Tamiya 35223 – British Infantry On Patrol
There really aren’t that many 1/35 scale plastic figure sets out there of good quality British troops with a few from Dragon and this one from Tamiya been your main options.
This set comes in the usual medium sized open ended Tamiya box, on three sprues moulded in dark grey, one large one holding the five figures and two smaller ones, which are both the same, holding the weapons and equipment. They are the usual Tamiya quality of finish, no flash, minimal mould seams, and clear sharp mouldings. Averaging 50-52mm tall these scale out at 175-182cm tall ( 5 foot 9 to 5 foot 11 1/2). This is an improvement over earlier Tamiya kits which were often criticised for having figures who were too small, and it also means you get a more natural looking range of hieghts.
The five figures are all depicted on the move, walking casually which is a bit of an unispired arrangement offering little in the way of any individual “story” other than as a supporting cast to a piece of armour. It would be nice to get some Commonwealth figure sets that offer a bit more in the way of action and purpose. The sharpness of the detail though is very good, with each having a clearly defined individual looking face and the fingers no longer suffering from Tamiya’s tendancy towards sausage fingers. Another plus is the lack of moulded on helmet straps which both improves the look of the face and means if you want to add them they will look more accurate as they shouldn’t be right up against the ear as they are when moulded on.
All five are dressed in the standard Pattern 37 Battledress and webbing, with boots, gaiters and Mk. II helmets. As the weapons and equipment comes on two identical sprues there is a number of extra bits of equipment and weapons so there is some leeway in how you kit out each of the figures.
For web gear you get twelve Type III ammunition utility pouches, six canteens in frame carriers, two small Bren tool pouches, and six entrenching head carriers with attached helves, four of which also have attached bayonets. There is also six haversacks, two with attached bedrolls, two full sized picks and two full sized shovels. And as a nice little touch there are also four tin mugs to hang from their kit. The equipment overall looks very good though the Mk. III ammo pouches are incredibly square as if they were made of a solid material rather than fabric.
The weapons included are two Mk. II Sten guns, four No. 4 Mk. 1 SMLE rifles, and two Mk. II Bren guns with the option of an open or a folded bipod for both. There are also two holstered pistols in Mk. I pattern 37 holsters. The rifles being No. 4 SMLE rifles makes the bayonets attached to the entrenching tool head carrier a bit odd as they as are the wrong style for the No. 4, being the type used on the No. 1 Mk. III SMLE. A small point but they are best removed.
Assembly and painting instructions are included on the rear of the box along with smaller paint guides for some of the individual pieces of equipment being printed on the side of the box in Tamiya’s usual style.
Conclusion. Although I personally find these to be a somewhat boring set, they are none the less very well moulded with a lot of good detail and the bonus of quite a few left over bits for the spares box. So if you need a set of Commonwealth Infantry to be walking alongside your tank then these are a good option well worth considering.
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