With new 88s hitting the market, it was just a matter of time before crews came along with them. This set could be a study in how injection molding has changed over the last 30 years, just put them up next to the old 88 crew from the Tamiya set.
Anyway, you get six figures dressed in generic winter attire as well as some nice accessories -- new and spent 88 shells, ammo crates and PE bases for the shells.
Molding on this set is excellent. Clothing folds and details are sharp and the facial expressions are lively and really well done. While I haven’t picked up many of the recent DML sets, in my opinion, the faces on this set are the best that I have seen thus far. Not only is the detail crisp, but these guys seem to have expression and look alive. As usual each face offers a little different look.
I really like the fact DML has been expanding their sets to include six figures. This set is no exception and with additional body parts for all six figures the builder is left with a number of choices in how they present their figure.
Five of the figures can be modified with different arms, while the rangefinder is provided with two different heads.
Take a look at the scan of the instruction sheet on the right, it will give you some idea of variations on posing each figure.
Construction
I built two of the figures out of the box.
Construction was easy but the figures will require some clean-up (seams) and filling (legs, torso, arms joints) -- nothing that isn’t par for the course on most plastic figures.
While the type of plastic has been a source of debate, I found no insurmountable issues with the figures. On the figure I did clean up (figure #3, the bending loader) I was able to get most of the seams with a no.11 blade and various grades of sandpaper. It took a little more work than usual, but to the naked eye it looks pretty good.
Figure #3 was easy to build and looks good. The 88 round fit nicely into his hands and has a natural look.
Figure #5 built up OK. I left the seams on this figure for your review. They should clean up well with a little work. Getting the arms/88 shell aligned took a little work but it wasn’t too hard. Unlike figure #3 I could not get this guy to get a “positive” grip on the 88 shell with his left hand, so it’s just kind of floating there. A better grip could be achieved with a little cutting and repositioning. That job will be made easier by the fact he is wearing gloves and you won’t be left trying to recreate bare flesh.
For some reason I really like the way the helmets look on these guys. DML has done a good job of getting the look right with this set
Conclusion
This is a solid set of figures that offers the builder some nice alterative and a decent selection of extras. While there is almost no personal gear included in the set, the extra 88 gear should be a welcome bonus for someone trying to build an 88 in action. Decent molding of both the uniforms and faces should keep most modelers happy.
While I didn't touch on this earlier, the fact these guys are dressed pretty generically means you should be able to use most them in other setting, such as reloading a tank as the crew on another SPG.
Thanks to DML for providing the review sample.
SUMMARY
One of DML’s newer offerings, the “Flak Artillery Crew, 1943-45” is a slick set that offers the builders poses that go beyond the box art thanks to a number of alternate, multi-pose, arms. the generic nature of the uniforms should also open this set up for use with subjects .
