Tamiya 35184 – German Machine Gun Crew On Maneuver
For a long time the only Tamiya figure kits available were the sets which first appeared up to 30 years ago and as such these days they are showing their age and they rather pale compared to some of the more recent figure kits on offer from other manufacturers.
However over the past 10-12 years Tamiya have introduced a number of new figure kits which have improved greatly on the quality compared to those earlier kits. The easiest way to recognise the new from the old is that traditionally the older sets came with 7-8 figures whereas the newer ones will more often only come with 5-6.
This set is one of the newer ones and the improvement in quality over time is markedly apparent. So much so that Tamiya really should have looked to find a way to differentiate these to the casual buyer the way Dragon did when they introduced their “Gen 2″ figures.
Moulded in dark green these are the usual Tamiya quality of finish, no flash, minimal mould seams, and clear sharp detail. Averaging 48-49mm tall these scale out at 168-170cm tall ( 5 foot 6 to 5 foot 7 ). This has always been one of Tamiya’s “shortcomings” with their figures. The average height of a soldier in 1940 was 5 foot 8 ( 173cm ) so people weren’t all 6 foot plus, but Tamiya’s figures still represent short people.
In this set you get five figures in late war uniforms, all depicted as being on the march. The machine gunner can be armed with either an MG34 or MG42, the NCO comes with an MP40, two ammo carriers are armed with Kar 98 rifles and the No. 2 Gunner ( or ammo feeder ) just gets a holstered sidearm. A full range of light kit is provided ( bayonettes, entrenching tool, gas mask containers, breadbags, canteens, rolled zeltbahn, meal tin and ammo pouches – as well as a pair of binoculas, a map case and a folded Lafette tripod for the MG.
I do like the fact that Tamiya have stopped moulding the gas mask container straps onto the bodies, and they must be commended on the vast improvement in the detail on the faces and hands. My only real niggle being that they still mould their ammo cans in one piece so you get no end detail on them even though the surface detail is excellent.
Fix the ammo tins, make them a couple mm taller, added a small decal sheet for the uniform insignias and I think Tamiya would be back at the top with their figures. But even all that aside these are a very good set of figures.
Click on thumbnails for larger image.
