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German Railroad Staff 1930-40s (38012) 1:35


Mike

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German Railroad Staff 1930-40s (38012)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

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Any railway diorama looks better with some human scale, whether it’s a massive Dora railgun or a simple BR-52 loco.  We had the German Rail Staff set a while back that we reviewed here, and now we have a new set from MiniArt depicting the guys that shifted the ballast and made good the holes the Allies kept making in the railways of Germany during WWII.

 

The set arrives in a shrink-wrapped figure box with six sprues in a heat-sealed bag with parts for four figures and a collection of tools and accessories pertinent to their trades.  There’s a man bending with a full shovel, another oiling something (hopefully not the other fellow’s crotch), and chap holding a bunch of tools, then a more officially dressed gentleman who is either their boss, or the lookout, or both.  He’s holding a small trumpet to his lips as if to blow a warning note to get the crew off the lines.

 

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Sculpting is up to MiniArt’s usual high standard with parts breakdown giving each figure separate legs, arms torso and head, plus a flat-top to their heads that accept various styles of caps, some military in nature.  The two accessories sprues carry a tool bag and box, folio case, a large shovel, oil-can, lamp, lollipop, handheld torch, and something that looks like a folded flag for the gang boss to wear on his hip.

 

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Sorry for the "Charlies Angels" pose, but it was that or have the guy on the left oiling the guy on the right's ear!

 

The painting guide on the rear of the box doubles as the construction guide, and if you look carefully you’ll see that you need to supply a length of wire for the small lamp that one of the figures is holding.  You’ll also need to make up whatever it is that the shovelling man is moving, but as you’re likely to be putting him into a backdrop with your own choice of groundworks, that shouldn’t present a problem.  Paint colours are given as swatches, Vallejo, Mr Color, AK Real Color, Mission Models, AMMO and the colour name in English, so finding a suitable shade from your own stocks will be a doddle.

 

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Conclusion

Some workers beavering away in the background oblivious to the main thrust of your diorama will add more realism to it, and if you take the time to paint them sympathetically and integrate them well into the scenery, they should look great.

 

Highly recommended.

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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Great review Mike, but don't they represent the train crew rather than a track gang? The guard with flag and horn (equivalent to BR whistle), stoker, driver and engineer? I can't find any photos of German train crews from the period (after a very brief Google search, admittedly), so I don't know if this is representative of what they wore.

 

On a tangential note, do you have the Miniart French civilians set in for review; the one that includes resin heads? I'm curious to see if their resin casts are up to what Hornet et al can produce. Be nice to get good resin heads included with the figures and not have to fork out extra for aftermarket replacements. Not that MiniArt's styrene heads are bad, but resin ones normally make a big difference to a figure.

 

Andy:cat:

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1 hour ago, Andy Moore said:

Great review Mike, but don't they represent the train crew rather than a track gang? The guard with flag and horn (equivalent to BR whistle), stoker, driver and engineer? I can't find any photos of German train crews from the period (after a very brief Google search, admittedly), so I don't know if this is representative of what they wore.

 

On a tangential note, do you have the Miniart French civilians set in for review; the one that includes resin heads? I'm curious to see if their resin casts are up to what Hornet et al can produce. Be nice to get good resin heads included with the figures and not have to fork out extra for aftermarket replacements. Not that MiniArt's styrene heads are bad, but resin ones normally make a big difference to a figure.

 

Andy:cat:

You know, I think you might be right? I didn't put 2 & 2 together at the time, and got a bit focused on the dude with the shovel. In hindsight I feel a bit silly :blush:

 

We do have the French folks in, but I haven't opened the box yet. I'll get a round tuit soon, I'm sure. Might be a bit busy this morning adjusting this review and hiding your comment though :cwl:

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