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.
Contents
Here we have a set of 10 plastic figures that depict U.S. soldiers riding inside one of those “Higgins” boats. Italeri’s instructions shows 15 configurations that can be built from the set, but only ten figures can come out of the set. Here is a list of the figures that can be built:
GI Standing
GI Ammo Bearer
Assault Pioneer w/Bangalore Tubes Set
30. Ammo Bearer
NCO Configuration
GI Sling Arms
BAR Gunner
.30 Gunner Configuration
Officer Configuration w/M1 Carbine
60 mm Mortar M2
60 mm Mortar M2 Assistant
4.2 Rocket Launcher M1A1 “Bazooka”
M2A1 Flame Thrower
SCR-300 Radio Operator
.30 Assistant Gunner
Review
The kit comes with four sprues molded in gray plastic. Two sprues are the figures and the other two sprues are the weapons and gear. There are no part numbers on the sprues with the figures nor the instructions, but the weapons and gear have part numbers.
Heavy mold lines can be found on all the parts, so clean up will take some time. On a good note, the sculpting on the heads, upper torso, and legs is well defined. The sculpting is not resin quality, but you can tell where straps, pockets, etc. are.
Once put together, the waist line or where the pistol belt should be is very thin. On some of the figures, the ammo pouches hide that issue, but there are not enough pouches for all the figures. Putty will be needed to fix large gaps between arms to torso and torso to legs. Sanding will also be needed to fix where the arms meet the upper torso.
Conclusion
Weapons and gear are nicely done but not enough are on the sprues. What I mean is if you wanted your officer, radio man, and flame thrower gunner to have a .45 holster, they can’t because only two are provided. The same goes with the .30 Cal ammo boxes. Only two are provided, so you can’t build the Ammo Bearer and the Assault Pioneer because three boxes are needed between the two of them. Last, the tubing provided for the flame thrower hose is too stiff. As you can see, not even super glue held it on and it damaged the gun when it popped off.
Every one has mixed feelings about Italeri kits, myself included. In my opinion, this kit will have those mixed feelings. Experienced modelers won't like them because of all the clean up and very limited use.
Highs: Your parts box can be filled with the extra gear and weapons that won't be used.Lows: This set is very limited to what it can be used for. Even though you will have extra gear and weapons left over, there is still not enough of some of the weapons and gear provided in the kit. Verdict: This is not up to the standards of current available products.
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About Pete Becerra (Epi) FROM: TEXAS, UNITED STATES
I am 48 years of age. I have been modeling since I was around 8 years old. As you can see from my signature, I am retired from the US Army and Texas Army National Guard. I served 6 years in active duty from 1989 to 1995 and in 1998 I joined the Texas Army National Guard and been serving up unt...
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?)
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.
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...
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