Wednesday, December 25

Preview: MiniArt's German Ground Staff w/Accessories - North Africa in 48th scale...

As we saw in their latest catalogue, MiniArt are now in the 48th scale figures business. These will match their recent aircraft & accessories that, until now, had been more popular with aircraft & some recent armour releases. We look at this set of four Germans & their gear in our preview...

Preview: MiniArt's German Ground Staff w/Accessories - North Africa in 48th scale...

German Ground Staff w/Accessories - North Africa
From MiniArt Models
Kit No. 49020
1/48th scale
The kit contains four figures & accessories in the box.
The Subject: Luftwaffe groundcrew in North Africa, WWII
The groundcrew for the Luftwaffe were an important part of the air capabilities of the German forces in Nothet Africa. Minimal supplies over long lines made the crews more important for aircraft that needed attention and care to either patch up, repair, or just maintain. 

Messerschmitt Bf 110E Zerstorer being refuelled in North Africa 1942 with mechanics refuelling it.
The working conditions saw these "black men" (as they were called because of their overalls) switch to lighter tunics, shorts, and even tropical-style tropenhelm (tropical/sun helmet). These and the looser and cooler clothing gave the soldiers some sun protection, even though often the groundcrew would work in shorts and shirtless.

Ground crew sporting the Tropenhelm in front of a Bf-109
More refuelling, this time with Bf-109E's and the use of 200-litre drums and augures.
A Heinkel He-111H is bombed up. The solar toupees of the ground crew and tropicalized engines of the aircraft show that the scene is one from the Mediterranean.

The kit from MiniArt;
Although we have seen a lot of accessories in 48th scale from MiniArt already, this is only the second set of accessories and figures in this scale we have seen from them this year. To go along with the German and Italian pilots together with their soldiers of the Free Arabian Legion—or Deutsche-Arabische Legion soldiers that guard the airfields—this kit gives you the ground crew and mechanics to further populate the scene.

The figures are a new design, sculpted by MiniArt's newest sculptor (he's been with them for a while now). There is plenty of detail in these smaller-scale kits. The four figures are on two sprues.

Included as accessories for these crew are workbenches, ladders, and toolboxes. These are spread over four sprues, and they cover a lot of the workhop your mechanics and ground crew will need to flush out the scene.

A worktable and chair...
A ladder and several hand tools, small and large, are on this sprue.
A clamp and compressor are some of the gear on this sprue...
An anvil, toolbox caddy, and several other tools are also here.
For those thinner tools that won't replicate with plastic, photo-etch is included in this set also for that.

This kit is due for release in a month's time
See more about all of MiniArt's kits on their website...