| Date of Review |
March 2005 |
| Manufacturer |
Quarter Master's Depot |
| Subject |
35080, British 7th Armoured Division Insigina
35084, Canadian 5th Armoured Division Insignia |
| Scale |
1/35 |
| Pros |
Nice, clean and crisp shoulder flashes, stripes and "pips" make finishing 1/35 figures a snap |
| Cons |
Somewhat fuzzy on closeup examination, but most of us are not equipped with microscopic vision! |
| Skill Level |
Basic |
| MSRP (USD) |
Approx $10.00 each |
Alas, the Commonwealth. They tend to be the "Rodney
Dangerfield" of 1/35 scale armor as they rarely get any
respect, either from the manufacturers or the after-market
sector. Several years ago companies like Pre-Size and Archer
Fine Transfers began to provide waterslide decals for shoulder
patches and other markings for both US and German figures,
but the British and Commonwealth troops were more or less ignored.
Quartermaster's Depot has been issuing a number of waterslide
sheets to fill this gap, and these are two of their latest
efforts. Each sheet provides the shoulder flashes and unit
patches for the entire organic structure of the division listed
(by unit, not quantity!) as well as specific officer insignia
and stripes for enlisted soldiers. Insignia are provided for
private, corporal, sergeant and staff sergeant ranks (as well
as two specific branch sergeants, engineers and artillery),
and commissioned officers from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Colonel.
The 7th Armoured sheet provides patches and flashes for a
total of 16 different regiments or branches, and includes helmet
flashes. That for the Canadian 5th Armoured provides a total
of 17 different unit patches and flashes. The "facings" listing
below the picture presentation is an accurate term, but what
they mean here is the backing color for the officers' rank "pips" by
branch color. This will assist the modeler in getting the right
shoulder flash and "pips" together.
Alas, as a layman and US Army type I have little knowledge
of where these go and on what uniforms (especially the helmet
flashes) so I do wish QD had included a basic drawing and guideline
to get them on the right figure and right time frame.
Overall the quality is pretty good – under a jeweler's
loupe there is some pixilation of the insignia and they become
hard to read (but at still readable). On a model, most of us
do not have the level of vision that would make that annoying!
Thanks to Quartermaster's
Depot for the review samples.
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