1940 BEF tank crew

Kit # WFM72004

Wee Friends has started to re-release CMSC's metal figures. I think this one used to be set DF05 and is now in Wee Friends' catalogue as WFM72004.

We can be very happy that Friendship Models chose to resurrect this line as these are wonderfully sculpted items (by Tony Boustead). As with almost all metal figures, a seam line is present, but this is very minor and should be easy to remove with a hobby knife. No other casting defects were found in the metal figures. Detail is abundant and facial expressions among the best I have seen in this scale. About the scale: they are labeled as 1/76, but their anatomy and size leads me to believe they would be perfectly suited for 1/72.

You get five figures:
- a figure lying on his back with his beret over his eyes.
- a figure standing casually, holding a cup, presumably with tea. Two optional heads: beret or dress cap.
- a figure sitting. Separate arm. I guess the resin crate and the pack and tea cup would fit best with this figure. A mess tin with a small stand underneath to represent the cooking frame (Hexy burner) is also included.
- a figure hammering away (at the tracks ?). Two separate arms.
- a figure holding a chisel, kneeling. Separate arms.

I am in no way a specialist when it comes to uniforms of His Majesty's Army, even less so when it comes to the early war years. (I hope to remedy that one day - and will update this preview accordingly.) What I can say is that all the details are superbly sculpted and that the poses are very natural. They would fit perfectly in a small vignette... if only there was some choice of early WW2 allied armo(u)r.

Sample kindly provided by Ian Hanratty of Wee Friends.

Article Last Updated: 17 May 2010