Tristar's 1/35 German SPG Crew Vol. 2 By Don Barry

Tristar figure sets.

In recent years, Tristar has produced several figure sets and complete model kits. This is my first opportunity to use any of their products, though I have been able to examine them firsthand on several occasions. Therefore, I welcomed the chance to do so at this time. First, I will give a description of what is included in this kit then a review of highpoints and shortcomings followed by an explanation of how the figures were assembled and painted.

German Self-propelled Gun Crew Vol. 2

The kit provides 6 figures, 5 full bodies and 1 half figure, molded from the belt up. Two seated, full body figures of gunners are provided. Tristar suggests that they are for a Marder III and for a Nashorn (the figure illustrated with his cap turned backward), but they would be adaptable to many other gun platforms. Two standing loader figures are next, one holding a shell, the other pushing a shell into the breech of a gun. One full body figure is shown observing with binoculars at his eyes and a slight leftward lean incorporated into his pose. The sixth figure is an upper torso posed with his right arm down along his side, and the left arm bent at the elbow, as if resting his hand on a roof or hatch. He could be used as a driver with his head up out of his hatch, or in the hatch of a turreted vehicle. This pose seems a little more stiff and formal than the others, all of whom are in very natural positions, as if sculpted from photos of people actually doing something. Two spare heads with different caps are provided for the shell-holding loader and the half figure. There is also an alternate hand and left arm for the other loader, the fingers of that hand being splayed apart rather than in a fist. Five of the figures are sculpted wearing the short, double-breasted Panzer style jacket, worn with a belt. This jacket was worn by tank crews as well as self-propelled gun crews, differing only in the color. The figure standing and holding the shell wears the longer, single-breasted, 4-pocket tunic, without a belt. In my opinion this provides a nice contrast to the other figures. Another interesting touch, and one that shows that the designers did their homework, is that two figures wear the later style trousers which incorporated a large patch pocket on the left thigh. The pockets were well sculpted, differing in degrees of fullness and wrinkling. However, since I wanted to use these two guys in my Sturer Emil vehicle, and they would not have had those pants at that time, I removed the pockets prior to finishing these figures.
Numerous accessories are included, including 2 turned brass shells, a 75mm PaK 40/3 shell, and an 88mm round for the PaK 43 , these being appropriate for either the suggested Marder III or the Nashorn guns. Other accessories included are items of personal kit, including 3 holsters (closed) for P-38 pistols, one separate P-38, 3 MP-40 machine pistols, 3 Mauser Kar 98 rifles with the bolt/receiver group molded separately (and one of these has the bolt open and drawn back!), 4 each of helmets, mess tins, and gas mask canisters, and one extended wire stock for one MP-40 which does not have its stock folded under. The helmets show a subtle roughness suggesting non-reflective paint, though I'm afraid it will disappear when painted. A very nice detail nonetheless. Other molding subtleties await closer inspection. The gas mask canisters have the correct ridges around top and bottom. The mess tins are molded so that the seams follow the wire handles. They and the canisters, as well as the binoculars, appear to have been slide molded, so that these nice details are not marred by parting lines. The binoculars have recessed lenses on both ends. Very sweet indeed.
All parts except the two brass shells are contained on two sprues of medium gray plastic that is hard enough to take fine detail without being brittle. Each sprue was bagged separately, as were the two brass shells. All casting were extremely cleanly done, with no flash apparent, not even between the outstretched fingers on the loader's hands. No shrinkage dimpling or surface cracking was noted, not even on the thicker torso sections. Uniform details were crisp and clear, with buckles, badges and medals being clearly defined. Open shirt collars, scarves, and crew neck sweaters give each figure its own personality. Even the cuff ties on the pants worn by the Marder III gunner are clearly visible. All parts needed minimal cleanup, with two minor exceptions. A couple of the heads have rather large sprue attachments on the side of the cap, requiring the builder to recreate a portion of the cap folds and flap. The other minor problem is with the closed hands. For example, on the fist of the arm for the Marder III loader, the finger detail is virtually nonexistent. The fingers on some of the other closed hands also need a little refining. Not major flaws at all, just modeler nit-picking. All items and body parts appear in scale with each other, with the standing figures scaling out at approximately 5' 10"; perhaps a little tall but not overly so.
The collar tabs and shoulder boards on the uniform jackets are molded flat, so they could be painted in either Army or Waffen SS patterns, though the eagle patches molded on two of the figure's chests would have to be removed and replaced on the left arm. Painting examples are shown on the box for Army style collar badges and shoulder boards. Assembly options and a full color painting guide are provided, printed on the back of the box. Paint colors and numbers are given for Tamiya, Humbrol Super Enamel, Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color and Aqueous Hobby Color, and Mr. Metal Color paints. There are no photo etched parts or decals provided.

