Michael Roberts, Ltd.
54-004
This
is a simple but popular 1/32 scale resin figure comprised of ten
pieces: body, arms, head, helmet, canteen, musette bag, and an M1942
entrenching tool. The white metal hands are molded around the M1
Garand, which has a strap also in white metal. There is also a simple
base for display.
He's
dressed in the M1942 airborne jumper's coat and trousers, and holds
an M1 Garand. The M1 helmet has a medical pouch tied to the mesh
netting. Strapped to his left leg is an assault gas mask case. An
M3 trench knife is tied to his right ankle. A nice feature is the
chin cup, which is actually molded to the collar of the jacket.
The head has the helmet straps attached to it.
This
figure shows up a lot on the modeling web sites and I haven't seen
a bad rendition yet. Because of its scale, it lends itself best
as a stand-alone product. If you were to scale this figure out in
1/35, he'd stand about 6'8", a few inches taller than VP figures,
and a lot taller than Nemrod or Warriors figures. So he's going
to be tough to place with any other paratroopers, though I've seen
an effective vignette with him standing over a dead fallschirmjager
from Jaguar.
But
there are some little quirks in the overall scaling of this figure
that suggest it could be used with larger Verlinden figures, at
least, if you wanted to incorporate it into a diorama.
The
figure is nicely-sculpted and detailed, on par with Warriors or
Nemrod. Proportionally, however, his arms and hands are the same
size as 1/35 figures. The head is the same size as Verlinden figures,
but the helmet, wrapped in mesh, is larger than VP's. The musette
bag is the same size as Verlinden and smaller than CMK's. The Garand
is smaller than the 1/32 scale Garands found with Airfix and Verlinden
soldiers, but slightly larger than Tamiya.
I knew
this figure was 1/32 (54mm) scale, but it has the pose I want for
a diorama so I thought I'd take a chance. I was disappointed that,
on first glance, the figure was vastly taller (though not significantly
wider) than the other 1/35 scale figures I intend to use. But on
close examination, it appears that his body size is similar to Verlinden's
Airborne figures, though the boots are considerably larger. The
bandolier and ammo pouches on the belt are the same size as those
found on VP figures. So I'm inclined to removing the boots from
the Roberts figure and replace them with VP boots and a head, which
could make the figure more compatible for a diorama I'm planning
that uses a number of Verlinden paratroopers.
There
are only slight seams running up the sides of the legs. The 101st
Airborne insignia is raised on his left sleeve, and a flag is on
his right. However, very few, if any, 101st soldiers wore flags
on their sleeves. These can be replaced with decals.
On
his own, this is a well-done but curiously sized piece that might
be more versatile with a little careful surgery.
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