Hi All,

I've never done figures at all, so I'm a complete newbie in this area. I did a search, but didn't really find what I was looking for.

Wondering if any of you could recommend a good set of 1/35 German Tank crew figures for a mid-production Tiger I. I'm looking more for figures that would be in the tank hatches or sitting on the tank, as opposed to repair or 'conversation' figure off the tank. Since i'll be brand new to painting figures, I suppose I need 'the best' in terms of molding quality to make my first outing a success. I'm thinking a total of 3 or more figures. Any thoughts?

One that popped into my mind right off is a kit from MiniArt (I believe) from a few years back. A crew of 5, with a couple in the hatches and the others scrambling to get back onto/into their tank, apparently due to some approaching threat.

I agree with Jack the the set below is the most animated tank crew out there.


If you are looking for a cold weather crew then this one is worth considering


The moulding quality of both is the hiher end of injection moulded figures.

Below are links to reviews of both of these figure sets.
German Tank Crew

German Tank Crew Winter 43-45

darren brings some excellent recommendations there. If you want to spend a bit more money there are excellent resin sets from both Alpine and Evolution to go with. Both Heer and Waffen SS.
J

Dragon has a few sets, but for similar price, the MiniArt ones are much more interesting and cheaper than comparable resin figures.

If you're specifically planning to build a Tiger with all hatches open, one word of caution--don't be tempted to open the turret escape hatch, as it was almost never used, except for emergencies. I remember a build in an older Osprey book, in which a crewman had half-opened the the hatch and was happily waving to somebody. He must have been young Hercules, though, as the real hatch weighed 300 pounds and wasn't sprung. I do recall seeing a propaganda photo from a training ground, where one crew had opened the hatch to reload ammo, a mistake they probably never repeated (and operational photos always show ammo being loaded handed down through the loader's hatch).

Thanks guys. I appreciate Gerald's comment about the escape hatch...not sure I would have known that. I'm inclined to go with the MiniArt crew... I'll check on prices.