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German Soldiers w/Fuel Drums Special Edition (35256) 1:35


Mike

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German Soldiers w/Fuel Drums Special Edition (35256)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models

 

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Being in an army isn't all guts and glory.  Some of it (most of it, some would argue) is pure drudgery, and in wartime that's punctuated by moments of abject terror.  Fuel of course doesn't transport itself at any time, and many an infantryman and storesman was chosen to move barrels of it around, load and unload it until the truck or train was full or their officer (who never usually partook) told them to stop or take a break. 

 

This figure set from MiniArt depicts exactly that scenario, and arrives in a standard figure box with Special Edition marked on it.  Inside the box are three sprues in grey styrene, a sheet of thick styrene in a similar colour, and an instruction sheet.  From these parts you can build five figures, and two fairly careworn fuel drums, plus the ramps often used to push them uphill onto the truckbed, sometimes assisted with a guy pulling from inside the truck with a rope wrapped round the drum.  I've just described three of the figures without thinking about it, and the other two are their supervisor leaning lazily against something with hand in pocket and the other nursing a cigarette, plus an officer with a notepad counting off the barrels as they're loaded.  Neither of them working particularly hard, bless them.

 

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Each figure is well sculpted and made up from separate legs, torso, arms and head, with hat.  In the case of my review sample, someone at the factory seems to have popped a civilian figure in as the third smaller sprue, so check your box out before you commit it to the stash, watching  out for the shirt and tie, and the pre-neckbeard Fedora, which typically has a wider brim than the Trilby, and the Homberg, with its rolled brim.  Hat geek!  I've since spoken to Creative who have checked their stock and this seems to be the only one with a civvie in the box.  Good news!

 

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The back of the box shows the construction of the figures, and this is used in conjunction with the sprue map on the instructions, which also covers the building of the two included drums, both of which have a creased, beaten up look moulded in, which differs between them.

 

 

Conclusion

Apart from my one-off guy with the Fedora, who I think is sitting reading a newspaper (probably from the tram passenger set), this is a great addition to any truck in a diorama, adding a dynamic and candid appeal to an otherwise blank canvas on wheels.

 

Highly recommended, just check your box for stray civilians!

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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