Any army needs some form of military police to keep order and ensure support services work well, and for the German army this was the job of the Feldgendarmerie. With the end of the Great War all such police units were disbanded and not reformed until mobilisation in 1939. Occasionally such individuals have been included in sets of general infantry, but this is the first time a set dedicated to this subject has been made in this scale.

As is usual with Preiser these figures come in a number of parts, and in this case each figure is made up of roughly six main parts. A great deal of extra equipment is also provided (see sprue picture), which allows a lot of variety in terms of kit carried, but the poses themselves are fairly well set (those shown above follow the recommendations on the packaging). Naturally combining with other Preiser sets will allow for more variety, but those on offer here are pretty good. The poses suggest no combat, which is what you would expect, but rather the more mundane duties that such men would be faced with on a daily basis. Many could simply be standing guard, while the fourth man in our picture is clearly on traffic duty as he is holding up a traffic wand.

The always good quality of sculpting from Preiser is repeated here once more, with good detail which is nice and clear. The multi-part aspect means all the poses are very natural, and the multitude of separate kit items allow great flexibility in how each figure is finished. The various parts go together well to, so as usual these are well produced.

For the most part the uniform and equipment of the Feldgendarmerie was much the same as that for the rest of the Army, and their unique role was identified by armbands and the distinctive gorget (as well as minor details not visible at this sort of scale). All the figures in this set wear normal German uniform with, in many cases, the gorget, while one separate gorget is also included to add to a figure. Two wear a greatcoat or similar, while one seems to have a slightly unconvincing Zeltbahn 31 shelter/poncho. The various kit items include all the usual equipment such men might carry, so everything here is quite accurate.

This is yet another aspect of the wartime German Army that Preiser have added to their range, and once again they have done a very good job. Putting the kits together takes some time, and you don’t get many figures in a box, but as display figures these take some beating.