't curb-stomp them to see if they snap or anything.
The tank is the same design you got a few months ago in tan, and it's still great. I like it better in green, and it's the perfect size to menace other toys like vinyl Godzillas or your Transformers. The only moving part is the turret, and the level of detail is on par with the previous release. The fake non-rotating wheels under the treads are still a bizarre design choice, but the bulk of sculpted details - like a shovel - came out looking awesome.
A pair of flags are some of the new-to-me additions in this set, and they're not bad. One end of each pole is a tiny bit thicker than the other, so be sure to plant that in the base before applying the stickers. They're perfectly nice piles with stone bases. It doesn't do much of anything, but the stickers are better than some other sticker flags we've seen lately..
Next up, the jet is familiar if you're a toy fan. The F-14 fighter was also used for Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and other jet toys - so this could be great custom fodder if you're in to that sort of thing. The set includes two in tan, plus stickers to decorate to your liking. Interestingly, the top of the jet is glossy and the bottom has a lovely matte finish. I can't tell you why, but it's notably different. The jets also read "Processed Plastic" - another manufacturer - on the bottom of each.
There are no moving parts, but you do get some landing struts that look a lot like popsicle sticks. You can't easily see them when looking at this toy below you on your desk, so they're effective and - frankly - ugly. They do the job nicely, but it's one of those things where I'd love to know why they elected to use this particular design. I assume it had something to do with manufacturing efficiency, but the roughly 6 1/2-inch jet feels decent - if cheap - in the hand. The glossy finish is visually wet, if that makes sense, giving it a slick appearance that's a departure from the crisper look on the tank. As Tim Mee vehicles go, this is probably not going to win any points for beauty.
The highlight of the set for me was the goofily named (but useful) Danger Mountain it's a grey lump of plastic, hollow, and standing a bit under 6-inches high. I'm not going to tell you it'll change your life like Battle Mountain, but it's nifty enough to potentially be valuable to you if you collect small figures. The mountain has little road-like flat spots that are the right size to pose most of the included army men and other small toys. If you've got a stash of Glyos figures, Star Wars Command, Transformers Tiny Titans. The flat planes are things you may have seen in a number of older toys, particularly Kenner's Star Wars Micro Collection Hoth Ion Cannon playset - itself a 1982 release inspired by this kind of toy.
That's pretty much it - what you've got here is a good, but not exactly value-packed bucket of toys. If you want a large amount of variety, this set provides it nicely - and let's be honest, any collector of small figures would probably shell out ten bucks just for the silly little mountain. Right now (as I write this) a 100-figure tan vs. green army man bag is $13.24 ($0.132 cents per figure), the 3-pack of green tanks is $17.40 ($5.80 per tank), and the mountain and jets aren't available elsewhere. At this rate, you've got $6.35 in Army Men, $5.80 worth of tanks, and the remaining $22.85 nets you 2 jets, 2 flags, and a mountain. If this were offset by more soldiers, I'd say this is a fantastic deal. As it is, I'll say it's decent as a collector set. It looks cheap, but it doesn't feel cheap - it also isn't cheap, nor are there lots of the mountains to be had on eBay. (At press time, there are none.) I know it's sounding like I'm waffling, because I am - I'd steer you toward the cheaper sets first, especially the sci-fi and fantasy ones that aren't sold in other configurations. If you like the dinosaurs or the Galaxy Laser Team and want more of this kind of thing, come back and try the bucket. It's a decent sampler platter, and I hope to see more stuff like this. Heck, I'd dream of new stuff like this but it's hard to come by.
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