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MiniArt: US Army Drivers
CMOT
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ARMORAMA
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Posted: Saturday, August 08, 2015 - 10:08 AM UTC


MiniArt has announced their ‘US Army Drivers’ figure set as in progress, so with luck this set should be available soon.

Read the Full News Story

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
M4A1Sherman
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Posted: Saturday, August 08, 2015 - 08:05 PM UTC

Quoted Text



MiniArt has announced their ‘US Army Drivers’ figure set as in progress, so with luck this set should be available soon.

Read the Full News Story

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!



Good news for WWII US fans! 3 of these figures can easily be altered or converted into WWII US Marines...

I'd like to see US Army and Marine Infantry in various guises: Squad on patrol, Chow line, "At rest" in various poses- reading mail or a book, eating, cleaning weapons, sleeping, engaged in conversation, in "route march", etc... Kind of tired of the same old "action poses".

A squad posed in various different casual poses seated in a Deuce-and-a-half or the larger US Army/US Marines would be nice, especially since we now have more of these to choose from. Would be nice to see all of these guys in the earlier M1938 LEGGINGS, including the Marines, who were issued leggings right up to the end of the war...

Opinions? Other suggestions? MINIART, MASTER BOX, ICM? Various resin manufacturers could also get into the act: ALPINE, EVOLUTION, TANK, VERLINDEN, etc...
jrutman
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Posted: Saturday, August 08, 2015 - 09:20 PM UTC
It's very nice to see a new set of GIs no matter WHAT they are doing! Nice job Miniart.
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TimStreeter
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 04:17 AM UTC
I'll use the guy with the air pump to fix those low front tires on the Dragon half-tracks!
erichvon
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 04:18 AM UTC
What action poses? There aren't that many really. Four boxes of US Marines and maybe half a dozen ETO and not that many of those are in firing positions. At least two boxes are running up a beach! I agree that there is a need for daily routine type poses but most inert figures can be modified to do more or less anything. These look to be nice figures but not something that I'd buyas they're too task specific. They don't really lend themselves to being modified that easily.
hanb7323
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 11:21 AM UTC
Anyway I will modify this figures little bit for my D7 tractor. Hhhhhh
165thspc
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 07:23 PM UTC
Looking good and I like the idea of doing a chow line and/or taking five reading mail or eating out of a mess kit, etc.
M4A1Sherman
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 07:34 PM UTC

Quoted Text

What action poses? There aren't that many really. Four boxes of US Marines and maybe half a dozen ETO and not that many of those are in firing positions. At least two boxes are running up a beach! I agree that there is a need for daily routine type poses but most inert figures can be modified to do more or less anything. These look to be nice figures but not something that I'd buyas they're too task specific. They don't really lend themselves to being modified that easily.



The kneeling guy, the guy with the fuel can and the driver can be easily modified into US Marines- all you have to do is change or re-configure the headgear. The kneeling guy and the re-fueler can be changed by substituting HORNET US Tanker Heads for the kit-supplied heads to convert them into US Army or US Marine Tankers. That these figures are depicted in HBT clothing, lend themselves to a lot of different possibilities.

With a little bit of work, the dedicated figure modeller can convert these figures into nearly anything the imagination can come up with. A classic example of this kind of work would be the MASTERBOX "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE" D-Day, June 6, 1944 Infantry set, which also lends itself to nearly limitless permutations. Personally, I never build ANYTHING "straight out of the box". Anything and everything is subject to improvement or alteration in my book...
M4A1Sherman
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 07:40 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I'll use the guy with the air pump to fix those low front tires on the Dragon half-tracks!



I agree that DRAGON's US Half-tracks' front tires are over-exaggerated as far as the "low air pressure" and "bulge" are concerned. However, if one goes to the museums or to WWII reenactments which feature US Half-tracks, you'll find that there really IS a slight "bulge" and flattening of the tires, even when inflated to the proper tire-pressure. The same holds true of any military "wheeled" vehicle...
M4A1Sherman
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 07:47 PM UTC

Quoted Text

What action poses? There aren't that many really. Four boxes of US Marines and maybe half a dozen ETO and not that many of those are in firing positions. At least two boxes are running up a beach! I agree that there is a need for daily routine type poses but most inert figures can be modified to do more or less anything. These look to be nice figures but not something that I'd buyas they're too task specific. They don't really lend themselves to being modified that easily.



MASTERBOX, MINIART, VERLINDEN, and TAMIYA, to name but a few, have marketed quite a few US Army Infantry and US Marines in "action" poses. Just go on any site, especially ebay, and you'll find US WWII figures in "action" poses to your heart's content... I've got at least ONE set of each, and MANY duplicates of the same...
M4A1Sherman
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 07:49 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Looking good and I like the idea of doing a chow line and/or taking five reading mail or eating out of a mess kit, etc.



