Minifigs

12mm WW II Armor
and Infantry

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford

I've just received several samples from this range of miniatures, including those illustrated. British (21 items), American (30 items), and German (42 items) forces of the northwest European campaign are presently offered and I understand that late war Soviets are now available. AFVs, softskins, towed weapons, and figures (infantry, support weapons, and gun crew) are available for all of the nationalities. The models well detailed for their size, with basic hatches, panel lines, and stowage. Casting is clean, with minimal flash and seam lines. Scale varies a bit from, well, just what IS 12mm scale, anyway??? These models' dimensions seem centered around 1/160 scale, which is American N scale, often also referred to as 10mm scale… The M3 Halftrack (model 12022025) and Cromwell (model 12021011) are right on in length but are just a bit narrow and short. Likewise, the Tiger II (model 12020011) and Pz IIIj (model 12020040) are a just a bit wide and short, respectively… The Wespe (model 12020024) is a good match all-around. Does any of this matter? It depends on what you're looking for. The models paint up convincingly (I have a battery of Wespe and a Blitz on flat cars as part of an N scale train and they look GOOD!), are nicely detailed, are certainly MUCH better than the old Action 200 range, and can compete with any other 12s on the market. What of the infantry? They are, on the average, 11M on the Barrett measure, have good animation, and are very nicely detailed. What scale are they? I'm not going to TOUCH that one except to say that they look good alongside the tanks! Generally, a vehicle costs $2.95, a pair of guns or small vehicles costs $2.95, and a bag of 36 figures costs $6.95. Lest I forget, guns and open-topped gun vehicles each come with a couple of crew, so you get a 'complete' model in the bag without having to buy separate crew. These models provide a happy medium between the 15mm and 6mm scales, for those mass-action games you've always wanted to play with bigger models but didn't have the space for. They should be available from your FLGS, or failing that, directly from the US Manufacturer at Game Figures Inc., 538 Olathe St. Unit E, Aurora, CO 80011 (ph 303-361-6465). Recommended!

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