 German s.Pz.Abt.503 Hauptmann Russia 1943 Takahashi Modelling 1:48 #TK4802 |
 German s.Pz.Abt.503 Unteroffizer Russia 1943 Takahashi Modelling 1:48 #TK4803 |
 German s.Pz.Abt.503 Hauptfeldwebel Russia 1943 Takahashi Modelling 1:48 #TK4804 |
The figures are cast in cream resin with just small casting blocks and some minor casting seams on the insides of the lower legs to clean off prior to assembly with the full body in sets TK4802 and TK4803 in one piece and the arms separate while set TK4804 is a single casting including the arms.
The resin used is easy to work with making cleaning up easy but take care when removing the casting block from the arms as removing a little too much from the shoulder will result in small gaps after assembly.
The poses are all very casual with figure TK4802 Hauptmann (Captain) wearing
just a shirt with tie holding his cap in the left hand and this is an unusual
but interesting pose for a tank crewman as most are depicted wearing the usual
jacket.
Figure TK4803 Unteroffizer (NCO) is holding a jacket over his shoulder but
there is a bit of a gap between the arm and jacket which doesn’t give
a natural sit but you could use a bit of epoxy or putty to fill this. The othewise
natural stance with slight lean is very good in portraying the casual feel
of the figure.
Figure TK4804 Hauptfeldwebel (Sargent) is standing with arms on hips for another
very well posed casual figure with the sit of the jacket due to the arm pose
again very well captured with well defined pockets and collar details.
The fit of the arms to the body is good, taking into account the cleanup as above and any small gap can be filled with thick cyanoacrylate as you assembly the parts if required.
Overall the details on the figures is excellent with crisp well defined uniform details with nice fabric folds and details such as raised lapels and pockets as well as very good facial features for this scale, or any for that matter. There were a couple of small air holes on a couple of the figures and one of these was unfortunately right on the chin of figure TK4802 but this can easily be filled as it is very small.
While the details are very good the only reservation is again the height of the figures at about 40-41mm measuring out to 6’ 3”-6’ 5” (192-196cm) in 1:48 scale which is very tall for a WWII figure where the average height was around 5’ 6”-5’ 8” (168-173cm). That is not to say there weren't tall people about but it would have been a squeeze inside the tank at that height and to find a whole tank crew this tall extremely unusual.
Conclusion:
Superbly detailed figures for 1:48 or any scale with well defined details and
easy assembly that will come up well with careful painting and the casual
poses
will make for a relaxed scene when used together. The only reservation being
the figure height as mentioned but otherwise very good and should find a
home in diorama settings and if not mixed with other figures the height shouldn't
be that much of a problem.
Recommended with reservations
Figure courtesy of my Credit Card and the guys at Rainbow Ten with their usual excellent service.
Page created 9 July 2005