WARRIORS [ MORE REVIEWS ] [ WEBSITE ] [ NEW STORIES ]

In-Box Review
135
British SAS Crew
British SAS Crew Western Desert, 1942
  • move

by: Alan McNeilly [ ALANL ]

Introduction

I picked this set up a couple of years ago. The figures were sculpted by Brian Stewart and the painting is by Young Won.

Always a popular subject these two are shown as an SAS crew in a diorama by Ken Schwartz.

The set

The set contains two figures and comes in an extra large plastic box with a coloured cover picture to aid painting and the manufacturers details on the top. Both figures were in a zip plastic bag inside the plastic snap box.

The figures are cast in a light cream resin and the set consists of 9 parts in total, the figures with body and head cast as a whole, separate arms for each figure, separate pistol holsters and a mug for the upright standing figure.

The figures require minimal clean up although there was a small air bubble in the elbow joint of one of the arms and under the shorts with some seam lines that need to be removed from both figures inside the leg area.

Figure 1 – SAS Standing Trooper

This figure consists of 5 parts. The body, head and legs case as a whole with separate arms, pistol holster and mug for the proverbial cuppa!

The figure is dressed in a bush jacket, and KD shorts and is wearing sandals. The bush jacket would most probably have been a locally made garment, based on the Indian style of KD Bush Jacket and privately purchased as these tended to be best dress jackets. I’ve see a variety of styles and this looks to be a good representation of the jacket, but signifies this trooper as an Officer. The order of dress is well done with nice folds and natural creases in the uniform.

Around the waist the figure wears a 37 pattern belt and comes with a closed pistol holster. What’s missing here is a small ammo pouch for above the holster. The brasses on the belt front are well done, no buckles are present on the rear.

The desert sandals, or chapplies, were standard issue and are nicely done.

On his head the figure wears a Gutrah and an Ogal, the band that kept the Gutrah in place. This was a style of traditional Arab Headdress but the forces were issues with a cloth that was sand coloured rather than white. The Ogal tended to be black so options as to how you might finish the headdress exist.

The face shows quite a heavily bearded mature looking man.
Around the neck is a scarf and to finish the figure you get a mug of tea to attach to his right hand.

Figure 2 - SAS Trooper with left knee raised

The figure consists of 4 parts, the body and head cast as a whole, with separate arms and a pistol holster.

This time dressed in a KD shirt with rolled up sleeves, and what could well be Bombay Bloomers, given the size of the turns up on the shorts. Hose, ankles and ammo boots complete the dress. The order of dress is well done with nice folds and creases in the uniform

Around the waist is a 37 pattern belt and a closed pistol holster is provided but again the small ammo pouch is missing. The brasses on the belt front are well done, no buckles are present on the rear.

This figure sports a similar headdress to figure 1 and also a beard, although not quite so thorough as the first chap. The face is well done with the mouth open in the act of speaking. Around the neck is a sweat band.

Conclusion

Two very detailed figures, doth nicely depicted in different styles of desert uniform. The detail looks good, and only a few small areas needing filled through air bubble damage.

The full beards indicate that they would have been in the field for some time and whilst they do add to the figures I would have preferred a shaven face on one for contrast.

Both figures have nice folds and creases in their uniforms and should paint up really well. They may be of interest to stand alone figure painters or as vehicle crew for others,

I like the interaction between the two, but not the similar headdress and beards. The chapplies are a nice touch on the standing figure. They could also be used as LRDG troops if necessary. No goggles come with the figures and you may want to add a set as these were standard issue both to the SAS and LRDG troops

The standing figure comes in at 41mm from heel to shoulder and 51/52mm from heal to top of head so a very acceptable size. The body proportions also look very good to me.

These two should add some nice detail to any desert scene you might have in mind. Normal precautions apply when working with resin.

I have added a couple of pics of the built figures with some base paint on to give you a better idea of the detail. The additional small ammo pouches are from the Resicast 25.5528 UK Infantry Equipment set.
SUMMARY
Highs: Excellent detail, good poses and varied orders of dress.
Lows: Some air bubble damage to fix, but nothing serious. No small ammo pouches for the webbing.
Verdict: Highly Recommended.
Percentage Rating
88%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 35249
  PUBLISHED: Oct 09, 2010
  NATIONALITY: United Kingdom
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.73%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 83.67%

Photos
Click image to enlarge
  • move
  • move
About Alan McNeilly (AlanL)
FROM: ENGLAND - EAST ANGLIA, UNITED KINGDOM

Greying slightly, but young at heart. I've been teaching adults off and on for most of my life. Left the services in 85 and first started modelling in about 87 for a few years. Then I had a long spell when I didn't build anything (too busy) and really just got started again during the summer of ...

Copyright ©2021 text by Alan McNeilly [ ALANL ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Good review Al. I would prefer if the heads were seperate- I can see why they aren't but the figures would be more versatile if they were.
OCT 09, 2010 - 08:21 AM
Hi Pat, Agreed, it's a problem with this order of headdress. Cheers Al
OCT 09, 2010 - 08:37 AM
   
ADVERTISEMENT


Photos
Click image to enlarge
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
ADVERTISEMENT