Doughboy was an informal term for a member of the United States Army or Marine Corps, especially used to refer to members of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, but initially used in the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. A popular mass-produced sculpture of the 1920s, the Spirit of the American Doughboy, shows a U.S. soldier in World War I uniform.
The term was still in use as of the early 1940s – for instance in the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in Ireland," recorded by Dennis Day, Kenny Baker and Kay Kyser, among others; as well as the 1942 musical film Johnny Doughboy and as a character "Johnny Doughboy" in Military Comics – but was gradually replaced during World War II by "G.I.".
The poses are a fair selection, with the emphasis being on the men moving forward, reflecting the eagerness which the American troops displayed when finally committed to battle. In our view the most interesting pose is the man firing his Chauchat automatic rifle (bottom row, third figure), an imaginative but perfectly usable pose that only requires the man to be placed or glued to the base (which is fine as the plastic glues very well). Another man is advancing with a Chauchat at the hip which he may be firing - a method intended for the weapon but very hard to do in practice. A third man is ready to launch a grenade from his rifle, which was another common American weapon (actually often French), but all the poses are quite lively, very natural and completely appropriate.
Emhar figures have always been well sculpted and these are no different. Detail is in all the right places and nice and clear. There is very little flash, and we thought the proportions and poses were very well done. However the helmets do seem a little shallow, mainly because they have been given a thick rim. Also both the Chauchats already mentioned are missing their muzzles.
So, this is a very nice set that depicts its subject well although the heavy extra kit is a pity. Given the shortcomings of the Airfix set this is a very important addition to the range of Great War figures, and they look a lot better than the HaT set of the same subject.