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Alpine Miniatures
Waffen-SS Panzer Crew 44-45
1:35th Figure Set No. 35067
Review by Terry Ashley

Alpine MiniaturesAlpine Miniatures
Figures sculpted by Yoshitaka Hirano
painted by Arthur Miniszewski

This is the second figure sculptured by Yoshitaka Hirano for Alpine Miniatures and has the Waffen SS Panzer Crewman wearing the short camouflaged double breasted jacket and 1944 pattern trousers and leather boots with the only weapon being the holstered Walther P38. There is also the usual two alternate heads, one wearing a side cap and the other bare headed with a pair of sand goggles.

The figure is standing with one hand on his hip and the other raised in a stopping motion or waiving, it is sort of a pose that could be used in different settings.

The full body is cast as one piece with just the two heads and two arms separate as well as the holster with a bare minimum of cleanup required consisting of fine casting seams between the legs and a little excess resin on the soles of the feet which are easily removed with a #11 blade.

Detail on the uniform is subtle but also with well defined fabric seams on items such as the pockets, collars but the tips of the collars appear a little sharp and could easily be altered if you think this is required. The upper torso also appears a little thin in relation to the legs and the jacket really tight fitting which accentuates this thin appearance from certain angles, but I guess people come in all shapes and sizes and uniforms were not generally tailor made for the ranks.

The anatomical features of hands and the faces are very well done with good expressions and assembly was very straightforward with good fit of the arms not requiring any trimming or other alterations with just the desired head added for quick and easy assembly.

As with previous figures I added a small “wire” pin to the neck to go into a hole drilled into the body to make fitting and swapping the heads easier or you just glue the chosen head in place. This also allows the heads to be painted separate and easily attached later. A small tip if you do add the pin is to always drill the hole for the pin at right angles to the neck cut-off on both the torso and head as this will ensure the head sits correctly as intended when fitted together.

Conclusion:
This is another good figure from Alpine of a later war SS Panzer crewman with good uniform and facial features with reservations on the upper torso proportions but should be useful for various diorama situations.

Highly recommended 8/10

Also see set #35066 WSS Panzer Officer 44-45 and combined set #35068 WSS Panzer Crew Set 44-45

The resin parts
Alpine Miniatures
Views of the assembled figure
note alternate heads with wire pins added

Alpine Miniatures
See the Alpine Miniatures web site for ordering details and thanks to Taesung from Alpine Miniatures for the review sample.



Page created June 28, 2008