Comin up next: DAM Toys 1/6 scale U.S. Navy SEAL Recon Team Sniper Demetrius "Silk"

"Tears of the Sun" is a 2003 American war film depicting a U.S. Navy SEAL team rescue mission amidst the civil war in Nigeria. LT A.K. Waters (Bruce Willis) commands the team sent to rescue U.S. citizen Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks (Monica Bellucci) from the civil war en route to her jungle hospital.

DAM TOys continue with their "Tears of the Sun" 12-inch figure series with the release of these preview pictures of a 1/6 scale US Navy SEAL Recon Team Sniper. He is supposed to be Charles Ingram as MA2 (SEAL) Demetrius "Silk" Owens who plays a Sniper in the movie.

DAM Toys 1/6 scale US Navy SEAL Recon Team Sniper (Dam item no. 93014) will come with 1/6 scale real like head sculpt, Dam 12-inch action figure body (black skin), head scarf (black), scarf, black t-shirt, SOF woodland camouflage battle dress uniform, BDU belt, harness, LC2 belt, M14 magazine pouch x 2, 1 quart canteen, 3-day backpack, double pistol magazine pouch, AN/PRC-148 radio, LASH I headset, nomex gloves, Acadia boots, M72A1 rocket launcher (LAW - Light Anti-Tank Weapon), M14 sniper rifle, rifle sling, P226 pistol, 9mm pistol magazine x 3, pistol holster, SOG combat knife with sheath, G-shock watch

At least DAM Toys is continuing with their series and not letting up on these "Tears of the Sun" 12-inch US Navy SEAL Recon Team figures. DAM Toys actually started out with their "Black Hawk Down" series of six figures and with that successful run, have grown in leaps and bounds in terms of quality and variety, even outgunning Soldier Story which took over the top notch military reins from Hot Toys when they went into movie-related figures. You can check out DAM Toys initial offering of six Operation Gothic Serpent SOMALIA 1993 aka Black Hawk Down (BHD) figures HERE

Incoming: DAM Toys 1/6 scale US Marine Corps Scout Sniper Sergeant Major (Tom Berenger?)

Sniper is a 1993 action film starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane as snipers on an assassination mission in Panama. Tom Berenger plays a US Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett, an experienced sniper stationed in the Panamanian jungle. His job is to seek out rebels and remove them using his sniper skills.

This is DAM Toys upcoming release: a 1/6 scale Marine Corps Scout Sniper Sergeant Major. The figure will come with a 1/6 scale real-like head sculpt, an alternate real-like head sculpt with turtle neck (for prone position and aiming action), a 12-inch DAM action body, one (1) pair of palms (hands) for holding his weapon, T-shirt (OD or Olive Drab), Woodland camouflage battle dress uniform, Woodland camouflage USMC fatigue cap, scarf, BDU belt, Panama outsole jungle boots, Nomex gloves, custom Ghillie suit, custom sniper vest, LC2 belt, M1956 butt pack, packed form ghillie suit "replacement parts", tarpaulin, M18 smoke grenade, incendiary grenade, LC2 1-quart canteen with pouch x 2, UM84 universal military holster, M1911A1 pistol, USMC Ka-Bar knife with leather sheath, Mk13mod0 signal flare, military watch, USMC M40A1 sniper rifle with leather sling. Scroll down to see the rest of the pictures

I've not been collecting 12-inch military figures for a while now so as to focus more on other 1/6 scale figures from different genres but this figure has certainly got my attention. It's been a while since I've seen a nice looking Sniper figure and this particular one of Tom Berenger as a US Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett from the 1993 "Sniper" film is just too good to resist.

