US 101st Airborne Officer
35275
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show the figure with 2 different heads.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
US 101st Airborne Trooper #2
35276
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show the figure with 2 different heads.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
US 101st Airborne Set #2
35277
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show 2 figures with 2 different heads each.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
(2 figures)
For review for you today we have a set of two 35th scale figures from Alpine Miniatures. Both of them are cast in light grey resin with the choice of two heads apiece and both of them depict soldiers from the 101st Airborne during World War Two. Taesung Harmms has sculpted both of these figures, and they are sold as separates or as a set. We will look at both of them alone, the weapons and equipment they carry before we look at them as a pair and how they fit together as a set.
First, a short history of the 101st Airborne Division, the " Screaming Eagles" parachute division...
U.S. 101st Airborne Division Shoulder Flash.
The 101st Airborne in WWII.
The two 35th scale paratroopers belong to the US 101st Airborne Division in WWII. This unit is one of the most famous of the US divisions during the war and it is still in service. This unit was made even more famous of recent times by the Mini-series "Band of Brothers", this unit had many famous images attached to it from the battlefields of France, Belgium, Holland & Germany during WWII.
The 101st American Airborne Division officially activated on August 16, 1942, and made its debut at the base of Camp Claiborne, in the State of Louisiana, later moving to Fort Benning, Georgia where the division trained before moving to the UK in time for the D-Day invasion of the European continent.
This shot of "Ike" talking to the troops before D-Day is perhaps the best known of the 101st during the war.
On the night of June 5-6, 1944, the paratroopers of the 101st jumped into Normandy to seize a variety of bridges, strategic junctions and villages, in order to secure the western allied invasion flank as part of Operation Overlord. Above the Cotentin Peninsula, the C-47 aircraft the 101st travelled in were heavily targeted by the German Flak, many aircraft were hit or forced to fly low or off course and so many of the division did not land in the right place. Some more than 20 kilometres away from their drop zone.
Paratroopers of the US 101st Airborne Division holding a Nazi German flag captured in a village near Utah Beach, Saint-Marcouf, France, 8 Jun 1944
Operation Market Garden was a large airborne and ground offensive in Holland, which was planned to allow the Allies to seize the bridges on the Rhine. Launched on September 17th, Market Garden 20,000 allied paratroopers jumped into the Dutch sky. The 101st is responsible for liberating several cities (including Antwerp) and villages ensuring the front line. The unit suffered several casualties in this operation, mostly from German counterattacks.
Men of the 101st Airborne Division inspect a broken glider, September 1944 during Operation Market Garden.
In December 1944 A fresh German counter-offensive was launched. The "Ardennes Offensive", the "Battle of the Bulge" or in German "Wacht Am Rhein" saw several elite German divisions counterattack between the US and Commonwealth forces in a dash for the Elbe river. The 101st was thrown in to combat to help shore up the line around the Hurtgen forest and the crossroad town of Bastogne. Isolated from help for several days, short on food, suitable clothing and medical supplies, the 101st division suffered extreme cold and the German onslaught but refused to surrender. When offered an honourable surrender by the Germans a now-famous was given my General McAuliffe (pictured below).
To the German Commander.
NUTS!
The American Commander.
Two soldiers of US 101st Airborne Division manning a forward post near a road, near Bastogne
A staged picture from the soldiers of Bastogne
"The Battered Bastards of Bastogne" as the 101st called themselves.
On to Germany & War's end.
In April 1945, the 101st Airborne Division was sent to Germany to clean up the resistance pocket in the industrial region of the Ruhr. The Allies decided to leave the city of Berlin to the Soviets, so most of the American divisions were moved south. Thus, the 101st Airborne is sent to fight the last faithful of Hitler near the city of Berchtesgaden, rumoured to be one of the last hold-outs of various members and soldiers of the Nazi party.
One of the victorious 101st Airborne Division enjoying the view and a cognac at Berchtesgaden in 1945.
The Figures:
Both of these figures come in the usual lime and clear plastic Alpine Miniatures box, both of them come with two head choices (with the same facial figures) with both of them cast in light grey resin. Both of these two figures (which can also be purchased separately) are shipped safe inside a zip-loc bag each.
There were no surface bubbles or defects on either of the figures that I could see, with no distortion of the parts, with only small casting blocks to remove and none of them in odd or hard to remove spots on the figures.
I will now examine and compare them both before we look at them as a set together...
US 101st Airborne Officer
35275
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show the figure with 2 different heads.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
The first of this brace of figures wear the eagle of the US 101'st airborne division. One of the most famous units of WWII, and especially dude to a recent TV show, much favoured among modellers. Each of these two figures, cast in light great resin in 1/35th scale comes with an alternate choice of headgear to better individualize them in the scene you are planning. Both of the head choices feature a good looking young soldier, with fine facial features and well-defined nose, ears and mouth.
