Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Benbros - Toy Soldiers

Benbros was a British toy firm based out of Walthamstow. As the name suggests, it was founded by two siblings, Jack and Nathan Benenson. Even though the firm was founded in the late 40s, it did not adopt the Benbros name until 1951, and it continued to operate well into 1965. Benbros was not just a toy soldier manufacturer. They also made metal die cast models of cars and farm equipment which they released under several brand names such as Zebra Toys, Qualitoys, TV Series, and Mighty Midgets. In terms of toy soldiers, they made both lead toy soldiers and later on, plastic figures. Their range included cowboys and indians, Robin Hood and his merry men, British Grenadier Guards, and Modern British Infantry figures among others. Speaking of the British Modern Infantry set, at some point it appears that Timpo sold its plastic molds to Benbros which has lead to some confusion about who made what figures. The situation is more confusing because many of Timpo's figures are the same as Herald's and UNA's. I am not sure if they also purchased the same molds, or if they cloned each other's figures, but the result is that there are several makers of the same figures which sometimes makes it challenging to identify their origin. I only have a couple of Benbros figures in my collection. Let's check them out. 

Benbros Modern British Infantry
Benbros Modern British Infantry
These are reproductions of the Timpo/Herald/UNA British Infantry. Their most notable characteristic is that they don't appear to come factory painted as the Timpo/Herald/UNA guys did. Other than that, they look much the same.


Introducing the Greek Infantry

The Greek Army during WWII was a relatively modest formation. At the start of the war, after mobilizing its reserves, it was able to field a force of 430,000 men. They were organized into 6 infantry divisions, 9 mountain divisions, 1 cavalry division, and 4 mountain brigades. By March of 1941, its army had grown to 540,000. Unfortunately, it did not have any mechanized units, other than a pseudo division of 2000 conscripted garage mechanics serving a 'force' of 24 light tanks/tankettes. Their Air Force was not much stronger, with only 44 fighters in its ranks. I suppose the Greek General Staff calculated that the mountainous terrain guarding the Greek borders made mechanized warfare impractical, and decided to focus its doctrine on mountain warfare. As we are about to see, this turned out to be correct against the Italians, but failed terribly against the Germans.  
The participation of the Greek Infantry during WWII can be divided into three phases. The first phase, starting on Oct 28, 1940, when they were fighting off the Italian invasion, which they did quite successfully. During this phase, the Greek Army switched from a defensive stance into the offensive. After just one week, they had already pushed the Italians back into Albania and for the next few months Italy was on the ropes until Germany came to its rescue. The second phase, started on April 6, 1941, when the Greek Army faced off against the German Army. This was entirely a defensive operation, fighting desperately on their own soil for their homeland. Unfortunately for them, the Greek and British Armies were no match for the German Blitzkrieg, which at the time was in high gear, wanting to get the campaign over as quickly as possible to avoid impacting the planned invasion of the Soviet Union that summer. The Greek Army surrendered just two weeks after the invasion began. Part of the Greek government and its Army escaped with the British into the Middle East, from which they were able to regroup and continue the fight. The third phase of the war was their contribution to the rest of the Allied war effort, fighting along them in North Africa and the Italian campaign. The invasion of Crete happened between May 20 and June 1st 1941, so even through the Greek Army was still defending its homeland at that point, Greece had already capitulated to Germany. So depending on how you want to account for this action, this could be part of the second or the third phase. All in all, even if the fighting spirit of the individual Greek soldier was high, the performance of the Greek Army as a whole was suboptimal. In terms of toy soldiers, we now have one set representing the Greek fighters. Let's take a look. 

Plastic Platoon Greek Infantry
Plastic Platoon Greek Infantry
When I heard that Plastic Platoon was coming out with Greek troops, I was very excited about it, as I expected them to do as great a job as they had done with their prior sets. I have to admit however that I was a little disappointed. It was great that they chose to make Greek troops, which until now, had not been paid attention to in the hobby. But it would have been good if they had made at least eight poses or so. Instead, PP chose to release three other figures representing Greek Partisans to round up the set. That essentially gave us too little of both. As far as the three Greek infantry figures go, they are well made and I do like that one of them conveys the emotion that must have overcome them as an army of Paratroopers suddenly dropped on them.


