Product Review - BrickForge Soldiers Gear

[Cygnet]

Today’s product review focuses on several new items from custom house BrickForge that we are classifying under a common theme of ‘soldiers gear’. Although we compare many of the items here to items used by military groups during World War II, they can have a wide variety of uses and purposes no matter what theme or subject area. The items under review today include the Backpack, Ammo Pouches, Canteen, Shovel, and Grease Gun.

BrickForge Soldier's Helmet (Sand Green)

Another recent release which could easily fall under the ‘soldier’s gear’ category is the BrickForge soldier helmet. This was reviewed recently with other military headgear which can be found here. It is our objective to provide everyone with enough information to decide which of these products are right for you.

BrickForge Backpack (Dark Tan)

The BrickForge backpack is not modeled or styled after any particular backpack or rucksack. This accessory has applications for your military minifigures, as well as for campers, adventurers, and mountain climbers.

The backpack is hollow on the inside allowing for storage of small accessories, but does not open. It attaches to the minifigure via the head post as shown.

The BrickForge backpack is unique in that it has two clips on each side allowing for additional accessories to be added. The picture here shows both the shovel and canteen attached; however, any accessory that can be held in a minifigure hand should be able to clip on.

The backpack sits higher on the minifigure’s back so it can be used with other BrickForge accessories like the centaur bodies or to allow for ammo pouches to sit beneath. The top of the pack is also low enough to not only work with various military and soldier helmets, but also other LEGO head gear which come down to the back of the figure's neck. This is not possible with the standard LEGO rucksack with bedroll.

The backpack comes in seven colors - Black, Dark Blueish Gray, Dark Orange, Dark Tan, Reddish Brown, Tan, and White.

BrickForge Ammo Pouches (Dark Tan)

The BrickForge ammo pouches are a new accessory with a lot of custom potential. The packs attach to the minifigure by a single torso post. They can be arranged to sit toward the front, side, or back. You can even place two going in different directions without any problems.

Ideally you would want to place one pouch on each side. When only one pouch is in place, there’s a gap on the opposite side between the hip and the torso.

When the ammo pouch is in the side position, it can obstruct full arm movement. The picture above shows how far the arm can go back in this case. The ammo pouches are sold individually and come in seven colors - Black, Dark Blueish Gray, Dark Orange, Dark Tan, Reddish Brown, Tan, and White.

BrickForge Canteen (Silver)

The BrickForge canteen is styled after a general type used by the US military. The canteen is one solid piece, with connection points on either side and on the cap. The canteen can attach to the backpack via the cap (as shown above). The canteen comes in five colors - Black, Bronze, Dark Blueish Gray, Sand Green, and Silver.

BrickForge Shovel (Silver)

The BrickForge shovel is modeled after portable military entrenching tools often carried by infantry soldiers. The piece itself, measures 2.5 cm in length with 1.3 cm of that being the handle. The handle is not long enough for the minifig to grip with two hands, only one. As with the canteen, the shovel can attach to the backpack via the handle (as shown above). The shovel comes in five colors - Black, Bronze, Dark Blueish Gray, Sand Green, and Silver.

M3 sub-machine gun and BrickForge Grease Gun (Dark Blueish Gray)

The BrickForge grease gun is based on the M3 sub-machine gun used by US soldiers during World War II. The M3 was an automatic, air-cooled blowback-operated weapon that fired from an open bolt. The design of the M3 was initiated when the US Army noticed the effectiveness of sub-machine guns being used in Western Europe, such as the British Sten gun. The nickname ‘grease gun’ came from the weapon’s resemblance to the mechanics tool.

The BrickForge grease gun has two primary connection points - the handle of the gun and along the body. The gun measures 2.0 cm in length and 1.3 cm from top to bottom. The gun can only be held by a single hand. The grease gun comes in four colors - Black, Bronze, Dark Blueish Gray, and Silver.

In summary, all of these parts are recommended buys. All of the parts we've covered had firm connections and solid ABS construction. These are great accessories to add additional details to your military style minifigures or other custom creations.

Additional Stats - BrickForge Backpack

Website: www.brickforge.com

Location: United States

International Shipping: Yes (see store for details)

Colors: Black, Dark Blueish Gray, Dark Orange, Dark Tan, Reddish Brown, Tan, and White

Retail Price: $1.50 USD

Additional Stats - BrickForge Ammo Pouch

Colors: Black (sold out), Dark Blueish Gray, Dark Orange, Dark Tan (sold out), Reddish Brown, Tan, and White

Retail Price: $0.75 USD

Additional Stats - BrickForge Canteen

Colors: Black, Bronze, Dark Blueish Gray, Sand Green, and Silver

Retail Price: $1.00 USD

Additional Stats - BrickForge Shovel

Colors: Black, Bronze, Dark Blueish Gray, Sand Green, and Silver

Retail Price: $1.00 USD

Additional Stats - BrickForge Grease Gun

Colors: Black (sold out), Bronze, Dark Blueish Gray, and Silver

Retail Price: $1.00 USD

Reference photos and historical information provided by Wikipedia.

This product review previously appeared on the LEGO minifigure blog The Ugly Duckling at BrickLink.

Edited December 30, 2010 by Cygnet

[prateek]

Nice review as always. Those ammo pouches are really cool, and the shovel is very accurate. The M3 is a bit simple, but I think it fits in well with official Lego pieces

[VBBN]

Thanks for the review,

Loving the ammo pouches and pack, will probably get some of those indeed

[XimenaPaulina]

Great review as usual Cygnet! All those 'soldier's gears' are wonderful accessories, as they can be used not only for military minifigs but to civilian ones as well. The backpack, ammo pouches, canteen, and shovel are all well-designed and made, I might have a go for some of these.