Preiser HO Scale Tank Crew US Army 2000

I really like the Preiser figure sets in the smaller scales, as they are very sharp and well defined with a good number of optional poses. They are also about the only game in town, but if so at least they have brought their "A Game" to play.

About three years ago I went to work on a platoon (four) M1A1 tanks in the NATO standard camouflage and had a hard time coming up with suitable crews. The only figures available at that timer were the ROCO US Tank crew figures, part of a split set of modern US and Bundeswehr figures that had come out nearly 40 years ago. Somewhat short and stocky, they could still be moved around to fit the tanks and look acceptable.

Now Preiser offers this set, which shows figures in mostly modern desert camouflage but with judicious painting is good for the last 25 years. The kit comes with a total of eight figures in mostly relaxed or working poses.

Two of the figures are in the infamous (if you ever had to wear one, you know why) MOPP – Military Operational Protective Posture – chemical defense suits. They are at MOPP 1 (suit worn, and boots, gloves and mask nearby) in standing positions. One figure appears to be designed to sit on the engine deck of a ROCO M1A1 and if show any other way, um, would appear to be a bit odd. These are shown in their original OG 107 color olive drab and not the later CDU desert pattern.

The other six are in combat uniforms – either the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) or CDU (desert or "Chocolate Chip")  variants, based on paint. Two figures are loading M829 series sabot rounds into an M1A1, one is sitting, one is climbing, one is on one knee checking the tank, and one appears to be in hatch. Most have separate heads and arms, so positions and functions may be varied. However, unlike some other Preiser sets these are not provided with extra arms or heads so the choices are more limited.

Overall this is a nice set which will help get the most recent series of ROCO or Trident miniature kits to get figures that are at least as good as the basic model.