Thursday, December 26, 2019

Guilbert - Toy Soldiers

I really don't know much about Guilbert. All I have been able to glean is that they were a French manufacturer. They apparently made a diverse range of figures such as Musketeers, Cowboys and Indians, Knights, and even some WWII-like figures. At least some of their figures date back to the 1960s. Many of them are stamped Guilbert on the bottom side of the base. If you do know more about them, please leave a comment.

Guilbert Modern Infantry
Guilbert Modern Infantry

I came across this guy by chance and I only found out who made it thanks to the markings on the base. I initially had mistaken this figure for a WWII GI, but Brian, one of our readers, pointed out that they are actually French Modern Infantry figures, which at the time used weaponry very similar to that used during WWII. When I googled around to learn more about the set, I only found a couple more poses that look similar to him, however, according to the reference site provided by Brian in the comments below, the set contained 12 figures. In terms of the sculpting, I personally like the stance of this figure. He is walking but he definitely seems to be leaning into some action. 



Introducing the Imperial Japanese Paratroopers

The Japanese Imperial Paratroopers were a unit within the Japanese Air Force. In Japanese they were known as Teishin Shudan -Raiding Group-. Japanese paratroopers had been around since the 1930s, but given the success of the German Fallschirmjaeger in the early stages of WWII, the Japanese took notice and created a small division-size unit of Teishin Shudan with two regiments of troopers. they first saw action in February of 1942 at the Battle of Palembang. In 1943, they added gliders to their transport, which allowed them to fly in light tanks into battle with them. Given the expense of training these units, and their relatively high casualty rate when dropped behind enemy lines with little support, these troops were used sparingly by the Japanese, and their role was primarily that of elite infantry. In terms fo equipment, They initially wore a padded leather helmet, but later that was replaced by a steel helmet, and in fact, there are photographs of Japanese Paratroopers wearing the German Para helmet. Their headgear had a distinctive yellow star on it. As far as toy soldiers, nobody had depicted Imperial Japanese Paratroopers in 1/32 plastic until now. Luckily for us, Mars released a set recently. Let's take a look!

Mars Imperial Japanese Paratroopers
Mars Imperial Japanese Paratroopers
Now, here's a set that is new and unique. And you can tell that these guys truly are imperial paratroopers because of its distinctive headgear which has wide straps to secure the helmet in place during the drop. Plus a few of them are still wearing their jump suit/smock. This is one probably my favorite set from Mars. The poses show some action, they are engaged in combat, the range of weapons includes a mortar, flame thrower, a sub mg, a pistol, plus several carbines... All in all a good mix to drop behind enemy lines!

Introducing the German Luftwaffe Field Division

The Luftwaffe Field Divisions were units of the German military that were assembled from surplus Luftwaffe personnel, mostly ground crews, and used as regular infantry troops primarily on the Eastern Front. The first Luftwaffe Field Divisions were raised in late 1942. Rather than incorporating these units into the German Army, Hermann Göring insisted in keeping them under the command of the Luftwaffe. All together about 20 divisions were put together, totaling almost a quarter million men. The performance of these units in the battlefield was poor, given their limited training as infantry. So much so that the Soviets sometimes targeted them in their attacks, recognizing them as the weakest link. This was made easier by the fact that the Luftwaffe Field divisions wore a distinctive field blue uniform. About a year later, command and control of these divisions passed to the Heer, and Army officers were incorporated into their ranks. Many of these divisions were decimated so badly that they ended up being dissolved and the surviving troops were absorbed by other units. In terms of plastic toy soldiers, they had not been represented until Mars recently released a set. Let's take a look. 

Mars German Luftwaffe Field Division
Mars German Luftwaffe Field Division
Not much to tell them apart from regular infantry or, even trickier, from Waffen SS. When I have seen them in pictures, they are usually wearing cammo smock or the tent quarters, which is what several of these guys are wearing. In general, a set with a good degree of action and combat poses. Given the terrible casualty rates that they suffered, I suppose it is fitting that they included a figure getting hit.

