Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/35 scale '39-'45 Series Kit No. 6695; G erman Infantry Bivouac; 121 parts (119 in grey styrene, two etched brass); pre-order price US$18.95 via Dragon USA Online
Advantages: nice instant vignette kit; casual poses for figures
Disadvantages: nothing major noted
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all German and vignette fans
DML has now released the second "instant vignette" kit in recent months. A s it has evolved among most modeling organizations, a vignette is a group o f five or less figures with or without a vehicle with a central theme.
This set provides three German soldiers making camp for the night. They ha ve erected a small lean-to shelter made from two ponchos - zeltbahn - clipp ed together with a central stake. One soldier is kneeling with his opened p ack and a second one is lowering his pack to the ground. The third man is o n the lookout, and as he is not armed probably for the evening's chow.
The box art shows them with the light infantry howitzer but the gun is not provided in this kit; the previous one had a 3.7 cm PaK 36 as its central point.
The figures are in the normal breakdown of six parts (torso, legs, arms an d head) with two of them having separate headgear and the third man barehea ded. The special kit needed for this set is provided on their sprue, and th e now standard DML "G" and "W" sprues for "Gear" and "Weapons" come in the box as well.
Two straps are provided in etched brass, and close examination of the box directions shows them to be the shoulder straps for the standing figure wit h pack.
The box art shows blankets and other items inside the lean-to but these ar e not provided. Also there is no interior detail on the zeltbahn ponchos.
Box art is by Ron Volstad and is the only set of painting and finishing di rections for the kit.
Overall this is a nice set and a good candidate for either a stand-alone v ignette or a nice addition to a single vehicle on a base.
Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.
Cookie Sewell