Previous sets in this series from Plastic Soldier have generally included four guns, often with optional parts, plus a crew of six or so to man them. With this particular product you get only two guns, but you also get a towing vehicle and occupants. As always we will look past the vehicle kit and concentrate instead on the figures and the gun.

The gun is the British 6-pounder anti-tank gun. This was designed before the war, but initially the in-service 2-pounder could handle the armour it faced so there seemed no pressing need for the larger weapon. The disaster of the campaign in France in 1940 meant large numbers of guns were necessary to replace those left behind, and as production was already in place for the 2-pounder, that weapon was manufactured, despite rapidly becoming obsolete. The 6-pounder only started to appear at the end of 1941, after which it rapidly replaced the lighter weapon and became the standard anti-tank gun of the British infantry for the rest of the war. The USA was also looking for a similar sort of gun, so were provided with detailed specifications by the British and produced what was virtually the same weapon, which they named the 57mm M1.

The gun in this set is a pretty good representation of the 6-pounder. As usual it has been simplified to a degree, particularly the firing mechanism, but no more so than many other kits, and the general appearance is very authentic. The kit itself comes with alternative wheels and an alternative barrel, which if used make it the American M1. The difference in the wheels is slight, however, and the barrel is much the same except the American version is slightly longer and has no muzzle brake – we have pictured the British version. The kit goes together quite well, and makes a very satisfactory model, although unfortunately there are no instructions on how assembly is achieved, nor any clear picture of the model, so you have to work it out for yourself. There is a nice clear diagram labelling the parts on the sprue, although this does not reflect the actual layout or contents of the sprue itself.

The six crew figures (in five poses) are all kneeling, as you might expect, and include a man pointing, one with binoculars and three with empty hands which can be holding ammunition or operating the gun. All these poses are realistic and useful, and all have some element of assembly which helps keep the poses nice and three-dimensional. Generally the parts fit together pretty well, while the hard plastic means ordinary poly cement creates a good bond.

All the crew wear steel helmets with netting and scrim, and have something of a later war look to them, which fits well with the dates for this weapon. They have normal battledress of course, so there are no problems with uniform, but kit is not so rosy. They all have a canteen with twin horizontal bands round it – nothing like the webbing cradle or pouch that was actually used, and one has an ammunition pouch where it couldn’t possibly be – on his right hip. The officer has a pistol holster, which is fine, but one man has a grenade attached to his webbing, which seems odd for a soldier primarily manning a gun.

The towing vehicle also has the pictured figures associated with it – the soft top is removable, allowing the figures to be placed inside. As is so often the case with vehicle crews, these are all very stiff and pretty lifeless, keeping their arms and legs well tucked in so as to make it easier to place them in the vehicle. The driver is pretty specific to this sort of vehicle, but the others have some scope for use elsewhere, so while nothing to arouse much interest these are useful figures properly done.

The sculpting is pretty good, although some of the gun crew are moulded in profile, which means there is a certain loss of detail on the chest. Detail is OK, but there is a little flash in a few places, and we found some small cavities where air had been trapped in the mould. None of the gun crew come with bases, and only four of the five poses can be persuaded to stand as a result – all quite precariously - so a trip to the spares box will be in order for many customers.

Generally this is a nice kit with nice figures, which are let down in small ways but nothing too serious. The lack of instructions will make the gun difficult for unsupervised children, but the set includes a good number of shells, empty shell cases and ammunition boxes plus other small bits. A useful set of British gun crew and vehicle riders with some nice equipment kits.