German Afrika Korps
Airfix H0/00 Scale Figure Review
Airfix German Africa Korps in H0/00 scale. Published in 1962, this 1st Edition figure set offered 20 different poses, including two gun crews of three men each and their s.PzB. 41 heavy anti-tank rifle. While this set was replaced by an upgraded 2nd Edition Afrika Korps in 1973, it is still valued by collectors and wargamers.
Contents
46 Figures in 20 Poses – 22 mm equal 167 cm Height
- Staff Officer (1)
- Subaltern Officer with Pistol (1)
- NCO with Karabiner 98 kurz, signaling (2)
- Machine Gunner with MG 34, prone (4)
- Grenadier, throwing Stick Grenade 24 (2)
- German Soldier with Karabiner 98 kurz, „en garde“ (1)
- German Soldier with Karabiner 98 kurz, walking (2)
- German Soldier with Kar. 98k, Helmet, advancing (4)
- German Soldier with Kar. 98k, Field Cap, advancing (4)
- German Soldier with Kar. 98k, Stealth Patrol (3)
- German Soldier with Kar. 98k, prone (3)
- German Soldier with Kar. 98k, kneeling, firing (3)
- German Soldier with Kar. 98k, standing, firing (2)
- German Soldier with Kar. 98k in Melee (2)
- German Soldier with Shovel (2)
- German Soldier with Pick Axe (2)
- German Soldier, surrendering (2)
- Anti-Tank Gun and Crew
- Gun Commander (NCO) with Binoculars (2)
- Gunner Nr. 1 (2)
- Loader Nr. 2 with 2,8 cm Panzergranate 41 (2)
- 2.8 cm schwere Panzerbüchse 41 (2)
Evaluation
Excellent choice of subject, German troops in tropical uniform are suitable for campaigns in North Africa, Italy and Greece.
The assault pack is incomplete and worn incorrectly. The entrenching tool is missing. Instead, Airfix has placed the bread bag on the left hip, which was actually worn beneath the field flask on the right hip. This mistake may be corrected by slipping a short section of staple unter the bread bag to act as the entrenching tool handle, and then using a scalpel to turn the bread bag into a spade.
The incorrect monopod of the MG 34 needs to be removed and replaced by a bipod made of thin copper wire. The prone rifleman may be used as No. 2 for the light machine gun. Missing cartridge boxes are easily scratch-build from cut-offs of the miniatures‘ overly large bases.
The set offers many useful poses for dioramas and wargames. The soldier with the shovel for example may be in the process of recovering a bogged vehicle.
The seat on the pole trail of the leichte Feldlafette 41 is wrong, the gunner actually kneeled, sat, or lay behind the trailer hitch of the pole trail. This mistake may be fixed by replacing the seated gunner with a kneeling soldier. The 2.8 cm sPzB 41 without its light field carriage may be mounted on Sd.Kfz. 221, Sd.Kfz. 250 and 251, Horch 901, Horch Typ 40 (Kfz. 15), and Italian personnel carriers.
Excess plastic on the cheeks of the prone soldiers needs to be removed prior to painting. Some artistic skill is required to recreate the face and missing ears. One of the walking riflemen has no feet, the other does.
Compatible with Fujimi, Matchbox, Milicast, Cromwell Models, Ostmodels, MMS, and Vac-U-Cast.
Possible Conversions
- The number of poses may be increased by swapping heads with steel helmets and field caps among these miniatures. Additional steel helmets may have to be scrounged from other figure sets.
This 1st Edition figure set of the German Afrika Korps offers a number of interesting poses which are quite compatible with later Airfix and Matchbox miniatures. Officers, advancing riflemen, and the s.PzB. heavy anti-tank rifle are very popular with wargamers.