Introduction

This is one of the first releases of an interesting co-operation between the Italian manufacturer Pegaso and the U.S. manufacturer VLS Corporation. Under the title of 'Platoon', this is a range of 1/35th scale resin figures covering WW2 subjects of all nationalities. The masters and moulds are done in Italy and the marketing is carried out by VLS.

The figure

PT-021 - Russian Tanker In Spring Dress 1940-42 is a 1/35th scale resin figure which is sculpted by Kwangyeol Lee. The figure comes in kit form, consisting of only five parts. The figure is moulded in a light, cream-colored resin. The figure comes packaged in a small box with the parts inside a 'jiffy-bag'. On opening the package, protection seemed sufficiently adequate as it had come from California (via England) to Spain with absolutely NO damage whatsoever to any of the castings.

In Detail:

Once again, with these kind of reviews it is useful to look at the various aspects of the figure and finish the review with an 'overall' evaluation.

The figure is portrayed wearing the early (and pre-) war 'jodhpurs' and the tanker's 'blouse'.

The subject: Perhaps it's because I do a lot of Soviet armor, and I do review a lot of Soviet AFV Crews, however, although its always good to get Soviet figures, there is perhaps a suggestion that every manufacturer seems to producing similar figures. I'm not complaining, but the Soviet Early-war tanker, has been pretty well-covered by a number of manufacturers. Perhaps some more in winter-dress would be more welcome?

Casting: The figure's seperate components come attached to fairly substanstial mould blocks, however, these are this enough to be easily removed without destroying the detail. Casting is frankly faultless. No mould lines, minimum cleaning-up and no evidence of air-bubbles whatsoever. There are some VERY delicate areas which would normally create problems - in particular the right hand which has spaces between the fingers(!).

Uniform Creases: Nicely 'under' stated and nicely sculpted. There is no evidence of one of my personal 'hates' - the overly sharp and geometric creasing which exists on many figures.

Facial details: The face is nicely enough done although a careful touch will be required when painting as the detail is adequate but perhaps a little understated.

Headgear: The figure is cast wearing the leather Soviet tankers helmet with side flaps hanging. These flaps are superbly done and hang perfectly. What doesn't (entirely) convince me is the rear of the helmet, which was of a more tapering form towards the back, giving some additional protection to the neck. The portayal of this helmet is round rather than tapering.

Uniform Details: Again, subtlety is the name of the game here. Detail is present without being overpowering - demanding a delicate touch when the time comes for painting.

The Pose: The figure is presented in a another of those relaxed poses, left hand on the belt with the right arm bent in the act of smoking. It's a pose which does work, but it does mean that you can't use any more than one of these figures in a diorama or vignette...

Size: The figure is not the biggest on the market and may well be dwarfed by other 1/35th scale figures. More perhaps on the scale of the Tank or Tristar range rather than DML, Warriors or Mig Productions. This is not a problem although I would personally use a modicum of care when positioning them with other manufacturer's ranges.

Conclusions.

It's a VERY nice figure indeed. Particularly noteworthy is the 'delicacy' of both the casting and sculpting. The quality of the resin is also worth a mention here. There are one or two areas which don't entirely convince me - the pose in particular, although it has to be said that the 'anatomy' of the figure is excellent. The figure is a quality product which will, with careful painting and construction add a nice component to any diorama or vignette.

Acknowledgements:

Armorama would like to than the VLS Corporation for supplying the review sample.