| Date of Review |
December 2006 |
| Manufacturer |
DML |
| Subject |
Gebirgsjaeger 1940-1941 |
| Scale |
1/35 |
| Kit Number |
6345 |
| Primary Media |
69 parts in grey styrene |
| Pros |
Uncommon subject given good treatment;
nicely done 5 cm mortar |
| Cons |
Some details skimped on |
| Skill Level |
Basic |
| MSRP (USD) |
$10.95 |
In 1986 I recall being down at the AFRC complex in Garmisch,
Germany, and discovering that the Germans had the Gebirgsjaeger
(literally mountain hunter) training school there next to the
US facilities. The Germans took great pride in their mountain
units, and even then kept much of the same uniform style (short
pants with knee socks) and their famous "Edelweiss" badges.
DML's latest figure set is of their linear forebearers, namely
four Gebirgsjaeger from 1940-1941. This is one of the conventional
DML sets, not Gen2, but is still a nice set with good basic
poses. All four figures come in combat uniforms with long pants
but with "bergsteiflen" or mountain boots. Two figures
are talking and observing, each wearing a different style of
mountaineer's jacket and with one of them gesturing with his
pipe. The other two make up a 5 cm infantry mortar team. Both
of them have the special carrier harness for the mortar and
ten rounds of ammunition on their backs.
These two are the more interesting, as they have to wear
their kit differently from normal German infantry and thus
are unique figures. They are more difficult to display, however,
as one is leaning up against the side of a hill to emplace
the mortar and his comrade is sprawled next to him to feed
him the ammunition.
The figures are typical DML "non-Gen2" types with
each one consisting of six basic parts – legs, arms,
torso, and head. As a result there is no definition to the
soles of their boots, which are actually quite rugged in appearance
with good-sized tread. There is no slide molding used with
this set, and only three single-piece Kar 98K rifles are provided
for weaponry. Also, the 5 cm mortar rounds are molded in bas-relief
in their case, which does not look very realistic. One does
have an entrenching tool carrier less the tool itself, which
also adds interest.
Overall, however, and with the usual excellent paintings
by Ron Volstad they can be made into a nice group with more
of a training aspect than some of the other sets.
Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.
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