Introduction

At the end of the First World War and with the limitations of the Versailles Treaty a large number of ex-soldiers joined the German police force. As time moved on the police were slowly taken over by the SA and later SS members the police and those officers who were not supportive of the regime were weeded out as undesirable. When World War Two started progressed large numbers of younger police officers were taken from the police force and placed in the armed forces, this drop in numbers required a large number of new police officers to be recruited and it was by and large the undesirable officers who were taken back in. It is also worth noting that due to most young men joining military service the average age of German police officers increased.

This set of figures from ICM represents three police officers performing traffic duties or after 1941 could be part Verkehrskompanie, the role of the Verkehrskompanie was to check that vehicles were fit for the road and being driven lawfully.

Contents

Inside a cardboard tray with a card lid you will find a single tan sprue packaged in a polythene bag and a sheet of paper instructions.

Review

Taking a look at the sprue the parts are all cleanly moulded with small gates joining the parts to the sprue. The gate connection for the arms is the only part that bothers me as it connects on the elbows, where as a connection point on the mating surface of the arm would have made life easier. I do have one other nit-pick which is that there are no parts numbers on the sprue meaning referral to the instruction sheet is required and the sprue layout and instructions are on opposite sides. I will say that in fairness to ICM is that parts placement does put each figures parts in the same area of the sprue. There are some very light mould seams that will need to be cleaned up, but these are placed in easy to get areas.

The uniform detail looks good with ICM having replicated the red German eagle on the left arm with a black swastika in slightly raised detail; it is important to point out that the eagles colour changed depending on the role the officer was employed in however the swastika was always black. The crease detail on the uniforms looks good and should look good with careful painting. The white jacket matches my reference very well and the long white duster coat shown on one of the figures is perfect for the officer on the podium giving traffic instruction. The epaulettes are again accurate and show two of the figures ranks as Oberwactmeister and the third figures rank as Hauptmeister.

Three of the flat peaked caps supplied in the set are in two pieces with the peak and band being separate from the top; this has allowed them to include some very nice detail at the front of the band. The belt buckle appears accurate where required and will require some careful painting to make the most of. One detail that appears to be missing is the metal police badge worn on the left breast pocket, however depending on the jacket being worn this detail would not be present, it is my opinion that this should be present on the two shorter white jackets. The hand and facial detail in this offering from ICM is very good which with a little minor clean up of the seams and some careful painting should look very good.

The two figures on which I have not commented on are because I cannot find anything that matches in my reference; this does not mean they are incorrect just that I have been unable to find specifics of them.

Build Review

I have assembled two of the figures in order that you can assess the fit of parts and general look overall. The two figures I have opted for are the officer directing traffic from a podium and the rotund officer who appears to be a member of the clergy judging by the cross on a chain around his neck.

Rotund officer
Removal of parts from the sprue of this figures parts is straight forward; but be careful when removing the torso as it is a tight fit. I also suggest that you do not try to cut the pieces free tight to them as it is easier to remove the remaining material than to add filler and damaged detail. The fit of parts is very good with very minimal filler going to be needed around the arm joints. The left arm, head and hat are only attached using PVA glue, so please take that into account when looking at the figure. I have done this as painting the torso and the book in the left hand along with the face will be easier.

Officer on podium
Removal of the parts for this figure was again easy, however I again advise that you do not cut the pieces free to closely to them. The seam lines are easily removed and some gentle scraping with a scalpel blade results in what I feel is a clean look to the parts. Assembly is again straight forward and no major problems were encountered, however the two lower halves of the coat do not meet up perfectly as the front of the coat is slightly wider than the rear; this is not a huge problem as it just requires a few gentle scraps to thin the front portion to match the rear.

Conclusion

One thing I did notice is that the rotund figure is smaller height wise which is a nice touch and a rare inclusion. Taking a look at these two figures I am happy with the results and they provide an unusual set of figures that I am sure will prove to be very useful for those modellers who like their dioramas. These are an interesting and novel figure offering which are also very well detailed which go together well.

Reference Material

World War II German Police Units Live links