Tamiya 35th scale German Machine Gun Team from the Mid-WWII period

From Tamiya

Kit No# 35386

1/35th scale

Plastic kit including five figures.

included.

Rightly or wrongly, Tamiya have always been regarded as the pinnacle in the World of scale modelling, so it was no surprise that pretty much anything they release was going to sell like hot cakes and that seems to be the case with their latest figure set release, the German Machine Gun Team wearing mid-war style uniforms.

Tamiya have released a number of machine gun crew figures, with the earliest taking us all the way back to 1974. The dynamic poses and interaction of the figures is what I most remember about that kit. This new Tamiya set is a bit different. There are four sprues of figures. Assembly is a breeze for the most part with Tamiya thoughtfully placing the joins through inconspicuous places to help conceal seams.

Assembly of the tripod mount does contain a few small parts, so care must be taken during this assembly

The detail in the soldiers equipment such as the bread bag, gas canister and water bottles are of a very high quality, and the way these elements integrate into the folds and shapes of the figures is stunning.

The sculpts of the uniforms and the way the fabric folds and falls is easily the highlight of this kit and truly captures the weight and natural look you would expect to see. Some companies have had trouble with this, but these figures are stunning. The facial expressions, while OK, are unremarkable and sterile. The sculpting on the hands is also disappointing. The hands are just a bunch of plastic without much definition. Is it a deal breaker? Some figures are more attractive than others. Some figures are more attractive than others. Some figures are a luxury. You have to work a little harder on the hands and faces, but that is going to come down to what your expectations are around those areas on your own figures.

The set comes with a small decal sheet which further enhances the figures with collar board and helmet markings.

Injection moulded figures are the perfect base if you wanted to modify them, but these poses are so useable and balanced they are begging to find their way into a diorama you might be planning. You could create a whole scene with this set.

Tamiya is really closing the gab between injection moulded and resin cast figures but are still falling short with the essential two elements, the faces and the hands, but at around $5 a figure its great value for the level of detail and finish you can achieve from these very useable figures.

For those wanting to see more on these, check out my video on my Workbench Hobbies YT page…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpLIdVEq5fM

Clayton Ockerby

You can pick this kit up from Hobbylink Japan for $15 USD