Series Gen2
Ref: 6278
Review by: Bill Curtis
Initial Assessment
The kit comes in a box with a top (Revell, take note!) and contains four infantry figures moulded in light grey plastic wearing the late war uniform, which was similar to the British battledress.
The figures and all the equipment comes on eight sprues with nearly 300 parts, also included is a brass fret, a small decal sheet and a colour instruction/painting guide.
The back of the box shows photographs of the sprues and different possibilities for building the figures.
Accuracy
The figures anatomically look very good, as does the clothing and equipment. The cut of the cloth is convincing with various folds well defined, as is the moulding of all the personal kit carried by each figure.
Weapons are also very good, with the KAR 96 having separate bolts which can be positioned either closed or open. The same can be said for the Panzerfausts which can be shown with the sighting arm in the travel/rest, raised or firing positions.
Have a look at the images in the Gallery Grid and see what you think.
Quality
The kit figures are of the multi-pose type with the hands, boots and uniform collars as separate items. This will add greatly to the realism of the finished figures.
The detail on the uniforms is very good, as is the creases in the material on all parts of the figures. The torso and heads are both two part-assembly, with the joint down the sides. This will need cleaning up, but the head joint will be hidden by the helmet strap. Each of the faces has an individual expression and the detail is good.
One point I particularly like is the inclusion of the shoulder straps outward of the Y harness which, when attached, will give the impression of weight caused by the harness and equipment weighing on the shoulders.
As previously stated, the hands are separate items, which are very nice mouldings with a delicate touch and, with care on assembly, will reward the modeller with a more realistic figure.
The lower parts, i.e. the legs and boots, come next with the trouser creases and detail moulded very well.
The boots are separate items of a late war pattern that was very similar to the British style. The detail of these is again very good, with the heel to instep as it should be, not as a lot of figures a solid flat foot, and the soles have the stud pattern moulded on.
The figures equipment is very well done, with all the straps moulded onto the torso, except for the rifle slings which come on the etch sheet. Meanwhile, all the normal items are present such as ammo pouches, helmets bread bags, and entrenching tool.
The gas mask container comes as a three-part sub assembly and this is shown on the instruction sheet. The weapons come on four small sprues and include Panzerfausts, Kar96, StG44, MP44, Stick Grenades, Egg type Grenades, Pistols and holsters.
A small brass fret is included which had the rifle slings, shoulder straps, belt buckles and medals. This will add a nice touch to the finished figures.
Instructions
As with some other Dragon kits, the instructions are not particularly clear and I advise studying well as not to mix-up parts. No colour references are given, although the sheet is printed in colour but various sites exist to fill this gap.
Decals
The small decal sheet has stencil detail for the Panzerfausts and is printed in red white and black which looks to be thin and in-register.
Conclusions
I think all levels of modellers can produce a good set of figures with care, which is the watch word.
The detail is good, the painting is reasonably simple and you get to have a fair number of parts left over for your spares box. I have to congratulate Dragon on producing a set of German figures who are not only detailed and have good posture, but are of what I think is an overlooked WWII uniform of 1944 to the end in 1945.
I hope to see more of this sort of figure set in the future.
Very highly recommended.
Bill C.
One final note: I purchased my set from the local hobby shop, so remember to use it or lose it!