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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.