MiniArt French Civilians 30-40s (38037) 1:35

[Mike]

French Civilians 30-40s (38037)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

The French lived for years under the jackboot of Nazi domination, with their harsh treatment of the French civilians costing many lives, even those uninvolved with the brave Resistance fighters.  Life had to go on though, and people did the best they could under the circumstances.  Fashion didn’t change much during the 30s and 40s, partly because of the lack of materials, designers etc., so people made do with what they had and much clothing from the two decades was almost interchangeable.

 

This set arrives in a shrink-wrapped figure box with a painting on the front and separate instructions on the rear.  Worthy of note on the front of the box is the small "Resin Heads" badge in the top right, which as far as I know is a first for MiniArt.  Inside the box are two sprues of grey styrene, a separately bagged casting block with five disembodied heads attached in a line, plus a small sheet of paper with a parts numbering diagram.

 

 

 

From the two sprues you can build five figures, all of which have styrene heads as well as the resin heads, although there’s no comparison in the quality there, so even if you’re phobic about resin, cutting those heads off the block will result in a much better finished head.  There is a priest in a cassock with hat, a police officer (Gendarmerie) with cape and pill-box kepi, a businessman in a suit and Homberg hat, a store man carrying a basket of bread with his cap jauntily on the back of his head, and an older gentleman with one hand raised in excitement.  All of the figures are sensibly broken down with separate heads, legs arms and torsos, with the exception of the priest who has a base under his cassock to which his legs are fixed.  The Gendarme has a separate cape that necessitates his shoulders being shrunk down to accommodate the thickness of the cape fronts, which are also separate parts.

 

Sculpting is excellent as we’ve come to expect from MiniArt, and the resin heads are well-formed, with none of the seams that afflict the styrene parts they replace.  There is a little flash on the sprues here and there, but that should be the work of moments with the edge of a blade or a dedicated seam scraper.  The clothing has realistic drape and texture, as do the tassels and brocade on the priest’s cassock, and a perfect rendition of the wicker of the bread basket, plus of course some realistic looking bread of various sizes and styles.

 

 

The colours are called out in swatches, Vallejo, Mr Color, AK Real Color, Mission Models, AMMO, Tamiya, and English, which should be enough for anyone to find some colours from their stash.  Whether you’ll be able to imitate the pinstriped suits worn by two of the characters is another matter.  Does anyone do stripy paint?

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Another finely moulded set of figures, and the addition of the resin heads gives extra realism under some sympathetic painting.  They are of such differing poses that they could fit many scenes, although the old guy in the beret is clearly pleased to have been liberated.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of