MiniArt 1:35 Scale British Tank Crew Winter Uniform Building kit (Multi-Colour),Small

Product Information

The figures are contained on 2 sprues that come sealed in a clear plastic bag. Also in the box is a small paper insert depicting the sprue parts and numbers corresponding to the build instructions on the reverse of the box. Following on from that, here is an In Box look at the first set of 1/35 plastic injection Tank Crew figures, the first generic set of British/Commonwealth plastic Tankers ever as far as I know. Around the waist the figure wears a 37 pattern belt with a RAC Corps Mk I pistol holster. This is the style with the long thigh strap and the leg tie down and open toped pistol holster. The strap and a pistol lanyard are moulded to the right leg, as is the tie down. The holster and pistol handle come as a separate item are quite well depicted, and to accompany that you also get a small ammo pouch. This product is available in two scales, 1:35 and 1:24 and was painstakingly designed from scratch as a digital model. The Feldgendarmerie were military police units formed in the Napoleonic era by the armies of several German kingdoms - Saxony, Württemberg, Prussian and Bavaria - which later became parts of the German Empire. In peacetime the units served with the Prussian Gendarmerie as a mounted police.

Around the waist the figure wears a 37 pattern belt with a RAC Corps Mk II pistol holster. This is the style with the short strap. The holster and pistol handle come as a separate item and are quite well depicted and to accompany that you also get a small ammo pouch.Staying behind the theatre of operations during WWII, the Feldgendarmerie closely worked with the Geheime Feldpolizei (Secret Field Police) and SS in the rear. Their duties were to monitor traffic and population control, fight with partisans as well as arrest and execute rebellions. According to some historians, the Feldgendarmerie soldiers were also involved in war crimes and Jewish purges in occupied territories. Around the waist the figure wears a 37 pattern belt with a RAC Corps Mk I pistol holster. This is the style with the long thigh strap and the leg tie down and open topped pistol holster. The strap and a pistol lanyard are moulded to the right leg, as is the tie down. The holster and pistol handle come as a separate item and are quite well depicted, a small ammo pouch rounds this out.

Around the waist the figure wears a 37 pattern belt with a RAC Corps Mk II pistol holster. This is the style with the holster flap.To complete the figure is a separate head, very nicely done with the face of quite a stern looking fellow, along with a tankers beret. illustrations contain over 300 AFV, aircraft, ship, car, SF and figure models and dioramas by Marijn Van Gils, one of the world’s best modellers. In the period between 1943 and 1945 the Feldgendarmerie were infamously known for chasing and executing deserters, many of which were wrongfully convicted. This gave the units a bad name "Kettenhunde" or "Chained Dogs" after the gorget they wore with their uniforms.

To complete the figure is a separate head complete with beret and goggles. The face and beret are well done, and this chap sports a moustache, the box art showing him with Officers brown boots. Around the waist the figure wears a 37 pattern belt with a RAC Corps Mk I pistol holster. This is the style with the long thigh strap and the leg tie down and open toped pistol holster. The strap and a pistol lanyard are moulded to the right leg, as is the tie down. The holster and pistol handle come as a separate item and are quite well depicted and a small ammo pouch is once again included.This figure depicts a crewman in the process of mounting a tank via the front glacial plate. The example I’ve see him used on was a Sherman. The figure consists of 9 parts; arms, legs, upper body, head and beret with pistol holster and pouch. To complete the figure is a separate head, tankers helmet and goggles. The head has quite good facial features, the addition of a tankers helmet and goggles a nice touch, as are the earphones. Early in the war, British Tank crews were issued Khaki Denim overalls to fit over and protect their battle dress it was only in the last years of the war were the tank crews issued a special type of tank suit for the winter of 1944 (Pixie Suit). The color of the tank suit was a lighter sandy khaki shade of that of the battle dress. You could add some buff to the mix of Panzer Aces 317 and that would lighten the shade of the suit a bit. Experiment until you are satisfied. Whether you are building a stand alone vehicle or a small diorama these figures should prove very useful for the British/Commonwealth modeller and are a great plus to the range of 1/35 plastic figures currently available. On the 19th of February 1943, the II SS Panzer Corps and two panzer armies under the command of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein launched their counterstrike on the Eastern Front, aimed to recapture Kharkov and Belgorod. With extensive air support from Luftflotte 4, in two weeks the German Army defeated the Red Army south of Kharkov and was able to directly engage the city on the 11th of March. After four days of house-to-house fighting, Kharkov was recaptured by the 1st SS Panzer Division on March the 15th. This series of battles is known as the Third Battle of Kharkov, which cost the Red Army over 80,000 casualties. Bevin Alexander, a military historian, called the Third Battle of Kharkov "the last great victory of German arms in the Eastern Front".

To complete the figure is a separate head complete with beret. This head also has reasonably good facial detail, and to add to the head you get 2 separate earphones. All topics are clearly explained with concrete examples, drawings, photographs and step-by-step guides. The figures depict armoured crewmen from 1944 onwards. All are clothed in the light denim tank suit that was issued 2 per man to every armoured vehicle crewman, including crews of the Royal Engineers and Royal Artillery, so there is a lot of scope for usage here.For many years modellers of British and Commonwealth armour have been calling for both tankers and vehicle crews, a plea that often fell on deaf ears until very recently when MiniArt took up the call. I hope I was some help. A couple of years ago I painted the two Alpine British Tankers and I was happy with the way the colors came out. You could use both Panzer Aces 317 and Vallejo 921 English Uniform for painting the British infantry uniform. Both colors are close in shade. This annex 1.3 complements the Dioramas FAQ series and explores every aspect of diorama design and planning. What makes a good story and how can you get it across with models? Where can you find a good idea and how can you develop that idea into a successful project? How can you compose a diorama so that it tells its story best and looks good at the same time? How can you use colours, figures, accessories, scenery and bases effectively in your composition? How do you turn a historical photograph into a three dimensional scene? How do you plan a box diorama? This seemingly theoretical subject is treated in the most practical way, making it accessible and useful for every modeller.