Introduction

Hunor produce a variety of 1/72 resin vehicle kits, including over a dozen armoured fighting vehicles. To accompany them there is quite a sizeable range of figures, now numbering some thirty sets, covering tank crew, combat infantry, Gendarmerie, and both peasant and urban civilians, and all of them addressing Hunor’s specialist subject, Hungarians in WW2.

Here we take a quick look at, and do a little painting with, Hungarian 2nd Army Set I.

Contents

Packed in a polythene bag stapled to a simple card are five figures cast in grey resin, mostly attached to smallish blocks.

Taking the figures in the order shown in the photos (a pair of views of each):

• Figure 1: An officer from a Military Police Company wearing a khaki overcoat, a peaked mountain cap with feathers, and short boots. Around his neck he wears a Field Security duty gorget, as well as a slung MP40 machine pistol, for which he also has a magazine pouch. He stands in a gesturing pose appropriate to his role.
  
• Figure 2: A rifleman, possibly from a mountain detachment, again wearing the mountain cap but without feathers, field tunic breeches and marching boots; he carries a rifle with ammunition pouches, breadbag, canteen and gas mask container. A pedestrian, relaxed pose.
  
• Figure 3: An officer from a Parachute Assault Regiment, recognisable by the paratrooper jacket worn over the field tunic. He’s wearing a field cap, breeches and brown riding boots, holding binoculars and has a slung MP40 with magazine pouches; the strap on the MP40 is incomplete. Quite animated pose as if directing action.
  
• Figure 4: Uniform details appear the same as figure 2, but this time brandishing what looks to be a 1939 Model Kiraly Danuvia Submachine Gun which has a complete strap hanging down as he rushes forward.
  
• Figure 5: Another trooper, this time holding an MP40 pointing down from his chest.

Review

The first set of photos show the figures as they came out of the bag, some with the mould blocks attached and all still with flash intact. The figures measure about 25mm, working out to 1800mm or a little under 6’ tall. The photos show a few fairly rough but delicate areas needing quite careful attention, particularly around the hands, but generally there is a fair bit of flash which, being thin resin, falls away quite easily.

The detail is good enough to give a decent representation of the uniform and equipment details, and although the Royal Hungarian Army used some equipment that was the same as their German allies they do still have quite a unique look. While the three riflemen are perhaps in somewhat typical small soldier poses, figures 1 and 3 are a little more interesting: the Military Policeman looks as if he is directing someone, or perhaps demanding papers with his outstretched hand, while the commanding officer is looking at something quite intently and either beckoning his men on, or maybe calling on someone else to come and take a look.

These two also provide more interest in terms of their uniforms and equipment, and to give a better view these were the two I painted. The shots with the black backgrounds show them front and rear having been cleaned up and then coated with white primer. The commander’s paratrooper jacket is meant to be brown / sand / white camouflage, and his trousers and cap are khaki; perhaps you can just about see the red / white / green cockade on the cap. As seems typical for Hungarian officers of this era, he sports a moustache. The MP has a more straightforward all-khaki uniform, the cap having green cockerel feathers, and the coat red collar patches.

Conclusion

According to my references the uniforms look accurate, in fact perhaps the sculptor used the same book... A fair set of figures then in terms of sculpt and detail, though some of the detail is imperfectly rendered, which can make painting a tougher exercise, particularly when it comes to the faces. Some of the small details however are pretty good, such as the weapons and magazine pouches, and the hang of the slung equipment. Remember when looking at the photos that the originals are only 25mm / 1inch tall, and I’m the first to say that my braille figure painting skills are not top drawer.

These are obviously intended to provide company to some of Hunor’s armoured or softskin vehicles, but could equally be used with a German truck or a StuG III. In Europe much of Hunor’s range is readily available via Tracks-n-Troops.

References

Nigel Thomas and Laszlo Pal Szabo The Royal Hungarian Army in World War II (Osprey 2008)