Assembly and Painting

All 6 figures went together as advertised, with no nasty surprises. Cleanup was limited to light scraping with a hobby knife and occasionally light sanding, with either sanding sticks or flexible pads. Leg-to-leg and leg-to-torso joints were tight and even, as were the arm-to-torso joints. The fit of the heads to the torsos was helped by a recessed area at the top of the torso, so that the neck fits down slightly into the body. None of the poses was modified for this review, so I don't know if swapping or modifying parts would cause any problems. No filler was needed on any of the figures. All were assembled with liquid glue, brushing a thin coat over the joint area after the parts were joined. Some joints received a light sanding after the cement had fully cured in order to eliminate any "squeeze out" caused during assembly. As mentioned earlier, some of the heads had rather large sprue gates on the sides of the caps which necessitated a little carving to restore the correct contours, but nothing major. After allowing ample time for cement curing, all 6 figures were primed with Tamiya flat white acrylic paint, XF-2. I generally undercoat my figures in water-based acrylic colors approximating the oil paint colors used for shading and highlights. All the figures had a hole drilled in them to attach a piece of paper clip wire to act as a handle during painting. Figures C, D, E, and F were then set aside till needed for photos. Figures A and B had previously had the large thigh pockets removed. These figures then received base coats of colors as close as possible to their intended finish colors. These were applied using either Tamiya or Polly Scale colors, most being Polly Scale as I find it more suitable for brush painting. Faces were next painted with artist's oil paints, after the eyes had been painted in acrylics. That way, if a mistake is made with the oil paints, it can be erased without ruining the eyes you have so carefully kept even and not crossed. The uniforms were handled the same way, acrylic undercoat followed by oil paint highlights and shadows. I like to vary the colors slightly from jacket to pants, figure to figure, to avoid a monochromatic look. Shoes and belts were done next, in the same manner as the faces and uniforms. The rank badges and final details were added last, in whatever type of paint seemed appropriate. This may seem to be happening rather quickly, but the painting process was spread out over a two week period due to work, etc. so different coats had lots of time to dry. The figures were assembled during the first week of December,and photographed on the 18th. The two finished figures will be seen again as part of the crew in Trumpeter's Sturer Emil, the subject of a future build article.

Conclusion

These are well sculpted, well molded figures, nicely proportioned and detailed. Each figure has a different facial expression, different clothing details, and an interesting pose, adding greatly to their desirability. The accessory parts are very well executed, and will be useful in filling out any German vehicle. In the past, modelers had indifferently sculpted and detailed injection molded figures, or sometimes worse ones cast in white metal. Then the superbly detailed resin figures appeared and raised the bar. Now the injection molded figure makers are striking back, producing products that rival the resin casters. The production team of Yoshitaka Hirano and Hiroyuki Nakada have made Tristar figures a force to be reckoned with in the modeling world, and these are no exception. Used as is, or as the basis for conversions, these are definite "must haves" for German armor modelers. I highly recommend these figures. I would like to thank MRC for the review set.