Search the Community

Israeli Tank Crew – Yom Kippur War (37086) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models The Yom Kippur War took place from the 6th to the 25th of October 1973, and saw Israel attacked on the contested Occupied Territories by a coalition of Arab nations, getting its name from the Jewish holy day that the surprise attack began. After much back and forth, the Israeli forces succeeded in pushing back the Arab attackers, is seen by them as a victory. Inside the shrink-wrapped box are four sprues, each one containing all the parts for a single figure, their helmets, weapons and accessories. The box is marked as having “Real Characters”, having taken their faces and poses from actual participants in the conflict. I’ve watched a few documentaries in the past on the subject, and the commander is Ariel Sharon, although I’ve a terrible memory that prevented me from remembering his name without resorting to Google. The figures are all celebrating their victory, in or on their tank. The commander is stood with hands on hips, and has two heads on his sprue, one with a bandage that appears in some photos, and the other before the injury was sustained, showing off his handsome coiffure. Two more crew with headsets and helmets on are standing or leaning on the edges of their hatches and making variants of the V-victory salute with one or both their hands, while the remaining figure is standing with his arms by his side and helmet in his left, looking to be simply relieved that it’s all over. The crew are wearing belted overalls with high lace-up combat boots, while the commander is wearing a slightly different two-piece uniform with similar boots. They’re all wearing pistols in holsters, but Mr Sharon has binoculars round his neck and his cap pushed under his left epaulette that is visible on many of the famous pictures of the time. Note that these heads are magnified to many times their actual size, and the white marks on the central head are just flash that I later removed with the scrape of a blade to ensure that it wasn't an issue. As usual with MiniArt figures their sculpting is exceptional with crisp detail and sensible parts breakdown plus extras to add some detail, such as goggles and two-part helmet with comms box on one ear. The painting guide doubles as the instructions, with painting codes cross-referenced to a chart of colour swatches from Vallejo, Mr.Color, AK Real Color, Mission Models, AMMO, Tamiya and the generic colour names. Conclusion A great set to populate your Israeli celebration diorama or vignette, with MiniArt’s excellent sculpting and understanding of the human anatomy making for highly realistic figures. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of