# 1/72 PBR Crew Figures search



## Cirrus5 (Mar 25, 2010)

Does anybody know where I can find some 1/72 Vietnam era PBR (Pibber) crew figures? I checked out the Italeri, Revell, and Esci US Troops in Vietnam and they could work but all of them are armed and would require some major modification to look right on a boat. I have also found some CMK and Warriors WW2 Gato Class figures that could be modded to a more appropriate uniform but I thought someone on the board might be aware of a manufacturer that makes a set for this boat. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

If you can't find a purpose-built PBR crew in 1/72, then that set of Esci US troops may be the best bet - as you say, you'd need to work on repositioning the arms and hands, but they're already dressed in the right sort of uniforms for a PBR crew, and give you the option of helmet/bare head, flak jackets, radio operator, shotgun, M60 fired from the hip, M79 grenade launcher, etc. 
I wish I could find something as adaptable for the Revell 1/48 Vietnam river boat kits.


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## Cirrus5 (Mar 25, 2010)

Thanks for the response and advice Cro-Magnon. I have searched and searched and was unable to find a dedicated PBR crew in this scale. So I will order a set of the ESCI figures you recommended, the CMK (# 72111) US Airborne Vietnam figures, and a set of the Gato figures from Warriors (# 72015). That should provide plenty of mix and match material to get a full crew.
As my next project will be either a 1/48 or 1/35 PBR I looked into the 1/48 River Boat crews and your right, there is not much out there. You have probably already looked at this set but incase you havent seen it the Verlinden US Army/USAF Vietnam ground crew (# 0420) might give you a good base to start with. Not much help as there are no weapons but the basic uniform is there. 
Thanks again for the input!


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

I'll look up the CMK and Verlinden sets - I hadn't heard of them before. The Esci set used to be called 'US Elite Forces' or something similar when I bought it in 1987 (!) and I think it has stayed in production ever since. I got the set of Esci Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army at the same time, and it even includes some figures dressed like Khmer Rouge, for Cambodia scenes.

As for 1/48, it's a shame that Tamiya haven't brought out a 1/48 version of their PBR kit like the 1/48 versions of their WWII tanks they've made. If they did, that would be a great help as the crew figures could be used for other kits, like the Revell 1/48 Swift Boat kit, which has only one figure, a bare-foot Vietnamese with an M1 carbine! He's the same as the one at the controls of the Revell Rag Boat kit I posted here a few weeks ago.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

I just typed 'Esci US Elite Forces' into the search, and it takes you to a site called www.plasticsoldierreview.com, and shows you what all the figures in the set look like. It also has a link at the bottom of that page to a set called 'Pegasus USMC in Vietnam, which might be eveen better for a PBR crew.


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## Cirrus5 (Mar 25, 2010)

Thanks for the link. I checked it out and I think I will go with both sets as there are some perfect poses in each. I am building the Vikings Models Apocalypse Run kit which is basically a mini diorama so the extra troops would be perfect along the shore line.
I wanted to pass along that the Verlinden set I told you about had the wrong stock number. The correct number from the Verlinden site is 1:48 US Army/USAF Ground Crew #424 and you can see a picture of them on the Verlinden store here: http://www.verlindenonline.com/store/1-48-us-army-usaf-ground-crew-424.html


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## Cirrus5 (Mar 25, 2010)

CMM I checked out your post on the RAG boat and that is a great build. Your boat reminded me that I have always wanted to build one of the RAG boats and one of the Monitors the Navy used and in my search for kits of that model I ran across a site with pictures and schematics of almost all the US Navy boats in the war. I thought this would be of interest to you and anyone else looking for good reference material. 

Here is a link to the site with the pictures and diagrams:

http://www.rivervet.com/boats.htm

and here is another site dedicated to PCF boats:

http://www.pcf45.com/


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Thanks for the Verlinden info, Cirrus - the three figures would be great for the Revell Swift Boat kit (when I manage to get one!), and thanks for the links to the sites - great photos!


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