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Introducing the German Naval Infantry

The German Naval Infantry were mostly late-stage war units assembled from Navy personnel. At that stage of the war -February/March 1945-, the surface boats of the German Navy could no longer venture out to sea, and German ground forces needed additional man power desperately, so many sailors were incorporated into the Wehrmacht. Two divisions were constituted that I am aware of, the 1st and 2nd Naval Infantry Divisions. A third one -the 11th- was in the process of being formed, but never fully materialized and it was disbanded before the war was over. The Naval Infantry troops fought in Northern Germany, as might be expected given the fact that these units were formed close to ports, and that at that time, all fighting took place within German territory. The performance of the German Naval Divisions was generally poor, given their lack of proper training in infantry tactics. Naval Infantry units were more effective under fortified conditions as was the case in the defense of the fortified port of Swinemünde by an adhoc force of sailors and Army personnel. One unit of German Naval Infantry troops which was properly trained for ground assaults and was effective in its role was the Marinestosstruppkompanie, a group of 230 men which was used in raids such as the attack on Westerplatte, the occupation of Gdynia, and the battle of the Hel Peninsula.

Mars German Naval Infantry
Mars German Naval Infantry
Another set that I have not seen manufactured before. Not sure if these guys are meant to represent the Marinestosstruppkompanie, or whether they were surplus sailors which had been repurposed as ground infantry, as was the case with the Luftwaffe Field Division. In any case, it is an interesting and unique set. In terms of the sculpting, this set is pretty decent, although the poses could be a bit more dynamic. 

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Introducing the German Panzergrenadiers

The German Panzergrenadiers or PzG, were a the mechanized infantry branch of the German armed forces during WWII. They did not exist at the beginning of the war, at least not with that designation. Many of these units evolved from regular infantry, to mechanized infantry, and then in 1942, they were designated as Panzergrenadiers. The reason to do so, was to afford them greater status within the armed forces, as historically, particualrly during the times of Frederick the Great, grenadiers were regarded as the strongest and largest men, because of their role as assault troops. Pansergrenadier units existed within the German Army (Heer), the Waffen SS, and even the Luftwaffe. Some of these units were fully mechanized, and transported in halftracks (Sd Kfz 251) into battle, but that was only 11% of them. The rest were transported in trucks. Theoretically, a PzG division was supposed to have a battalion of tanks and six battalions of mechanized infantry, however in practice, given the shortage of tanks, many of them were equipped with mechanized anti-tank guns. Some famous PzG divisions were the Grossdeutschland (Heer), Brandenburg (Heer), Liebstandarte (SS), Totenkopf (SS), and the Herman Goring (Paratroopers). Several volunteer divisions of foreing troops were also raised to be PzG units, like the Wallonien and Nederland divisions. 

Mars German Panzergrenadiers
Mars German Panzergrenadiers
If not because of the name, it is hard to tell that these guys were mechanized infantry. But they are still a nice set that could be used to augment your regular German infantry, or Waffen SS. The best pose is clearly the mg gunner resting his weapon on his mate's shoulder. Unfortunately, it is pretty hard to line up the figures. At best, the muzzle is right behind the front man's ear, which would have been terrible in real life. Also, this set does have a man 'running' which is better than some of the other sets in which everyone is standing, however the running pose could have been sculpted leaning forward a bit more in my opinion. Still a good set overall. 

Introducing the Panzer II

The Panzer II was a light tank of the German army. Designed and built during the mid to late 1930s, it was a version derived from the Panzer I, with a larger turret and main gun, conceived as a stop-gap measure while the Panzer III and Panzer IV designs made it into production. Nonetheless, it was built in large enough numbers (1856 in total) and was the main battle tank of the German army in the early years of the war, seeing action all the way to North Africa. It was armed with a 20mm main gun, and a 7.9mm MG34. Its crew consisted of three men. A driver on the left side, a radio operator/loader sitting behind him, and a commander sitting in the turret, who also aimed and fired the two guns. The front armor was initially 14-15mm, but later models Ausf D/E and F had 30mm and 35mm of front armor respectively. Even then, that was not sufficient to survive against contemporary anti-tank guns with armor-piercing shells. The tank was powered by a 138hp engine, which gave it a maximum speed of 25mph. Its range on-road was 120 miles, and off-road it was 78 miles. It was initially phased out by the Panzer 38(t) and later by the Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks which had more powerful main guns, and thicker armor. Its chassis lived on as part of tank destroyers like the Marder II and the Wespe. 

