Hobby Fan
HF529

These four figures are pictured hitching a ride on an M10, but with a little work you could probably adapt them to a Sherman, halftrack, or even a deuce and a half. They are dressed in the uniform combinations that would appear in the early fall of 1944.

The squad leader wears the M1941 jacket, and is armed with a Thompson submachine gun and pistol. A nice touch is that the hem of his jacket is molded so it realistically rides up against the top of his holster and canteen, and his ammo magazine pouch peeks out from under the coat. The other three figures are dressed in the M1943 combat jacket, cartridge belt, and suspenders. Two of them wear the late period combat shoes with leather buckle gaiter; the other two have the earlier canvas leggings, and one wears his trousers over the leggings, which is a nice touch. All are armed with M1 Garands. With the exception of the standing figure, who has a separate bayonet, the only other equipment for these soldiers are canteens and first aid pouches.

These figures are very nicely sculpted and cast in hard amber resin with very slight seams, generally on the left leg, and no flash whatsoever. They are all made up of one-piece torsos and legs, with separate arms and heads. The body areas are notched so the figures convincingly sit on the surfaces as shown in the box art. If you want to seat them elsewhere, you may need to apply some contour putty or two-part epoxy.

Faces are decent, but too similar. You might want to swap out a couple of them for Hornet or Warriors heads. The only quibble with this set is that the helmets are molded with plugs extending diagonally from the underside of the piece, meaning they will have to be carefully carved away from the rims. As the plugs are about an eighth of an inch thick, against a rim not much thicker than a business card, this will take some patience. The helmets are the same size as Tamiya's, however, if a replacement is needed.

These figures are pricey as a group (about $45), but they are right up there in quality with the best of Warriors, Jaguar, or Nemrod.

-tss-