On a timeline, most of the pieces from the Vietnam War collection by King and Country are located around the 1968 Tet Offensive. So it makes sense to see so many figures based on Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket within this collection as the second half of this movie is taking place during the Tet Offensive. The latest of the additions to this movie cast is the VN131 - FMJ Rafterman.

One of the most recurrent themes in Kubrick’s work is probably the extreme changes forced within the deepest nature of a character. This can be seen with Jack Torrance in The Shining, Alex DeLarge in Orange Clockwork and even with David Bowman with the psychedelic ending from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Stanley Kubrick on the movie set of Barry Lyndon - Copyright by Warner Bros. Inc.

In the case of Full Metal Jacket, it’s a whole generation that has lost its true nature by undergoing an intense boot camp and going to war. But amongst the various characters, some have a nature harder to change. The character of Private First Class Rafterman, a combat photographer for the Stars and Stripes, is one of them. Without giving any spoilers, those who remember the “Get Some!” scene in the helicopter will know what I’m talking about and how killing is still a brutal thing for him. This makes his evolution in the horrors of the Vietnam War during the second half of the movie one of the most interesting to follow as, for many viewers, he is one of the secondary characters they can relate to.

The first half of Full Metal Jacket where the young recruits are in a boot camp.

The figure from King and Country is based on a still from the movie from the interview scene where the most important characters are answering questions in front of a war reporter and his camera crew.

The real Rafterman being interviewed and the toy soldier version.

Like we only see the top of the character, the lower half had to be invented. Andy Neilson produced a beautiful sketch to complete the figure planning. Important details to recognize the character like the camera films and the toothbrush were highlighted.

Andy Neilson’s sketch with important details in red.

The resulting figure is quite well done, with Rafterman’s smile well visible. The arms are not as relaxed as in the original sketch or as in the movie, but it makes the various photograph equipment on his torso more visible. So it’s a fair trade off as it helps to recognize the figure. This is very important as, just like in the movie, the rest of the figure of Rafterman is very generic and carries regular combat gear. So every unique detail must be as visible as possible. The base without any grass seems to be ambiguous about its true nature. It’s not clear if it is made of rubles or rocks and this is perfect as it can be used in both any context!

To conclude, this figure is a nice occasion to rewatch one of Stanley Kubrick’s greatest movies and add a sweet piece to the Vietnam collection. And if you watch the movie, just take a moment to also appreciate the soundtrack. It’s full of beautiful gems such as Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen…