Latest Additions

Time once again to update you on some of the latest additions to my collection

First up this time are some First Legion crusaders. Three Teutonic knights to be precise. These are currently the only Teutonics they do and, therefore, the only figures from this range I have bought so far, and the only ones I plan to buy as things stand at the moment

Teutonic knight menacingly swinging his axe

Teutonic banner bearer, complete with a rather battered and bruised shield!

Teutonic knight with sword

Close up of the banner bearer showing how the top part of the banner comes in the box, ie as a separate piece which simply balances on top of the banner pole when assembled

All three figures together

I like these figures very much. They're well animated, expertly sculpted and finely painted, as we have come to expect from First Legion, and certainly well worth the money. If I have one minor gripe, it's the fact that the bases on which the figures stand are all different in terms of how they are textured and subsequently painted. A little disappointing since it detracts from the overall coherency of the group

I have a similar concern to report on with the next of my recent purchases, the new Tiger tank from TCS. It's their version of the last Tiger 1 to be commanded by the legendary Michael Wittmann, the one he was killed in whilst fighting in Normandy in 1944, the tank numbered 007

Tiger tank 007, the tank commanded by Wittmann in August, 1944

It's a gorgeous model and comes with a driver [head and shoulder figure], commander, thrown track and an attachment that can be placed on the back of the vehicle to assist with the placing of additional 'tank jumpers', sold separately

However, being part of the latest range of CS vehicles, it has been built oversize or, as CS maintain, 'true' to the size that most 1/30th scale figures are currently being made at. In other words, it's more 1/28 than 1/30 and as such simply cannot be placed alongside any of their older vehicles, as the picture below more than adequately demonstrates

The new Tiger [left] alongside their previous Wittmann Tiger, numbered 222. A further consequence of the size differential is that none of the crew figures are interchangeable!

Finally, but by no means least, I bought the additional Panzer crew set comprising Michael Wittmann and three of his crew posing for photographs around his tank. It really is a lovely set and, in my opinion, better painted than many of the company's figures. I don't know whether I'm imagining that or not but it seems to me that this is a rather special set and they may have given it a correspondingly special paint job to boot!

Wittmann's pose in this set has been designed to mimic the one he took in real life as he sat for the famous propaganda photos taken shortly before the Villers Bocage action

Although designed to accompany the new 007 Tiger, I'm going to place these figures in a diorama posing for photos on and around the 222 Tiger, the one Wittmann took into action at Villers Bocage, shortly after the real life photos were taken

So, there you have it, a few more pieces to add to the collection. I'll keep you posted as their associated dioramas develop