Belgo 1/35
Gestapo Figure in Civilian Clothes

Background

The Gestapo (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei, “secret state police”) was the official police of Nazi Germany. The name itself came from the official abbreviation of Geheimes Staatspolizei Amt (GeStaPA) and soon became Gestapo. Under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel (SS), it was administered by the Reichsscherheitshauptamt (RSHA) head office of the Reich security service and was considered a dual organization of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) security service and also a sub-office of the Sicherheitpolizei security police.

The role of the Gestapo was to investigate and combat “all tendencies dangerous to the state”. It had the authority to investigate treason, espionage and sabotage cases, and cases of criminal acts on the Nazi Party and Germany.

Laws passed in 1936 effectively gave the Gestapo carte blanche to operate without judicial oversight. Nazi jurist Dr. Werner Best stated that “as long as the Gestapo carries out the will of the leadership, it is acting legally”. The Gestapo was specifically exempted from responsibility to administrative courts, where citizens normally could sue the state to confirm to laws.

The Kit

Belgo, I have been told is long out of business. A firm, based in Stewartville, Minnesota, that calls itself The Lost Battalion owns Belgo’s molds and has redone some of them in resin. My figure is cast in white metal.

This figure is of a Gestapo agent in civilian clothes. He is wearing a brimmed hat and a long leather overcoat. He is in a standing pose with his hands in his pockets and one leg is slightly raised as if he is starting to take a step.

The figure is molded as all one piece. It has a mold seam running up both his sides, over his ears and around the center of his hat. There are a couple of lumps of metal under the arches of his shoes. The little color photo on a card installed in the cello bag with him shows an oval base plate to mount his leg to. However, my figure is missing this piece.

The figure comes in a stapled cello bag that is attached to a folded over card with Belgo’s Logo on it. The bag contains the figure, the card with the photo of the figure made up and painted and a sheet listing what colors to paint parts of him:

Soft hat: Black or dark gray
Hatband: Black
Shirt: White
Tie: Black
Overcoat: Dark gray or black
Shoes: Black leather

I got my kit willed to me by a very good armor modeling friend, who died of cancer about 8 years ago. He passed along all his AFV kits, after-market accessories and his AFV detail after-market company to me. He was one heck of a modeler and won big awards for his entries at a lot of IPMS contests. I miss him.

Conclusions

This figure is fairly good molding. However, still needs the mold seam cleaned up – along with the lumps removed from the arch area of the bottom of his shoes. Recommended.

I have been informed by the owner of The Lost Battalion Company that this figure may appear again someday in the future. Other single figures in the ex-Belgo line sell for around the $9 USD price.