Both of the US Parachutists have M1 steel helmet of WWII era, both of these helmets wear a netted cover to hold camouflage or break up their outline. One of them has some burlap scrim already sewn through the netting.
The netted helmet with the burlap fed through the loops to give a broken silhouette
Below, some examples of M1 Parachutist's helmets from the war with the same burlap scrim tied into the netting
The second headgear choice features the same facial features and again with an M1 helmet, though this helmet has a simple plain netted cover. These helmets normally come with the large chin strap to better secure the helmet on a parachute drop, but the chinstrap is not included in this sculpt, meaning the trooper has stowed it away either after a jump or the timeframe that the soldier was in was a period after their jump.
The netted helmet (without the burlap strips) choice...
The net covered helmet from parachute regiments during WWII shows all of the same style and pattern are shown in the sculpt.
You can see the Screamin' eagle emblem on this Sargent on the left. They wear both types of the helmet that are captured in this figure and the same jump suit as the sculpt does.
The torso is the next part of the figure and of course the largest. It is heavily layered with most all of the equipment that the paratroopers wore during WWII. These layers of folded cloth and the steps for their equipment and webbing give the modeller a lot of scope to paint in-depth with a full spectrum of colours (as long as they are OD) from the tunic and pants to the outer layers. Little details like the "Screamin' Eagles" badge on the left shoulder, the ribbing on the soldier's belt and the difference between the pinching on the sleeves of his tunic and the thick elbow pads are evident in these pictures below.
The slight indentations made by the sculptor on the right-hand side jacket wait pocket are for the figure's finger to rest snugly against the body!
The folds of the cloth on the sculpt's clothing are particularly impressive to me, they bend, twist and scrunch with the movement of the man and give him a very lifelike appearance as he is seen twisted to the side. The depth of this soldier makes him a lot easier to paint for the modeller. An example below of the US Army M1 ammo pouch on the left below & the M1938 dispatch/map case on the right (not relative to each other in scale, the map pouch is much bigger than the ammo pouch)
An example of three paratroopers in the same jumpsuit just before D-Day. The folds of the clothing they wear to match this figure pretty well.
You can see also that this figure wears the Airborne Rigger's modified M42 jump trousers with an added strip of treated canvas to the edges of both cargo pockets you can see here to tie town the pockets bulging with gear. Lugs on the rear of the torso are there for some equipment to fit into are apparent and we will talk about those later.
You can see that this paratrooper is wearing the regular battledress of the US Paratroopers, with the square chest pockets at an angle denoting this as an M2 Jump Suit. The classic American paratrooper uniform of WW2 was the M42 jumpsuit. Designed by LTC William P.Yarborough, they featured characteristic slanted bellows pockets and flaps secured by two snaps on each flap. The 101st M42 suits were turned-in after Normandy, to be replaced by green M43 combat suits for the duration of WW2.
You can see the reverse side of these soldiers from the 501st PIR bear much of the same twisting, creases and folds as this figure does...
There is a small casting block (shown on both sides below) in this set which includes four parts, the Colt M1916 pistol in its stamped leather holster, the right arm of the paratrooper, the folding entrenching tool with canvas cover and lastly the M37 water canteen with cloth cover. You will notice two things, the thick, heavy wrinkling on the sleeve of the soldier's cloth jacket and the notches on the rear of the weapons and equipment. These place inside the lugs of the torso to ensure a secure and accurate fit.
The real things from the time period, the U.S. canteen & ribbed canvas cover, M43 US folding shovel and carrier and the WWII M1916 pistol holster (no gun in this sone)
Another casting block houses the right hand of the paratrooper which is moulded into the handle of the M1 carbine he is carrying. This joins at the wrist to the arm on the least casting block. The fingers are able to be seen individually and they grasp tight on the grip of the gun, this eliminates any gap. You can see the sculptor has got all of the parts of the gun pretty much spot on.
TThe alternate view of the M1 Carbine with the finger wrapped around the trigger - nicely done! This M1 has the folding stock that was favoured for vehicle-borne or Paratroopers of the time due to its small size when folded. When the M1 Carbine finally went into production in 1941, it became a hot property. The carbine’s safety was a simple push-button sited on the front of the trigger guard and behind a similar control that released the gun’s 15-round magazine. In the heat of battle, it was found that many soldiers mistakenly hit the mag release instead of the safety, unwittingly dropping the magazine. This problem was later rectified by the drop-in modification of a lever-style safety. A simple flip-over L-shaped peep sufficed for a rear sight, though a more sophisticated dial-operated unit was eventually designed for the gun.
