WWII U.S. Army Infantry GI Set

Tamiya, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Cookie Sewell

FirstLook
 
When Tamiya started its now famous Military Miniatures line in 1968 there were very few separate sets of figures for military models available. Revell had a set for its 1/40 scale vehicles and Monogram had a set for its “3/8th Inch” (1/32, but closer to 1/35 in those days). Each one had about 18 figures in various positions, mortar and machine gun teams, and action poses. While Revell had one for WWII era troops, Monogram’s was more of a post-war nature with M14s and M60 machine guns.
 
Some of the first sets released by Tamiya as part of the new line – and including the fact that many of their vehicle kits came with one to six figures – were for tank crews and infantry, starting with US and German ones. While this was heralded at the time, it was not long before many modelers realized there were some odd things about the sets starting with the fact most of the figures turned out to only be about 5’2” high in scale (1.57 meters) and many were quite stocky. This lasted until late in the 1990s before the figures began to grow and “lose weight”, now being well proportioned.
 
While the first armor kits from Aurora in the 1950s were 1/48 scale, other than a sudden push by Bandai in 1973 to release new 1/48 scale models little was done until the early 2000s when a new resurgence from Tamiya and others focused interest on this scale once again. While in some respects it was to go with their 1/48 aircraft, this time Tamiya “got it right” and the figures were far better molded and proportioned than the first 1/35 scale ones.
 
This set was number 13 in the new series and provided 13 WWII GI infantrymen and two tank commanders in one set.
 
  Most infantry figures all wear leggings and either an M1941 or M1943 field jacket, which matches well with historical data; three of them are in winter wear with long coats. They also all are provided with M1 helmets, M1 rifles, M1A1 submachine guns, BARs, a rifle grenade launcher, a bazooka and an M1917 .30 caliber machine gun, plus packs, canteens, bayonets, grenades and other details. Positions are all action positions so no “garri-troopers” in this box!
 
One tanker has a tanker’s helmet and is a half figure for a driver position in a vehicle; the other is a commander with M1 helmet.
 
No decals are provided so any move to get unit patches or rank insignia are up to the builder.
 
Overall this is a great starter set for a 1/48 WWII diorama.

 
Sprue Layout:

X             53 x 2       Weapons, infantry kit, bazooka, machine guns
Z              18           Four figures
Z              41           11 figures

Purchased by reviewer

Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited