On June 6, 1944, the Allied army invaded Normandy and to this day we know it as D-Day. Boats called LCVP (landing craft, vehicle, personnel) or “Higgins” boats carried Allied troops to the beaches of Normandy, France.

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Thanks!

Good and fair review. I've got a set of these which I've yet to build. One major problem as far as I see it that wasn't mentioned is they all wear trousers with thigh map pockets. The only infantry who wore these trousers at that stage of the war were Ranger battalions (or airborne but their trosers were completely different anyway). Ordinary leg infantry units didn't have them so you can only use these as US Rangers on D-Day. I had planned to use these as either troops being briefed pre or post combat around an officer or being carried in a GMC lorry. The one thing that excludes this use is the life preservers worn around their waists. I'd tried carving/sanding them off a couple but the results weren't great so it looks like they'll have to go in a landing craft after all. Having said that they will look good packed into a landing craft.

Hi Darren,

Thanks for the review.
What should one do?
Finding the old Tamiya weapon set in order to arm these mini guys?
And is it worth replacing the heads by Hornet's heads (HUH/1 and HUH/4) wearing the M1 helmets with and without netting?
And some hands, if one takes a loook at the pictures of the sprue?

So, though intended to be a nice set, there seems to be quite some money needed before they can go aboard.
(Not to speak about the miserable supply of Italeri models in The Netherlands, my hobbyshop needs to order a considerable amount before the importer delivers...... Yes, there is the internet, but sometimes one wants to see before one buys, ain't it?)

Paul: I published the review but I did not write it.
Sorry

Unfortunately Italeri is still stuck in the 1970's........

They won't really work in a L.C. because the posse has them standing straight backed with stiff legs. Those boats were bobbing up and down and all over as the ocean was choppy that day. Any one who has been on a small boat will know what I mean. The knees should be bent slightly and they should also lean slightly forward to help absorb the shock of the boat movement. When I bought my set I purchased the one with the L.C. because I needed one for a future project for some marines. After looking at the figures the future project got changed as I realized that the figures could be used assembled on deck of the transport ship waiting to disembark down the cargo nets. A few officers and N.C.O.'s with clip boards and naval ratings, a few infantry climbing over and the L.C. standing along side would make an awesome dio. Then I discovered Mr. Verlindens dio of exactly that, figures though. Still going to do my version any way. Another scene usable would be a company at ease with equipment waiting to board ship to cross the channel. True the hands are not the best but if you scribe between the fingers to give the separate fingers and relaxed look they will work out pretty well. The posses really limit what you can do with them but with a lot of T.L.C., patience, a good paint job and luck, they'll be adaptable.

All the equipment looks worse than the stuff from their old accessories set from 30 years ago. The mold lines I can live with but those HUGE buttons and indifferent soft detail everywhere?

It looks like these sculpts were intended for 1/72 figures, but someone decided to try marketing them in the original size. You can see every rough blob of clay and even the sculptor's finger prints.

They look more like soldiers at rest.
To relaxed to be landing on Normandy.

Tom

Hmmm, I have the Higgins Boat kit with these, so now I'm concerned they won't look right in it.

Jerry Rutman, can you help show us how to modify them to look accurate in a landing craft?

Hi, Bill!

As a dedicated figure modeler, let me add my 2-cents worth at this point. I have these guys plus the earlier release of the ITALERI LCVP without the Infantry figures and the more current release of the LCVP with the greater number of figures- I am not one to leave a new kit that I've just acquired sealed for more than a few minutes. This practice saves me disappointments when I finally get around to building said kits. That said, I WAS disappointed to some degree by these figures, realizing beforehand that ITALERI figures are not the best, which is being polite.

IMO, IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF WORK to:

a. Bring these figures up to 21st Century standards, and

b. It's going to take even MORE work to make these guys look like they're actually aboard a moving, heaving, bouncing and trouncing LCVP coming ashore at Omaha or Utah Beaches on the morning of 6 June, 1944. (see the above comments made by the other guys)

It's really a "no-win" situation with these particular figure sets, as they are "neither fish nor fowl", as far as their uniforms and equipment are concerned, except for the M1938 Leggings with Combat Shoes, which can be grafted onto other, better 1/35 GIs in RESIN. Photographic evidence shows that many GIs were still wearing the Leggings and Combat Shoes at war's end. Not EVERYONE was fortunate enough to be wearing the M1943 Boots, as the majority of 1/35 US GI figures depict. So, if any of you guys out there already have these figure sets, they're not really a total loss.

My advice: If you have A LOT of time on your hands, plus A LOT of patience to alter, convert, correct and re-pose these guys, go ahead. As for myself, the sets that I have in my possession will wind up in my "spare figure-parts" bins.

Don't get me wrong- I really like to convert and correct many of my figures, just not so MANY at one time, in order to create an ACCURATE "US Infantry coming ashore on D-Day" dio. Obtaining these ITALERI LCVP/GI Figures kits WAS my original plan, because I really, really wanted to build said "D-Day" dio for my own personal collection. Not so much, now...