Introduction

Another nice recast from back when Verlinden Productions solely sat on the resin figure throne and all his products constantly set new standards in the hobby.

The figure depicts a German infantry soldier from the early WWII period; the happy days of the German armed forces, when it was moving from one stunning victory to another. This chap is holding a war souvenir, a French helmet, which locate him somewhere in France during Fall Gelb, operation Yellow. He stands in a very natural and rather relaxed pose, holding up the enemy helmet, looking a bit superior.

Contents of the box

The box size has changed since back then, and has become quite smaller than the long shaped box in green camouflage colors. It’s now around half the “normal” size and in white carton, though still with the old familiar picture of the assembled and painted figure. In this box is a clear zip lock plastic bag with 21 pieces of light sand colored resin parts, where the largest part is the torso. No instruction of any kind, except the picture of the finished figure on the box cover, but nothing more is really needed to construct this kit.

The review

The figure consists of 9 parts; head, torso, right and left arm, right and left hand, legs and two feet (boots) Various gear is provided in the kit.
• 1 German steel helmet with webbing for camouflage
• 1 French steel helmet
• 1 Kar98 riffle
• 1 entrenchment tool with a bayonet strapped on
• 1 stick hand grenade
• 1 bread bag
• 1 water bottle
• 1 gas mask
• 1 mess kit
• 1 rain poncho
All the parts are very well molded, and the fit is also quite good. Before starting gluing the parts together, I’d suggest you wash the parts in warm water with soap, because they seem a bit oily, and this might give you trouble making the glue work.

As said before, the torso part is especially well cast, with some very nice details, such as the webbing and the folds in the uniform. The ammunition pouches are molded into the torso part, which make them sit tightly to the body. This looks very natural and adds to the realism of the build. A P38 pistol is carried, tucked down in the belt behind the left side ammunition pouch, and this is a real beauty. It’s excellent cast, and adds a little extra something on the figure.

Both helmets are cast solid, which is fine for the German one, because it goes on the head, but the French helmet inside is visible, so this has to be at least hollowed out.

This figure carries a stick hand grenade in his right boot, and this part has to be cut into size to make it fit the pre cast groove.

The equipment is well detailed and looks good, but I’m not too fond of the Kar 98 riffle, which I think is a bit crude, and small details as the end of the barrel and the trigger arrangements has broken off and missing in this sample. Also you have to assemble the front sight, which really can be a challenge.

Conclusion

This might be an oldie, and it might not belong in the same league as some of the newer resin companies, but it’s actually not bad. It stands in a realistic pose and it still holds some very nice and crisp details. Some of the parts such as the French helmet and especially the rifle need some work or even a more up to date replacement part.

With the right painting skills or decals for the rank insignia, the figure can be made into either a Wehrmacht or Waffen SS infantry. Also the theatre of operation can be other than France May 1940, just change the French helmet to maybe a Russian or Polish one.