Ever since I first saw pictures of Urban Mammoth's Urban War line of 28mm miniatures I'd been intrigued. My only experience with the previous line of miniatures set in the same game universe as Urban War, entitled Void, had been a squad of figures I received when I purchased a Vor army from a fellow. I had thought the figures were fairly well-done, and after making a purchase last year of Void blisters I decided that if the Urban War figures were even half as nice as the Void figures I had bought then I needed to make them a part of my collection.

Unfortunately, finding Urban War in the United States proved quite the hassle, with the physical game stores I contacted being unable to order them through their distributors, and the online store that claimed to carry them never returning any of the e-mails I sent to them. A few weeks ago I was able to purchase an assortment of Viridian figures from a fellow who had to thin out his collection, and I must say the figures were worth the worth. In particular, the Viridian Colonial Marines in Greatcoats are a nice addition to any futuristic army, despite a few sculpt flaws.

There are two style of the Colonial Marine in Greatcoat figure, the first being a marine with rifle raised at chest-level and prepared to fire. This is a very nice figure. The trooper's posture is ever-so-slightly stooped, as if bracing to prepare for the recoil he's going to experience when he pulls the trigger, one leg ahead of other to also help compensate. The figure is also rather bulky, which fits nicely with the idea of a figure wearing a thick coat to compensate for cold weather. On its belt is a sidearm, canteen, pouches, and what could be meant to be either some sort of oversized dogtags or a lucky charm. The figure is wearing a gas mask/rebreather unit with what appears to be some sort of optical-enhancement package built into it. A brimmed cap covers the remainder of the head, meaning the only exposed flesh on the figure will be its hands, assuming that you don't decide to paint them to be wearing gloves. This near-total coverage of the figure's human features gives it an intimidating tone.

The rifle the figure carries is a large futuristic weapon that looks like it can do a lot of damage, and which will look familiar to those who played the Viridian faction in Void. I'm a bit confused as to where the marine would carry additional clips of ammunition for this gun, as despite the number of bags on his belt only one looks large enough to carry the massive magazine the gun has, and it would hold no more than two clips judging by its width. I know it's a minor detail, but given that I buy figures to paint and display rather than just for play it is something that jumped out at me. Also affecting my suspension of disbelief is the fact that apparently the marine has attached a cloth bag to one of his metal shoulder guards, and a grenade to his other, without any method of their staying attached being apparent. Given the size of the rifle the marine carries I have trouble seeing him being able to remove things from the shoulder pads with any ease in combat.

I also have problems with what I assume is some sort of communication relay/aerial attached to the facemask of the marine. While I've grown used to seeing such things on 40K's Tau figures, the aerial looks out of place on these figures, especially as it is a bulky piece that looks as though the marine could detach it and beat someone to death with. It also bears a slight resemblance to a poorly-sculpted machete on a Viridian figure I purchased for the Void line, which just struck me as funny.

My last problem with the figure is the breathing tubes that connect to the facemask and go over the figure's shoulder to its back. I think the sculptor intended for it to lead into the massive bag I mentioned earlier that looks like it's the rifle's ammo pouch. However, as it appears in the final product it looks like the figure's line just hangs over his back connecting to nothing, suggesting the soldier forgot his oxygen pack back at base. Still, a little detailing will hide this fact, or you can just unfocus your eyes when you look at the back of the figure so it looks like the tube really should lead into that massive pack on the waist.

The other figure is a marine with his gun held to his chest and pointed downward as he advances. The illusion of movement is really well-done with this figure, capturing the idea of a trooper making a quick march or trying to duck a little bit so his head isn't visible over cover to enemy snipers. It carries the same rifle and wears the same headgear as the other marine, but it lacks the dogtag-like things on its belt. Its shoulder pads are also slight different, the grenade being on the opposite pad, and the other having four tiny pouches upon it.

Like the other figure it has the problem of where the breathing tube is supposed to lead and where the heck it keeps spare magazines. However, my main problem with the figure is the sculpt of the gun and hands, which are one piece which you glue to the body of the figure. It's somewhat difficult to glue them into place without the hands looking off-kilter, so if you're unlucky you may have to hide that fact with some thick layers of paint or some Green Stuff.

Despite my complaints the quality of the figures really impresses me. I must note that all eight of the figures I purchased had no flash upon them, something that I was extremely grateful for. I could see them fitting in well as proxies for Vor's Neo-Soviets or 40K Valhallans, and they would make nice near-future troopers in any sci-fi RPG you use miniatures in.