Tamiya
35013
This
was one of the first figure sets I purchased when I got back into
modeling in 1990. There wasn't much else available back then beyond
the Tamiya figures, and the Airfix multipose sets if you could find
them.
I still
have these four figures. Actually, I have another set as well, as
they were at one time included with Tamiya's first Jeep in a special
set (#35115A). These soldiers are in fighting poses, and we really
haven't seen such dynamic poses in plastic U.S. figures since then.
One
figure is leans back to hurl a hand grenade while another takes
aim with his Garand. A third soldier is ready to pop off a burst
from his Tommy gun and the last guy is about to send the Nazis to
hell with his flamethrower. Unfortunately, the excitement of the
artwork isn't quite captured by the real figures themselves, which
are stiffly executed with expressionless faces. While Hornet or
Ultracast heads would be advisable replacements, a bit more effort
would be required to correct some of the deficiencies in the uniforms
(the M1943 combat jacket is too short on the Tommy gunner and flame
thrower). The Garand and grenade figures are rather anorexic looking.
The men wear a mix of canvas leggings and buckle boots. Overall
the detail is soft and would take some skillful painting to bring
them to life. The equipment and weapons are typical of early Tamiya
products and best sent to the wastebasket.
Given
the quality of today's figures, are these totally worthless? Well,
pretty much so for the serious modeler. But you could use the arms
for converting other figures. Or grind off what little detail there
is on the parts and use them as armatures to sculpt up your own
figures. It might be a relatively easy job to clothe them in simple
melton overcoats and make winter fighting figures out of them to
go with DML's Bastogne airborne team.
-tss-
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