Meng Model Modern German Tank Crew (HS-006) 1:35

[Mike]

Modern German Tank Crew (HS-006)

1:35 Meng Model

 

 

With the plethora of modern German armour coming from Meng as well as other model companies, it was only natural that someone would produce a crew set to accompany them, and it seems natural that Meng should be at least one company that would do so.  This is their set, and it arrives in a traditional end-opening figure-sized box, with a single sprue in sand coloured styrene within, and build/painting guide on the rear of the box.  There are four figures in the box and two are dressed in Temperate with two more in desert clothing, which will be useful for crewing at least two tanks, possibly more if you use one figure per vehicle.

 

 

The desert crew have their sleeves rolled up, sunglasses on, and pistols on their thigh panel holsters.  They are also wearing operator-style gloves and a tactical vest with MOLLE-like loops all over it.  One figure wears a boonie-style floppy brimmed hat with his hands resting on the turret lip, while the other is sporting a tanker helmet with one elbow on the turret lip, and the other up to his headphone as if he is communicating.  The European based figures look quite miserable on the box, but then it does get cold in Germany in the winter.  They both have the soft helmets with comms built-in and are wearing a hooded smock over combats.  The full figure is stood high in the turret with one hand on the turret lip, while the other is absent below mid-thigh, and has his hands resting on the cupola, looking off to his side.

 

 

German soldiers wear Flecktarn camouflage pattern, and it's a complex scheme that will be taxing to reproduce in scale, but study an online sample swatch before you start, and you'll do a much better job.  The base for the desert scheme is a sandy colour with green and tan pattern, while the Temperate is a dark green, with brown and green splodges densely packed together.  In addition there are two pairs of binoculars, a couple of MP2 SMGs which are licensed copies of the Uzi, and there paddle-holstered pistols, meaning one for spares.  The figures are broken down with separate torsos and legs (bar the part figure), heads and helmets, plus separate arms for maximum detail.  The hoods on the smocks are also separate to give a more natural look.

 

Sculpting is excellent as always and although the mould seam lines are heavy (as is often the case with Meng figures), which is accompanied by some flash, there is no evidence of mould slip, so clean-up should be pretty easy, especially if you use this handy tool that we reviewed a couple of years back.  The painting guide uses their own AK produced paint codes with no alternatives given, but it shouldn't be too hard to find codes for your preferred brand using the table on the side of the box which gives the colour names to assist you.

 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of