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In-Box Review
135
German Artillery Crew
German Artillery Crew Special Edition
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by: Darren Baker [ CMOT ]

Introduction

MiniArt has re-released their German Artillery Crew figure set as a Special Edition, and to make it special have included four sprues of 76mm ammunition and ammunition boxes. This is a five figure set offering from MiniArt, that will I believe make a great crew possibility for their soon to be released 7.62cm FK 39(r) Field Gun.

Contents

Inside one of the end opening figure cartons used by MiniArt, you will find a single plastic bag containing the sprues for the figures and the ammunition. In addition there is also a single sheet of paper which covers construction of the ammunition boxes.

Review

An inspection of the sprues included with this sample results in a very positive opinion of the ammunition and boxes tarnished with a little concern over the figures. My concern is not because the figures are bad, but there are signs that mould seams are beginning to produce flash; it is not the end of the world as far as this set goes, but is indicative of the moulds needing a refurbishment.

The uniform detail is fair and nice crease detail is included throughout. Three of the figures are wearing tunics (one is an officer) and these figures will benefit from a scribe around the hem of the jackets where they meet the trousers, this will improve the look of the area I feel. The other two figures are in shirt sleeve order and so the scribe will not be needed; the change in uniform is a nice touch I feel.

Facial detail is quite good on this offering from MiniArt, I especially like the look of the two figures without headwear as the hair has been nicely replicated. I know it is the current trend to replace heads with resin offerings, but in this case what is in the box will satisfy most I believe. The hands on the figures are of current standards, with some having very good finger detail. The hands of the soldiers doing the work have the handles of the ammunition boxes moulded in place. It was my understanding the wooden ammunition box did not have handles as it took up space that could be better utilised (Please correct me if I am wrong). While talking about the ammunition boxes there are two included with the figure sprues, and are of a comparative standard to the ones on the ammunition sprues.

Ammunition
With this offering there are four sprues of ammunition, these are from a previous set released by MiniArt. The moulds are holding up well judging by the looks of these sprues, as other than a light scrap where the two halves of the mould meet, these are ready to go. In this offering you get;
8 armour piercing shells
8 high explosive shells
8 fragmentation shells
4 used cartridges for the HE and fragmentation
4 used cartridges for the AP shells

Conclusion

This is a timely release from MiniArt with their new gun coming out soon. The crew in this offering will make for a nice working scene shown stacking up the ammunition for the gun. Clean up of the figures will require a bit more attention than we have become accustomed too, but they are not too far gone yet.
SUMMARY
Highs: The heads of the figures without hats are particularly nice examples of injection moulding.
Lows: Some flash is creeping into the figures in this offering.
Verdict: With the new gun coming from MiniArt this figure set is worth a look.
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 35192
  PUBLISHED: Dec 15, 2015
  NATIONALITY: Germany
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 87.04%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 85.88%

Our Thanks to MiniArt!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Darren Baker (CMOT)
FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

I have been building model kits since the early 70’s starting with Airfix kits of mostly aircraft, then progressing to the point I am at now building predominantly armour kits from all countries and time periods. Living in the middle of Salisbury plain since the 70’s, I have had lots of opportunitie...

Copyright ©2021 text by Darren Baker [ CMOT ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

So! A little clean up with file and blade, and some putty for the gaps. I've had resin figs that cost as much as this set with worse problems. What I especially like about these figures is that it is a gun crew NOT dressed up in every bit of issued kit. Plus, take away their ammo boxes and they could be hauling Jerry cans, etc. And you get a unique officer pointing - always need more of those!
DEC 15, 2015 - 09:02 PM
I want this set as it looks very useful for many topics. Love the effete,imperious pose of the officer! LoL In my experience officers wouldn't be supervising a work detail but hey...... we can dream can't we? J
DEC 15, 2015 - 11:31 PM
weheheh the officer is like "watch where you put my Jimmy Choos you nasty nasty boys"
DEC 16, 2015 - 01:33 AM
I like this set, and I agree that the gun crew outfits theres more realism and good detail
DEC 16, 2015 - 05:55 AM
I suspect Miniart has an alternate kit option in their back pocket. Has anyone noticed that the figures are cunningly designed so they could be repurposed as a four-man stretcher team? Two are bearing their load on the left, two on the right.
DEC 16, 2015 - 07:22 AM
Agree! For those that are interested, the Officer can be slightly altered/converted into another pointing SS Officer, as if we didn't have enough of those on the market already. The guys that are holding the ammo boxes on their load-carrying side can also be depicted as newly captured POWs. Just switch out the ammo boxes, and they could be carrying personal belongings in over-stuffed duffel bags or some other suitable containers, with rucksacks on their backs. I like this set... As to the flash, that's easily taken care of...
DEC 16, 2015 - 06:20 PM
HA! He DOES look a bit "limp wristed" at that! Maybe a tu tu and makeup can be added to complete "the look"...
DEC 16, 2015 - 06:36 PM
Agree! For those that are interested, the Officer can be slightly altered/converted into another pointing SS Officer, as if we didn't have enough of those on the market already. The guys that are holding the ammo boxes on their load-carrying side can also be depicted as newly captured POWs. Just switch out the ammo boxes, and they could be carrying personal belongings in over-stuffed duffel bags or some other suitable containers, with rucksacks on their backs. I like this set... As to the flash, that's easily taken care of...[/quote] Good points! Excellent catch. J
DEC 16, 2015 - 09:02 PM
The boxart just makes you hate that Commander/NCO from the get-go. The other men's expressions indicate they hate him too!
SEP 16, 2017 - 01:06 PM
   
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