Putting him together:
Now we have seen the parts let's put him together. It only took about 15-20 minutes to clean up the excess resin and to put the figure together.
The assembly was made much easier by the location lugs and sockets on the equipment, and the socket joint on the neck joining the torso to the head. You can see here the lucg and socket set up here...
US 101st Airborne Trooper #2
Figure No #35276
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show the figure with 2 different heads.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
We have already gone onto this helmet - but another nice comparison with (I am pretty sure it's a recreation) and some soldiers from the 101'st (from a picture of them meeting Eisenhower) below...
The US M1C Paratrooper Helmet replaced the M1917A1 helmet in June of 1941. The shell was painted in an OD#7 green colour with a rough textured finish. Shade variations exist on original helmets from a light pea-green to almost black. Below is the fire's alternate choice of the helmet with the medical pack attached to the front. On soldier found that this was convenient for parachutists, and this was adopted by many soldiers (and units) from that time on.
Photos for comparison below of a wartime helmet and from D-day just before the big first wartime jump. These show the medical pack on the figure in very much the same size and look...
You will notice again the "Screamin' Eagle" and the PFC's stripe on the left shoulder
Soldiers of the 101st during Market Garden, the Corporal in the centre with two stripes on his shoulder (the sculpture is a Private First Class - with one stripe)
On the torso you can see the M42 trousers with the toughened patches on the knees are tucked into Russet "Jump Boots" - the signature of the airborne forces in WW2. The sculpt showing the legs wrinkled up quite a bit as they bend and fold to fit into his pants. The US general-purpose ammo bag is slung around his torso and pinch and fold the cloth the interact with very naturally, just like his webbing that criss-crosses his back. The Paras applied knee patches to their trousers and attached tie-down tapes of 3/4" khaki web material to the inseam of each thigh. The tapes could be wrapped around each cargo pocket and tied, (as shown in this figure) to help secure the pocket's contents.
The large general-purpose/ ammunition carry bag, the jump boots and the M1 Ammo bandoleer this soldier features in his torso.
The rear of the sculpt showing all that wrinkled clothing and straps holding, pinching and stuffing at the material, with holes to secure added equipment and sockets for the right arm.
A photo below of some 101st paras heading into Holland, the rear view of them showing pinched clothing, straps and a soldier with an M1 Garand rifle, just like this guy...
...an example of the U.S. canteen & ribbed canvas cover, T-shape shovel and canvas cover, you can see the rivets and clasps on the sculpt also. (these are not to scale).
On another casting block, you get a nicely represented casting M1 Garand rifle. Cast into the stock of the rifle is the left hand of the figure, its fingers wrapped around the rifle. This means that the hand joins the figure at just above the wrist, in the socket of the clothing. A smart way to join a hand to the gun without leaving any gaps.
Putting him together:
Again, like his comrade, this figure took only 15 to 20 minutes to put together. The socket and jointed parts like the flask, entrenching tool and head and neck joints were easy to locate and fasten correctly. This was a helpful addition by the sculptor for the modeller.
The figure put together in both of his guises, first with the burlap sewn into the M1 helmet netting.
The alternate choice of the medical pack on the helmet now, a similar look but a different atheistic to his comrade who does not have this option...
Now both of those figures are put together, we can look at them both as a set...
US 101st Airborne Set #2
Figure set no #35277
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show 2 figures with 2 different heads each.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
These two figures undoubtedly come from the same unit, they look very much like two members of the same squad. Both in the same weight clothing and the correct gear to be either in a Normandy, Bocage or right up until Market Garden soldier and maybe into the German summer, some of the more popular themes in dioramas for modellers.
Some photos with both of these soldiers with a mix and match of both headgears each combined.
The rear of the soldiers - something similar but different. This is another thing that research from the sculptor and forethought brings to make a successful and cohesive set.
These are an excellent addition to any modeller's cannon, They represent two similarly attired soldiers that look quite different in pose and body language, they are great as singles, but even better together. Kudos to the sculptor for his great work again holding that bar right up there for everyone else to strive towards.
Adam Norenberg
Thanks to Alpine Miniatures for sending these two figures to us to put together in this review. If you like them, you can order these two figures separately or as a set as well as any other of Alpine's figures directly from their website if you live in the US, or through their distributors worldwide.
Below you can see the excellent work of the box art painter Dr Jin Kim as he shows us what is achievable with a steady hand and these figures from Alpine...
US 101st Airborne Officer
35275
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show the figure with 2 different heads.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
US 101st Airborne Trooper #2
35276
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show the figure with 2 different heads.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
US 101st Airborne Set #2
35277
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show 2 figures with 2 different heads each.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms / Boxart by Dr Jin Kim
(2 figures)
