The Figure

A 1/16 (120 mm) resin figure from Jeff Shiu's Miniatures. The figure depicts a German Machine Gunner during Operation Barbarossa, jumping a body of water. The pose of the figure is excellent and really conveys the motion of the jump. Having chosen the this figure for this pose, I waited for my order to arrive.

The Box

The figure comes in your standard small cardboard box with a full colour photo on the top depicting the Figure in a built and primed state. Opening the box you reveal a perfectly packed kit and another colour photo for reference. However, these photos do not serve as a guide to painting merely a reference point for building the figure.

The Kit

The casting of the kit is excellent and the detail is amazing, I have never bought from Jeff Shiu’s before and therefore did not know what I was going to get so I was amazed at the quality. The figure is cast in a neutral grey resin which is very easy on the eye. Although there are the usual blocks from the casting process there does not appear to be much clean up required.

The Torso

The main torso of the figure and the legs are cast as one piece, with a few pieces of equipment moulded on the torso, which may annoy some modellers who like to paint and add separately pieces of equipment. Never the less the casting is excellent.

The rest of the Body

The other body parts including the head and arms come as separate pieces, again the quality is excellent.
The head is a single piece on its own with the helmet being cast as a separate piece, Jeff has taken the time to sculpt a helmet strap to the head often an overlooked piece of equipment. The face conveys real determination which suits the pose. The left and right arms have the sleeves rolled up and the left sleeve includes rank insignia for a lance corporal.

Equipment

The kit includes : Helmet, Bread Bag, Gas Mask Tin, Bayonet, Entrenching tool, Zeltbahn Roll, Canteen and Mess Tin cast as individual pieces all again in excellent quality.

As previously described moulded on the body are the Machine Gunners Accessory Pouch, Pistol Holster and Anti Gas Cape Bag. These are again are of excellent quality .

Machine Gun

The MG34 the figure is carrying is cast in three separate pieces namely the main body of the gun. Bipod and Magazine drum, However, although depicted on the box art there is no carrying sling nor having checked on the website is there meant be one although this is a relatively easy piece to scratch build, its presence on the box art is slightly misleading.

Never the less the quality of the weapon is again excellent with all the fine details superbly sculpted.

Base

Also included is a solid base with a pre-cut hole for positioning the figure this is a nice little touch and adds an extra dimension to the kit.