The battles in North Africa during the Second World War, and especially the second battle of El Alamein, surely hold a special place for the kiwi modeller due to our troop’s contibution there. But there are few figure kits around that represent that particular theatre of war other than the older Tamiya kit, and this kit here.
This set comes in the usual Dragon open ended box on one large, light grey sprue that contains the four figures, together with a small light grey sprue that holds the weapons. The poses convey a good sense of advancing cautiously. This is one of Dragon’s older figure kits but the moulding is still very good, being nice and sharp with good faces, though they do tend to look much the same. They aren’t but there just isn’t a huge variation in the facial features or expressions. and a reasonably good level of detail.
They all wear pattern 37 webbing over the standard issue desert battle dress of shorts and shirt, with the shirt sleeves rolled up on all four. Equipment is limited to light combat order and consists of two haversacks, four Mk. II helmets, one bayonet, one bayonet scabbard, one pair of binoculars with a separate lens cover cap, a large mapcase, and four waterbottles in frame carriers.
There are also six Mk. III ammo pouches which are incredibly square as if they are made of a solid material rather than fabric. The haversacks suffer likewise, seeming to be far too perfect in shape. This seems to be a problem that crops up in all of Dragon’s earlier allied figure sets.
The weapons included are a M1928 Thompson Sub-Machine gun with the vertical front grip and drum mag, a Mk. II Sten, a No. 1 Mk III SMLE, two No. 4 SMLE rifles, and Bren gun with the option of an open or a folded bipod. The officer also gets a Mk. II holster and there are two other holsters which I assume are meant to be Mk. I holsters but the shape of the flap is wrong.
This may be an older kit but it is still a good one and currently the best of the few offerings available for depicting the famed Desert Rats.
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