Dragon Advance to the Rhine: US
1st Army at Remagen 1945 (6271)
by Frank De Sisto
1/35th-scale injection molded styrene plastic. Contains: 139 styrene
parts and a small decal sheet, plus a one-page full-color assembly and
painting guide. Price: unavailable.
Although DML are well-known for the incredible variety of the German
WW2 figure sets they manufacture, they still continue to present interesting
Allied WW2 subjects at a slow, but steady pace. This new set is a case
in point as it represents US Army troops as they would have appeared during
the closing months of WW2 in Europe. They are also applicable to post-war
use and the Korean War.
The set contains a total of six figures including three riflemen, a medic,
a radio operator and an officer. These last three could easily represent
a platoon’s command group. The radio operator and the medic may
be a first in plastic in this scale and will lend themselves well to many
a diorama or vignette.
Figure 1 depicts a standing rifleman with his M1 Garand slung over his
right shoulder. He wears a long trench coat and is equipped with a cartridge
belt and gas mask case. Figure 2 is the officer, who is down on one knee,
surveying the area to his front with binoculars. He is armed with an M1
carbine and holstered M1911A1 .45 cal. pistol. He is equipped with a map
case and a binocular case. Figure 3 depicts a radioman in the act of operating
his SCR 300 “walkie-talkie”. He is also down on one knee,
is armed with an M1 carbine and is obviously a companion for the officer.
Figure 4 represents a medic with full equipment. He is standing casually
and has decals to mark his helmet as well as arm-band. Figure 5 holds
his M1 rifle in his right hand, while gripping his harness with his left.
Figure 6 is also a rifleman who holds his weapon at-the-ready in both
hands.
All figures wear the later style M1943 lace-up combat boot with integral
strap-fastened gaiters, while all except figure 1 wear the later M1943
sateen jacket and trousers. They all carry a canteen and can also be equipped
with an entrenching tool, bayonet in scabbard and gas mask container.
Some can also wear an ammunition bandolier. The weapons include four M1
rifles, two M1 carbines and a pair of M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifles
with separate opened bipods. These last are not specifically for this
set, but can easily be used by any of the riflemen, provided the appropriate
ammo pouches are sourced from the spares box.
Overall, molding is well done on the figures, with the man in the trench
coat having separate “tails” for the proper appearance. The
weapons and equipment are crisply molded. Three of the helmets have netting
on them while all have chin straps molded on their rims. The instructions
and painting guide are combined on a single full-color sheet, with colors
referenced to Gunze and Testors paints.
This is a very complete set, which only lacks photo-etched weapons slings
for that final touch. Eduard has such a set available (TP-500, also reviewed
by me here on ML), which will be an excellent addition to these otherwise
fine figures. As DML sometimes includes photo-etch parts in some of their
figure sets, perhaps this is something for them to ponder for future releases.
All of those who lament the relative lack of decent plastic figures of
Allied troops in this scale will certainly appreciate this set. There’s
more to come!
Highly recommended.
Reviewer’s note: Since May of 2005, I have been working on books
for Concord Publications, a sister company to DML. The reader may wish
to take this into consideration. For my part, I will attempt to maintain
an objective viewpoint when writing these reviews.
DML kits are available from retail and mail order shops. For details
see their web site at: www.dragonmodelsltd.com.
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