Introduction

Apart from issuing impressive models of Soviet vehicles with full interiors from WWII and the Cold War with gargantuan numbers of parts, MiniArt (http://miniart-models.com) is also covering the diorama and figure market. I’ve reviewed their re-issued Russian tank crew kit before; this time I review their new modern Bundeswehr set. (I’m not familiar enough of modern uniforms to be able to say if they could be used as Dutch or other European tank crews; I would hazard yes, but I might draw the ire of German and Dutch tankers.)

Review

The model is packed in the usual envelope-style box; it’s good enough to hold the parts, but is quite flimsy. The assembly instructions and painting guide are on the back; they are pretty straightforward- although the camouflage painting WILL give you some headaches… people who come up with the modern camouflage patterns clearly do not have any consideration towards model builders. There are no decals or PE included with the set.

The quality and detail in general is excellent. There is very little flash, and the details are just delicate and fine. The faces look life-like and proportional, the hands have natural poses; all in all the figures are fine. (Interestingly some heads were moulded in profile. I’m not sure why MiniArt positioned them like that onto the sprue as it will necessitate removing the moulding seam from the middle of the face.) The folds of the uniforms and the pattern on the body-armor is also very good; I took some close ups with a macro lens to show off the detail.

We get four standing male figures (one casually holding on to a machine gun which is not included), and a sitting female (driver, perhaps?) fiddling with her earphones. The poses look natural enough to me. There are some really tiny and thin plastic parts included (as usual), but they can be easily replaced with wire.