the sand pebbles

The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China.

The Sand Pebbles features Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, Candice Bergen, Mako and Marayat Andriane (later known as a writer of erotic fiction - Emmanuelle Arsan). Robert Anderson adapted the screenplay from the 1962 novel of the same name by Richard McKenna

PlotIn 1926, Machinist's Mate 1st Class Jake Holman (Steve McQueen) transfers from the Asiatic Fleet flagship to the Yangtze River Patrol gunboat USS San Pablo (the ship is nicknamed the "Sand Pebble" and its sailors refer to themselves as the "Sand Pebbles").
However, life aboard a gunboat is very different from that on a flagship. The gunboat has a labor system — condoned by the officers — wherein coolies do all of the manual work, leaving the sailors free for combat drills and idle bickering. Because he likes to work taking care of the ship's engines, Holman bucks the system. Although he becomes close friends with one seasoned and sensitive seaman, Frenchy (Richard Attenborough), most of the other crewmen see Holman as a Jonah. Holman's desire to work on the engines also antagonizes the ship's coolie laborers whose "rice bowl" (source of income) is derived from doing the work that the sailors would normally do.

Shortly after coming aboard, Holman discovers a serious defect in the ship's engine that the coolies have not fixed. Holman informs the Captain (Richard Crenna), who declines to authorize an engine shutdown for the repair; however, after the Executive Officer observes the same problem, the Captain agrees to the repair. During the repair, the chief engine room coolie is killed in an accident when the jacking gear slips due to its poor condition. The chief coolie of the ship blames Holman for the death. When questioned, Holman explains to the captain that the death was caused by the deceased coolie's own poor work. Holman blames the ship's system of untrained coolie labor for the death. He asks the Captain to allow him to run the engine room properly, without the use of coolies. Instead, the Captain orders Holman to train a replacement coolie and then concentrate on his military duties.
these bmc have the correct legs for conversion

Holman selects Po-han (Mako) as the replacement to lead the engine room coolies, and invests time training him. As he does so the two form a friendship. Po-Han is harassed by one sailor (Simon Oakland), leading to a boxing match on which the crewmen place bets. Po-Han's victory leads to more antagonism between Holman, some crewmembers, and the chief coolie (who wants to kick Po-Han off the ship, but is foiled by Holman).

An incident involving British gunboats (not shown) leads to the Captain ordering the crew not to fire or return fire from Chinese, to avoid diplomatic incidents. Shortly after these orders are issued, Po-Han is sent ashore by the chief coolie (with the apparent intent of getting him killed). Po-han is captured and tortured by a mob of Chinese in full view of the crew on the ship, only yards from shore. With the crew poised to repel boarders, and under intense pressure, the Captain attempts to negotiate for Po-Han's release; his efforts are fruitless. Po-Han begs for someone to kill him, and Holman disobeys orders and ends Po-Han's suffering with a fatal rifle shot.

The San Pablo is stuck in port for the winter due to low water levels, and must deal with increasingly hostile crowds surrounding it in numerous smaller boats. This greatly strains the morale of the ship, and the captain fears possible mutiny. Frenchy had saved a Chinese woman, Mai Ling (Emmanuelle Arsan), from prostitution by paying her debts. He marries her and sneaks off the ship regularly during the long winter to visit, but he dies of pneumonia while with her one night. The next day, during a regular trip to the U.S. consulate, Holman makes a side trip to Mai Ling's residence to find Frenchy.the above figures from marx could maybe be made into sand pebbles figures with a bit of skill
 Holman finds Mai Ling sitting stunned by Frenchy's corpse, when Kuomintang nationalists burst in, beat up Holman, and drag Mai Ling away. Holman returns to the ship. The next day, Chinese float out to the ship and demand the "murderer" Holman be turned over to them. Apparently, the nationalists killed Mai Ling and blamed Holman, trying to provoke an incident. Holman informs the Captain what really happened. When the Chinese demand for Holman is refused, they blockade the San Pablo. The American crew fears for their safety and demand that Holman surrender to the Chinese against the Captain's orders. Order is restored when the captain fires across the bow of one of the Chinese junks.

With spring at hand, the Captain decides to risk