Eagle Design 1/30 Panzer II Ausf F
Eagle Design 1/30 Panzer II Ausf F
I am not aware of any Panzer IIs from 21C or FOV, so it was a nice surprise when I ran into this model from Eagle Design. The scale is supposed to be 1/30, but it fits really well with 1/32, I guess because the tank itself was relatively small in reality. Eagle Design, built it quite sturdily, and it feels like it is all made out of metal. Even the tracks -although that also means that the tracks do not move. All else, the turret, guns, antenna, hatch, have nice degrees of movement. The price was a bit steep though, so I won't be trying to assemble a platoon of them any time soon. 

Introducing the Panzer 38

The Panzer 38 (t) was a light tank designed by the Czech company ČKD in the 1930s After the German annexation of the Sudentenland (in 1938) and subsequently, the rest of  Czechoslovakia, the German army incorporated this tank into their arsenal under the designation Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t), the letter t being the first letter in tschechisch, the German word for Czech. The Panzer 38 was considered superior to the Panzer I and Panzer II which made up most of the armored ranks of the German army at the time. About 1400 of them were produced up to 1942, when they were no longer deemed a match for the medium Soviet tanks like the T34. In the meantime, they saw action during the invasion of Poland and France, and the early years of the war on the eastern front. The Panzer 38 was armed with a 37mm gun, and two 7.9mm machine guns. It was operated by a crew of 4: commander & loader in the turret, and driver (on the right) and radio operator/machine gunner (on the left). The commander was also the one who aimed and fired the main gun. The maximum thikness of the armor (in the front) was 25-30mm in the earlier models (Ausf A-D), and it was increased to 50mm for the Ausf E model (and G as well). Its 123.3 hp engine provided it with a maximum speed of 9 mph off-road, and 26 mph on-road. The Panzer 38 had a good reputation for reliability and ease of maintenance. After production stopped, its chassis was still used for other vehicles, such as the Marder, the Jagdpanzer 38, a Flakpanzer 38, and even a reconnaissance vehicle,  the Aufklärungspanzer 38.

21st Century Toys Panzer 38 (t)
21st Century Toys Panzer 38 (t)
The 21C Panzer 38, does not only represent a light tank, but it is also literally, a light tank. Made up entirely of plastic, it feels quite underweight in your hand. As is the case with other 21C tanks, the tracks move, as does the turret, although this one catches a bit the tools on the side. Also the machine gun in the turret moves along the vertical axis, but the one next to the driver is fixed. This Panzer 38 came with the antenna a bit bent, but other models have it straight. I did not bother to straighten it out as I feel it gives it character, and I did not want to risk it breaking off. All in all, this is not a very common model to run into, so I was happy to be able to add it to the ranks of my German army.


Saturday, December 21, 2019

Introducing the PAK 36

The PAK 36 was a 3.7 cm caliber weapon. It was the main anti-tank gun in the German Army until mid 1941, when given its inability to deal with the soviet medium tanks like the T34, it was replaced by the PAK 38 which fired a 5cm shell. The PAK 36 was initially issued in 1928 and first saw combat in 1936 during the Spanish civil war. It was also used by the Chinese against the Japanese where it was a lot more effective neutralizing the lightly armored Chi-Ha tanks.

Forces of Valor PAK 36 (with CTS crew)
Forces of Valor PAK 36 (with CTS crew) - Part 1
This PAK came with the kfz 70 truck which was used to tow it.

Forces of Valor PAK 36 (with Italeri crew) 
Forces of Valor PAK 36 (with Italeri crew) - Part 2
Here's a better picture of the gun. The CTS gunners were holding ammo that was too big for it. These Italeri crew guys are better fitted for this smaller gun, and the picture does show a bit more detail.

Forces of Valor Sd Kfz 70 as Artillery Tractor
Forces of Valor Sd Kfz 70 as Artillery Tractor - Part I
The same chassis as a regular kfz 70, but this time a different configuration on the back, adapted to carry a bunch of ammo boxes for the PAK 36 which it is towing behind. I did not show it in this picture, but it is also possible to load the PAK on to the back of the truck, with the wheels resting on the middle seat and the tip of the gun pointing back. In such case, you can't have the men sitting there. 

Forces of Valor Sd Kfz 70 as Artillery Tractor
Forces of Valor Sd Kfz 70 as Artillery Tractor - Part II
Here is a shot with the PAK deployed. This is BTW, the only PAK 36 that I have come across, so it was a nice extra that came with the truck. Unfortunately it does not come with an artillery crew.



Introducing the German 7.5 cm IG 18 cannon

In German this is called the 7,5 leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18, or 75mm light infantry howitzer. It was designed in 1927, so I am not sure where the designation of 18 comes from. In addition to the version used by the regular infantry, a couple other variations were made for Mountain Troops and Paratroopers, both of which could be disassembled into multiple pieces that could be carried/dropped into battle to be reassembled on the spot. The version made for the Paratroopers did not have a shield. I can imagine that the aerodynamics of dropping that from an airplane and having it land predictably had something to do with that decision. Weighing close to 400kg, it could be dragged/pulled into position by 3or 4 men. It could fire a 6 kg shell, up to 3.5 km away.


21st Century Toys 7.5cm IG 18 cannon and crew
21st Century Toys 7.5cm IG 18 cannon and crew
 This particular set from 21C toys is a nice addition to the collection, although the gun feels a bit brittle. The range of movement is not great and it feels like you might break it if you press too hard. The figures are versatile enough that they could be reassigned to operate other German guns. It also comes with a base of cobblestone surrounded by rubble that gives it an added dose of realism.

Warhansa - Toy Soldiers

Warhansa is a toy soldier firm based out of Russia that sells resin figures in 28mm and 54mm. Somewhere I read that they are more like a consortium of sculptors that bring their figures to market through this firm. That could explain the eclectic mix of periods and sculpting styles in their range of figures. They go all the way from fantasy/sci-fi to historical sets, and their periods cover ancients, knights, western/indians, all the way to WWII. Unfortunately their selection of WWII figures is very limited. They have only released Soviet Infantry and German Paras, of which I only have the latter. Let's check them out. 

Warhansa German Paratroops
Warhansa German Paratroops
This set is OK, but in the context of Plastic Platoon's recent German Paratroopers releases, it has a high bar to match. The poses are a bit static, the figures feel slightly chubby, maybe because the oversized weapons required bigger and thicker hands. And the material is a bit too shiny for my taste, although that's something that will be taken care of once they are painted. Anyhow, I am glad that Warhansa has added some more figures to the range. And on a positive note, I do like the expression of the officer quite a bit.

Warhansa Soviet Infantry - Defenders of Brest
Warhansa Soviet Infantry - Defenders of Brest
These figures are only OK in my opinion. I feel that the body language lacks the sense of urgency and action that you might expect from men who are fighting with their last resources, against the odds, as the weapons and the wound suggest, and as the story of the Brest Defenders goes. The main thing to like about these figures is the material. It is a very solid plastic. Firm, but not hard. The one touch I did like quite a bit is the hair style of the wounded man. Well done. 

Warhansa Soviet Infantry - Nameless Height
Warhansa Soviet Infantry - Nameless Height
This set is named after a Russian WWII movie. I have not watched it so I don't know if the figures depict any specific events from the movie. And speaking of movies, the man with the rifle above his head reminds me very much of Ron Perlman in Enemy at the Gates. I wonder if that was intentional. Maybe not the resemblance with Ron Perlman, but to depict the same features that made Ron a good cast for that role. Other than that peculiarity, this set, like the one above, is OK, but not great, and at $30 for 4 figures, it's only a set I purchased to fill a hole in my collection.