Alpine Miniatures
35010

This tanker, sporting an M1 "grease gun" hanging from his neck and Colt automatic on his hip, is another nifty figure from Alpine Miniatures. Taesung Harmms has again sculpted a fine figure, his weight realistically set back on his right leg. The soldier grins, possibly at some prisoners he and his buddies have just taken.

Over his winter combat jacket, the GI wears the second version winter trousers, combat pattern, introduced in 1942. Similar to bib overalls, this version is distinguished from the first pattern by the addition of an off-center zippered fly.

Unfortunately, this figure shares the same problem as the first of Alpine tank crew, that of the large raised seams running up the outer legs and through the seat and, in this instance, up the back as well. As seen in Government Issue Collector's Guide from Histoire & Collections, these seams are just a thin puckered stripe, rather than a long raised tuft. And they are not to be mistaken as molding seams, which are faintly evident elsewhere on the legs. If you choose to remove the errant seams, make sure you do not clean off the flare from the open pocket on his left hip.

There is one slight omission to note in an otherwise well-defined and accurate representation of the combat trousers: the missing snap tabs that helped close off the roomy openings around the ankles. This figure has the snaps on the backside, but not the tabs.

The body and right arm are molded as one piece, the right hand clasping the grease gun handle. The remainder of the gun and left arm are separate pieces. Again, this set comes with two head options: one with an M1 helmet on top of a wool cap, and one with a tank helmet over the cap. The texture on the gloves suggests privately procured knit wool rather than the issued woven wool gloves with the leather palm. The soldier scales to just under 6' tall.

With the exception of the left arm and the machine gun barrel and magazine piece, the parts are free of flash and there are no air bubbles. Rank chevrons are molded on the sleeves, and may be removed and replaced with decals or transfers.

This figure is also paired in Alpine's WWII US Tank Crew Set (35011) with the WWII US Tank Crew #1 figure (35009). But it's not necessary to limit them to crewing a tank. They would also be appropriate with a Greyhound or even as winter infantry during the Bulge.

Product sample provided by Alpine Miniatures.

-tss-