YES-YES!!! Seems like we agree on most everything! THANKS, Mike!
bill_c
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MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 09:12 PM UTC
I'll buy at least one set.
erichvon
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 10:13 PM UTC
Dennis you miss my point. My comment about kinetic poses was in response to your original post. There really aren't that many "in action" sets. By "in action" I mean firing a weapon, running, in cover etc. Like yourself I very rarely build a figure straight from the box. In the Arnhem dio I did recently there were 6 figures out of the box. The other 30 were conversions or had extensive surgery. As you say Verlinden do a lot, however it goes back to the age old scale problem with their figures as they're 54mm not 1/35th so look ridiculous if mixed in with mormal plastic or resin figs in 1/35th. I think one of the problems these days is manufacturers tend to release figure sets to complement their vehicles that they've released thus making them very purpose specific. In some respects that's great news with the Allied tank crews that Miniart brought out but as you say it would be nice to see some sets come out where the figures are literally doing sod all in fairly generic poses so that they can beused for a multitude of purposes. A bloke standing still could be used for queuing for rations, on stag, traffic point, chatting to a mate etc. If that were the case then the possibilities are endless. Some of the best figs I've seen like that was a Preiser set of Germans resting. The options with them was unreal. Trouble is Preiser don't do much and are difficult to get hold of, fantastic for spares as well. I may start a thread on this to see what poses people would like to see.
erichvon
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Posted: Sunday, August 09, 2015 - 10:46 PM UTC
Well I started a thread so I/we don't hijack this one but I have no idea where it's gone? I didn't select a discussion group at the top as none of them fitted ( I just clicked "the post a question" bit at the bottom of forums on the front page started the thread, clicked okay and it appears to have vanished. Help please! Anyone! lol
RECON22
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Posted: Monday, August 10, 2015 - 11:42 AM UTC
These aren't HBT's.....could be modified to replicate with some work but these are tanker/ utility overalls...!
HBT fatigue pants have their own shaped style pockets without the gusset in the middle of the pocket.
Nate_W
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Posted: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - 01:35 AM UTC
Nice kit for the Allied softskin clans. I get the philosophy of use here but it's not for me. I suppose I draw from my experience sculpting and, like almost all of us, rarely building right from the box. I have such an appreciation for in action poses because I feel like I can easily sculpt relaxed poses where 'in-action' (sprinting, covering and firing from different positions) is so very difficult for me to capture in an organic way. Organic being the key term here. I can create guys sitting, standing or tinkering with tools or a vehicle and it looks fairly life-like. Sprinting and firing..not so much. I've also found Allied uniforms easier to modify and create than a lot of the German ones. This is why Ive frequently brought up my thing for late war Germans in action. Sculpting a group of Germans firing and running in baggy smocks and zeltbahns is very difficult. Good kit though! I'm sure it's of Miniart quality and will be very useful to those who are into American leisure poses and these uniforms.
M4A1Sherman
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Posted: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - 05:25 PM UTC

Quoted Text

These aren't HBT's.....could be modified to replicate with some work but these are tanker/ utility overalls...!
HBT fatigue pants have their own shaped style pockets without the gusset in the middle of the pocket.



I did say that these figures can be "modified" into US Marines. What I neglected to say is that some puttying/sculpting would be involved. There is plenty of reference material out there that can be used to replicate the differences between US Army Tankers' HBT coveralls and the two-piece USMC "Utilities". Early on, the US Army ALSO used 2-piece Utilities, which were a bit different from the USMC-style, notably in the "TORCH" invasions of North Africa...
M4A1Sherman
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Posted: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - 05:33 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Dennis you miss my point. My comment about kinetic poses was in response to your original post. There really aren't that many "in action" sets. By "in action" I mean firing a weapon, running, in cover etc. Like yourself I very rarely build a figure straight from the box. In the Arnhem dio I did recently there were 6 figures out of the box. The other 30 were conversions or had extensive surgery. As you say Verlinden do a lot, however it goes back to the age old scale problem with their figures as they're 54mm not 1/35th so look ridiculous if mixed in with mormal plastic or resin figs in 1/35th. I think one of the problems these days is manufacturers tend to release figure sets to complement their vehicles that they've released thus making them very purpose specific. In some respects that's great news with the Allied tank crews that Miniart brought out but as you say it would be nice to see some sets come out where the figures are literally doing sod all in fairly generic poses so that they can beused for a multitude of purposes. A bloke standing still could be used for queuing for rations, on stag, traffic point, chatting to a mate etc. If that were the case then the possibilities are endless. Some of the best figs I've seen like that was a Preiser set of Germans resting. The options with them was unreal. Trouble is Preiser don't do much and are difficult to get hold of, fantastic for spares as well. I may start a thread on this to see what poses people would like to see.



I'm with you there, Karl! The PREISER sets are really nice for plastic figures, but I wish they'd go ahead and do some US/ALLIED figures in the same vein as their German ones.

I'd LOVE to see "casual" WWII US Army, USMC, British/Commonwealth figures from PREISER, but also from the more "mainstream" manufacturers as well- i.e- TAMIYA, DRAGON, MASTERBOX, MINIART, ICM, ALPINE, etc...
165thspc
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Posted: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - 05:37 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I'll buy at least one set.



Ditto - I will need these for my Motor Pool and Maintenance bay!
long123
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Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2015 - 01:46 PM UTC

A squad posed in various different casual poses seated in a Deuce-and-a-half or the larger US Army/US Marines would be nice, especially since we now have more of these to choose from.
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