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

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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. 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.

This product is available in two scales, 1:35 and 1:24 and was painstakingly designed from scratch as a digital model. MiniArt are to be congratulated for the effort put into these figures, the Mk I pistol holsters, whilst looking somewhat cool, weren’t really all that common by 1944, and I would have preferred the Mk II shortened version or the flapped holster instead. 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. This kit contains models of five figures: Totenkopf Division ( Kharkov 1943 ) & Weapons and Equipment 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.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 figure depicts a crewman in a standing position, hands on hips with legs slightly apart. The figure consists of 9 parts; arms, separate hands, legs, upper body, head complete with beret/goggles, with a pistol holster and small ammo pouch

This figure is dressed as the others in the Light Denim Tank suit with all the correct detail being in place. 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. This figure depicts a crewman in a standing position, head slightly bowed holding a map board in his left hand and a radio handset in his right. The figure consists of 14 parts; arms, separate right hand, legs, upper body, head, tankers helmet, goggles, map board, pistol holster and small ammo pouch and separate earphones. Dissolved after the First World War, the Feldgendarmerie were reintroduced in 1933 when Hitler seized power. Personnel were trained in a special military school in Potsdam. Due to strict training conditions and high demands placed on the candidates, only a small number of soldiers managed to graduate and join the force. 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, and the map board gives a very good representation of this bit of kit.

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After many, many years in the wilderness, manufacturers are now producing a whole new range of 1/35 figures and vehicles for this genre. I think MiniArt deserve our full support for leading the way with a range of new British and Commonwealth kits. 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. 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. 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 figure depicts a crewman in a sitting position leaning forward slightly, right hand on hip and the left holding a radio handset. The legs are designed to hang inside the cupola of a tank. The figure consists of 13 parts; arms, separate left hand, legs, upper body, head, tankers helmet, goggles, map board, pistol holster and small ammo pouch and separate earphones. This is a 120mm figure painted entirely in Vallejos. The base colours for the uniform was British Uniform and for the webbing Khaki Drill. 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. One kayak was damaged while being deployed from the submarine, and it and its crew therefore could not take part in the mission. Only two of the 10 men who launched from the submarine survived the raid: Hasler, and his number two in the kayak, Bill Sparks. Of the other eight, six were executed by the Germans and two died from hypothermia. 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.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. 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.

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. 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.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. This figure depicts a crewman in a sitting position with the left leg designed to be inside a tank and the right leg bent resting on the cupola edge. The example I’ve see him used on was also a Sherman. The figure consists of 10 parts; arms, separate left hand. legs, upper body, head complete with beret, with a pistol holster and separate 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.