PLASTIC RECONN #16: GERMAN PANZERGRENADIERS BY MARS #32018
It’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me, but since being retired and even through the pandemic, I seem to busier than ever! But to get back into blogging, I’m taking a quick look at the Mars German Panzergrenadiers. These have been out for several months, but I finally found some time to take a look.
If box art is your thing, Mars has always done some nice packaging with good illustrations of the subject matter. The reverse side of the box has photos of painted examples of each pose in the set. It’s a good indication of what can be done with these figures if you like to paint.
This set includes 15 figures in 8 poses., molded in a greenish-gray soft plastic, some of which are quite unique. The poses include:
(1) Officer with Walther P38 (2) Sniper, standing firing Kar98K (3) Running with Kar98K (4) Kneeling firing Kar98K (5) Running with MP40 Schmeisser (6) Standing firing MP40 Schmeisser (7) Standing firing MG42 with drum magazine (8) Hunched over to provide stability for the MG42 being fired.
As with other Mars figures they are close to 1/32 scale and fit very well with Marx 54mm figures. As we all know, the scale of our plastic toy soldiers is all over the place. MARS seems to have made the decision to closely match the size of the Marx figures many of us had when we were kids (and still collect today). Many of these various sizes will work together in a large diorama setting, but that is up to the individual collector to decide. More options is a great thing.
Two figure poses which I have never seen before interact with each other. A soldier is firing a MG42 w/drum magazine, while resting the weapon on the back of his fellow soldier! This is a nice touch. I would also think that the hunched over soldier from this duo, can also be used as getting shot, bayoneted or getting clubbed, while the MG42 guy can be used as a stand-alone figure.
All in all this is a nice edition for WWII collectors. Perhaps not as detailed as some plastic toy soldiers on the market today, they are priced well and fit in nicely with existing troops in your plastic armies.
I’ve recently acquired Mars sets WWII Luftwaffe Field Division and Finnish Army (Winter Dress) 1942-1944. I’ll be taking a look at these sets in the near future.
Special thanks to my brother, Don Clouse who provided weapon ID and the two photos as noted. His main collecting interest is WWII, so I naturally turned to him for help on this edition of Plastic Reconn.
Jim Clouse
May 2021
We are honored to add Jim Clouse as a MTSC Trench Runner. Jim is a multi talented artist who has done work for Barzso Playsets, and LOD among others while operating his own Battle Boards company making unique display boards and diorama for playsets. Jim is also now writing the Fantastic Plastic column for Toy Soldier Collector & Historical Figure magazine A regular feature that reviews new plastic figures on the market. Jim will be sending in reviews for us to post here and hopefully we can pry some of his terrain making secrets out of him at some point. View all of Jims' Plastic Recon columns HERE
____________________________________________________________________
You can Order Mars Figures From MTSC HERE
_____________(Remember to Login to save 10% on ALL Orders)____________
0 Comments