Hobby Boss- German Africa Corps
NOTE-- Rifle slings are NOT included in this kit- you'll need to make or source your own!
I have to be honest- before this shipment came in, I was not even aware that Hobby Boss made figures. In this case, these are actually Tristar figures that have been reboxed by Hobby Boss. I have some Afrika Korps builds in the blender that is my brain kicking around, so these looked like a nice way to fill out a scene or two. The instructions, as they are, consist of the back side of the box- showing assembly and painting instructions. the main uniform color is a mix of three different shades...but I made life easy by ordering a custom DAK paint set from AK Interactive. Color codes are included for Mr. Hobby, and Acrysion, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya, and Humbrol. Inside the box you get four tan sprues as follows...
First sprue up is an equipment sprue with Kar98 rifles, MP40s, helmets, pistol, gas mask canisters, binoculars, and ammo pouches. Flash is evident on some pieces- especially the helmets.
Second small sprue is for the MG42 and assorted accompanying parts, including ammo cans. Not so much flash here...
The next sprue consists of 2 of the 6 figures and assorted gear like bread bags, spades, ammo pouches, canteens, and another pair of binoculars.
The largest sprue contains the remaining 4 figures and their gear.
Assembled Figures
You will have to excuse the decapitated appearance of these figures as I like to paint my heads separately... just a quirk. First one up is one carrying two cans of MG42 ammo. The box art shows a rifle slung around his front side as he does so, but you will have to make your own sling if that is what you want. Detail is nice here and there and there are some gaps that'll need some putty. Definitely some mold lines to subtract as well...
Next up is the driver-- pretty good addition to your desert vehicles if you so desire.
Another soldier carrying an ammo can, and the MG42 over his other shoulder...and more nasty mold lines. Get your sharp X-acto ready!
Next up we have a soldier looking to be mounting a dune or some sort of obstacle...and more gaps.
This soldier is posed to have his rifle strapped over his shoulder and his helmet under his hand...
And lastly-- someone who appears to be directing traffic in some way...
Painted Figures
I'll put these in the same order as above to cut down on repeating myself and boring you. Needless to say, the figures that are meant to be holding rifles aren't in the painted shots as I am waiting on some German rifle slings from MJ Miniatures to arrive and they aren't here yet. When they are, I'll post on the Facebook page some updated photos. My painting skills are not nearly there as it were, but I am learning every day.
Ammo packhorse
Driver
MG42 Gunner
Climber
Walker
Traffic Cop
Conclusion
If you are looking to crew up your DAK vehicles or tanks, and missed these figures the first time around, you can't go wrong with these. This is definitely some flash here and there as well as some seams to remove. Gaps are evident in places as well. However, the poses are quite unique and the facial expressions makes these stand out. Most figure sets include 4-5 figures, but this set has six which is plentiful to use for even 2-3 different scenes. The price is excellent for what you get and everything looks pretty good painted up if you'll excuse my amateur skills- but every set I do improves the skill set.
Recommended for modelers looking to crew up their Africa Corps builds.
Thanks goes out to MRC and Hobby Boss for this review kit.
Reviewed by Michael Reeves, AMPS Albany
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