Plastic Soldier Review - Revell Africa Corps

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Revell

Set 02513

Africa Corps

All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets)

Stats

Date Released	1994
Contents	50 figures
Poses	12 poses
Material	Plastic (Medium Consistency)
Colours	Tan

Average Height

23 mm (= 1.66 m)

Review

The Afrikakorps needs no introduction as it is one of the most famous armies of the Second World War. It was only natural, then, that as Revell made a special effort to produce a wide range of figures for that conflict, these soldiers from the deserts of North Africa should appear.

The extreme conditions faced by these soldiers are reflected in several of the poses Revell offers in this set. The man carrying a tank of water would have been a necessarily familiar sight, as would the man drinking. However these two figures make up 20% of the total number in this set, which seems excessive as most customers would wish to use this set for combat models. The man walking with rifle shouldered wears his greatcoat, which was a very important item, particularly during the extremely cold nights. The prone rifleman is worth mentioning as he has been done side-on to the mould, and on a gentle slope, making a much better model than the more usual 'flat-out' pose. The heavy machine gun crew is reasonable, though the ammo belt being held by the second man is not being fed into the gun.

The uniform worn by these men is an interesting mix. Several wear the high-laced leather and canvas tropical boots which were initially worn by all ranks but were quickly replaced by more practical ankle boots as worn by the rest of the figures. Many wear the standard steel helmet, but several wear the instantly recognisable tropical peaked field cap - both were common, and are therefore authentic. The greatcoat that has already been mentioned is correctly sculpted and is a worthwhile inclusion in this set. The man wearing it may well be on sentry duty, so the coat is very appropriate for the pose. None of the men who are obviously in action are wearing shorts. Shorts were comfortable and popular, but they were not permitted when in the front line, so their absence is correct, though to what extent this regulation was obeyed is unclear. Webbing too is correct on all the figures, with the appropriate ammunition pouches being worn for the type of weapon used.

The weaponry is a fair mixture of rifles and machine guns plus one man with a grenade. The officer has a pistol, and the man firing the heavy machine gun is similarly armed, which is correct.

These figures have no flash and no ugly unwanted extra plastic. The detail is excellent and the sculpting good and realistic, though there are one or two problems such as poor or indistinct facial features (the man with grenade has no face at all!). The standard Revell 12 poses does not compare well with other Afrikakorps sets, particular when two are taken up with the heavy machine gun and two more are clearly 'out of the line'. We also felt there were too many men with the short-lived high laced boots. Still there are many good things in this set, which is a well observed representation of its famous subject.

Ratings

Historical Accuracy	9
Pose Quality	8
Pose Number	8
Sculpting	9
Mould	9