The last time I got a 12-inch USMC sniper with full 1/6 scale ghillie suit was the BBI Elite Force 1/6 scale USMC Sniper "Snake" which was released in 2001. You can check out my toy blog post with pictures HERE

Related posts:
December 7, 2012 – Review of 3A BBICN Exclusive World War Robot WWR 1/6 scale Punter Bot Sniper 12-inch Figure posted HERE, HERE and HERE
December 11, 2013: 3 shots, 3 kills – A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, & Dangerous Days at Sea posted HERE

3 shots, 3 kills – A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, & Dangerous Days at Sea

I had posted this on my toy blog on August 4, 2009 (and it has already garnered 19,700 page views) but with the release and screening of the recent film "Captain Phillips", I think it's worth to bring it up again :) "Captain Phillips" is a 2013 American action thriller film directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. The film tells how merchant mariner Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean during the Maersk Alabama hijacking in 2009 led by Abduwali Muse. The screenplay by Billy Ray is based upon the book, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea (2010), by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty.

The film covers more on the events that occur before the SEAL Team's arrival while my toy blog post was more centered on the men who had only one chance to get everything right the first time.

As published on August 4, 2009:
Reported in The Straits Times today: A five-day hostage drama involving US ship captain Richard Phillips ended on Sunday when US Navy SEALs shot dead three of the four Somali pirates. In a surprise night-time assault on Easter Sunday, US Navy SEAL snipers shot and killed the three pirates holding US cargo ship Captain Richard Phillips (the fourth pirate only survived because he wasn't on the boat), effectively ending a five-day hostage drama.

The US operation, personally approved by US President Barack Obama, had been carried out after negotiations with the three gunmen became heated. On Sunday evening, a split-second decision was taken for the snipers to shoot down the pirates. Vice-Adm Gortney said one of the pirates had pointed an AK-47 at the back of Capt Phillips, who was tied up and in imminent danger of being killed.

According to CNN, the navy SEAL snipers were brought in earlier by chopper and dropped into the ocean behind the USS Bainbridge warship, which had rushed to the hostages' rescue. Capt Phillips had surrendered himself to the pirates to safeguard his 19 crew members when the pirates hijacked his ship, the Maersk Alabama, last Wednesday.

From NavySEALs.com site, I found out that there are three types of sniper rifles the USN SEALs use. They might not have used all three for the kills but here are the three types of sniper rifles SEALs prefer, in 1/6 scale of course :) Scroll down to see the pictures





M82A1 Heavy Sniper Rifle - a high-powered heavy sniper rifle used primarily against targets like radar cabins, trucks and parked aircraft. It is known as the “Light Fifty” for its .50 caliber BMG (12.7 mm) load. This short-recoil, semi-automatic rifle has a long effective range, (record shot of 2,500 meters) and high energy. It also uses highly-effective ammunition, and can easily penetrate Type IV body armor, almost all building materials, hard armors, and level 8 ballistic glass (the strongest available). The Navy SEALs used the M82A1 extensively in Somalia in 1993 against enemy “technical” vehicles filled with armed outlaws.

MK11 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) - The US Navy MK11 Mod 0 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) is based on the highly-accurate SR-25 automatic rifle. It was originally conceived and constructed to meet a requirement placed by the Navy SEALs. The MK11 is a highly accurate and durable, precision semi-automatic sniper rifle that operates like an M16 or M4A1, and can deliver a 7.62mm round out to 1,500 yards. Due to its high degree of accuracy, (.5 inch MOA), it is has won acceptance by US Special Operations Forces as one of the finest semi-automatic sniper rifles in the world.

The M14 is a magazine-fed, gas-operated semi-automatic 7.62mm (.30-caliber) rifle still used by the Navy SEALs. It deploys a 20-round magazine and has an effective range well beyond 500 meters at a rate of 750 rounds per minute. Navy SEALs started using modified M14s as sniper rifles as early as Vietnam. They have used them in Afghanistan and Iraq, primarily as designated marksman and sniper rifles. Navy SEALs keep the M14 in inventory due to its excellent accuracy, effectiveness at long range, and strong takedown capabilities of the 7.62mm round.

Defence officials said the US military was considering attacks on Somali pirate bases on land and aid the people there to help stop the hijacking of ships off Africa's coast. This was covered in an earlier post - UN gives green light to land ops in Somalia (see link here).

It has since been confirmed that the Mark 11 Mod 0 (SR-25) sniper rifle was indeed the rifle used to kill the Somali pirates.