A very forgettable Alamo

Remember the Alamo...

this one however...not so  much.

Never one to turn down a free sample I thought it would be worthwhile to review the BMC Alamo set.  I've really enjoyed their other buildings including Lee's headquarters, Meade's headquarters, Dunker Church, and the Andersonville set.  Each are splendid in their own right and each lends itself wonderfully to modification, as you can see here and here.  I've never been disappointed with BMC buildings and I looked forward to the Alamo and the conversion possibilities it could provide.

The detail is adequate...

assembly is a breeze...

but in the words of the great Peggy Lee...

"Is that all there is?"

BMC's Alamo is alarmingly, and disappointly two-dimensional.  Its only a façade.

The Alamo was a fairly large compound with lots of cool redoubts, ramps, and adobe and palisade walls,  I was expecting at least four walls for goodness sakes. 

But no, all you get is the front facade.

This is especially chintzy when one considers that BMCs Andersonville set includes a complete prison enclosure with operating gates, no less.

(image from toysoldiersdepot.com)

A closer look reveals another liability, there is only the tiniest foothold for one soldier to find a place from which to fire,

Its a great position, don't get me wrong, but again - what Peggy Lee said.

The palisade walls, here playing host to some of my Civil War guys, are the best thing about this set and may show up in future posts.

The included playmat is bizzare.

Now lets take a look at the figures:

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna is one of four character figures.

This is Santa Anna, he was a despot...

not to be confused with  Carlos Santana...

he's a fantastic musician, for proof go here

Of the four character figures, Santa Anna is, in my opinion, the best one and may have toy soldiering applications beyond the Alamo era.

There are three character figures among the Texicans:

Fess Parker

as Davy Crockett.

William Travis

Jim Bowie (looking a little zombie-ish)

Those three figures, along with Santa Anna, are well-sculpted and have good animation, the rest of the crew is quite a different story altogether.

Now to the rank and file...oh my what a motley crew.

Lurching around like poorly sculpted hillbillies the Texicans look intoxicated.

Crazy-chops McGoofy

Perhaps the silliest little man ever cast in plastic.

The improbable pose of this Texican defender leads me to think that he has been distracted by an overflight of mallards.  I like his classic Crossman pellet-gun, by the way.

The tomahawk on this guy shows some of the flash which is typical of the figures.

The Mexican flag bearer presents a nice opportunity for those who are inclined to paint their figures.  The flag is an empty canvas waiting for a talented brush.

The plastic, as is usual for BMC figures, is not of the highest quality.

This Mexican shako soldier is nicely drawing a bead on the one Texican able to take position in the upper window of the chapel.

The sculpting of this kneeling guy looks like he's been extruded from a toothpaste tube.

Sadly this very forgettable Alamo is a real missed opportunity for something that could have been much, much better.  I think however, that like many BMC building sets, duplicate Alamo kits and some skill with a box cutter and soldering iron could turn this into a much more play-worthy set.

Soldier on!

Mannie

p.s. a Toy Soldiers Forever! shout out to my new friend Josh who's soldiering on with the best of them.