PTE WIP Group Pic

[tpa05]

I know, PTE figures get a bad wrap but at the end of the day if they're gonna be played with you can't find anything better. Basically they're malleable and if one figure is gonna do a bunch of things then why not just make the PTE figure a little better? Taking the "cool" stuff from other manufacturers I tried to find ways to apply them to the PTE guys and below is an example of some of the ones I put together. In the figures I included below, I tried to make sure that the basic "body" was PTE and the rest taken from whatever I could find.

Again, this is a work in progress and are figures that are used as TOYS. Meaning they're played with (and broken). Sure, some of the detail is off but if one ends up in the vacuum cleaner I don't want to get (too) upset. I'll try and find some of the pilots I put together and include them later as well.




Thanks.

[tpa05]

Ok, so what prompted this? Ease of use. Why? Because I found that most of the weapons and/or hands were broken before I had a chance to give 'em to my son. While nice and detailed, in some of the figures they're simply not really meant to be played with and so I tried to remedy that by adding/fixing/changing the handles on some of the weapons. I know, pretty basic stuff but what I didn't want to do is give my kid what I thought was a cool gift only to have him frustrated because (1) he couldn't get it to "do" what he wanted it to do or (2) it broke within the first few minutes.

Here's a quick example of some of what I'm talking about.

By the looks on these two guys faces they're not so happy because in both cases the handlles on each of the weapons lasted about 4 minutes....



Ok, convinced my kid was gonna toss similar weapons (and accessories) I got some wood/screws and made my own. Most PTE or (even lesser quality) well, stuff...






And the same goes with the vehicles as well. Note the sorta-up-armored side panels on the gunners mount and the foot rest. These were put in place to do nothing more than keep the guy from movin' around. Same with the handle(s) on the gun and the removal of part of the steering wheel so that the thing could be used, well, easier!

Oh, and using wheels that really work helped too.

[zhukov]

Good post, cool stuff. I have done the same. As part of a big group I'm working on, I'm using pte figs for green shirts, so I've been making a lot of Russian troops from Pte. After a while I have actually found myself looking for pet figs for customising. They are great for customising actually, and we all have so many of them as they come with the vehicles we buy. I'll post a few pics of what I've done with some if I can figure out how to post pics using my iPad ( I'm electronically retarded when it comes to my iPhone and iPad)...

[granch]

Zhukov, I'm slowly too old to follow the electronic progress in which my children will grow as specialist. USB memory stick, a good old desk top PC and a cool beer in a friendly cybercoffee, and we will be glad to have a look at your pics.
I've used the PTE Navy SEAL boat, filled with BBI soldiers. It floats OK in the bathroom, but rolled upside down in the river. Could save the boat and only the soldiers holding firmly the barrier, but had an expensive loss. I needed a good current to simulate the waves around the still boat as if it was moving.
Hard lesson. So, PTE figures are a cheaper loss, if... The next time, I'll put a nest some feet after the place to catch my wet soldiers.
I equipped about 12 PTE figs. with marauderinc AK-74, changed the head sculpts and got so a not too bad russian squad if not realistic.
Some pictures have been previously published here.
tpa05, you made a good job. My problem with PTE, BBI, and others is that when you buy 3 marine soldiers, one has a helmet without goggle, the 2nd has goggle and the 3rd has moustache or bear, only 1 tactical vest for 3 soldiers, 2 different backpacks, 3 different weapons and so on. In the swiss army where I've passed over 2 1/2 years, we had always to be same equipped when going on exercise. Difficult to make the same with toy soldiers (or have to buy 4x3x3 marine PTE to get 12 uniform guys).