Introduction

SKP Model are properly best known for their lenses released for a number of models using photo etch and clear coloured lenses. Look a little closer and you will find a number of resin products including full kits; however in this case it is their resin figures that we are interested in. On this occasion it is called 'Tobruk' and features a World War 2 British Tommy sat against a road marker.

Review

This offering from SKP Model is provided in a nicely proportioned cardboard tray and separate cardboard lid with a print of the finished figure on it. Inside there is a single Ziploc plastic bag containing all of the resin parts. There are no instructions for this one and they are not needed as the image itself does a good enough job of directing the placement of parts.

Inside the Ziploc plastic bag we find a large casting that provides a vignette base with the body of the figure and milestone in place. The arms and head of the figure are supplied separately and should not cause any issues when adding them to the body. In addition to these parts there are the figures SMLE and a water canteen. The stance of the figure is natural for someone who is extremely tired and is getting settled in order to catch a few minutes well earned sleep.

The figure is very nicely proportioned for the period of history and is depicted wearing standard issue trousers and what I believe is a long sleeved shirt rather than the smock most commonly seen. The arms of the figure look good to me but the left hand has not been moulded and so a replacement will be needed in this case. The puttees have extremely subtle detail which I feel looks good. The boots are also rather nice as far as detail is concerned. A close look at the figure under magnification and photographs reveals to me that the hand looks to have been broken off, most likely during removal from the mould. I also found two small air bubbles, one of the rifle and the other on the left shoulder. Both are very small and should be very easy to remedy.

The crease detail present looks very good and should show up really well with careful painting. The face of the figure is very well moulded having all of the needed features including the back of the ears which are often missing or poor on many figures. I really like the angle of the steel helmet on this figure as it give the figure a human quality and something that grabs your eye and draws you in. The hand that is present is well done, but the finger detail appears to be on the light side.

The SMLE 303 rifle looks very good, but of course there is no hollow in the muzzle that does need to be replicated in my opinion. The water canteen looks very good having a nice scale particularly where the neck is concerned. Having locations on the base for the placement of these items is a good idea.

The stone marker is a nicely proportioned structure for the figure and vignette. I like that the stone is stepped at its base as it adds visual appeal, there is nothing on the marker to specifically identify or tie the figure down to the Tobruk region of North Africa and so I feel you could depict different areas of the world. The base is a basic lightly textured surface with an indent between the feet for the butt of the rifle and another on the left side for the water canteen.

Conclusion

This little vignette from SKP Model in 1/35th scale has a beautiful simplicity to it, that I feel will make it stand out amongst other figures in a show. The details are very good, but I worry that a product gets through minus detail such as its hand. The only moulding issues I observed in addition the hand are air bubbles on the underside of the base and these should not be of concern to anyone, of course if air bubbles are present this is where you would want them and they are reasonably small. I did find two other very small ones under magnification. The aspect that really grabs me is the jaunty angle of the steel helmet that just really appeals to me as a viewer.