Introduction

An Hungarian tank crew was quite possibly not that high a priority for most modellers until recently when Bronco Models started to release Hungarian armour. With the release of the 44.M Zrinyi I and perhaps more importantly the Hungarian 40/43M Zrinyi II by Bronco Models has led to MiniArt releasing a five figure set Hungarian tank crew. The Royal Hungarian Army of which the tank was a part was short lived lasting from 1922 to 1945.

Contents

This set of figures from MiniArt represents four tankers depicted wearing three uniform styles and 3 types of head wear. Also included in the set is an officer of the tank corps which is an interesting inclusion. Information on the Hungarian Tank Corps is limited in English however there are two books available from Osprey Publishing covering the Royal Hungarian Army of World War Two and the Tank corps is covered I believe. I unfortunately do not have either of these books and had to resort to checking period images online for reference. Checking the figures against images available indicates that the uniform has been well replicated and appears accurate.

The figures breakdown in the usual style with the exception of the officer and consist of;

• Torso
• Separate arms
• Legs
• Head
• Separate headgear
• Personal sidearm

Parts Review

The individual pieces of the figures do have minor seam lines on them, with some parts being almost completely clean and requiring no clean up other than cleaning up the connection points. As with everything there are exceptions and this set is no different, the officer figure does have some minor flash which is a surprise for a new product, and the legs of the seated figure also needs more clean up than the rest of the figures. The good news is that there does not seem to be any other issues with the mouldings.

The facial details of the figures is very good by and large and this aspect of injection moulded figures has come a very long way in a short period of time. The hand details on these figures however is not the most stunning example I have seen as definition is poor compared to many of the offerings MiniArt has already released. One other oddity of this product is the soles of the shoes which are very good in that the sole and heel are replicated however the sole of the boots are all domed; it is not a major issue as it is easily corrected with a few scraps of a sharp scalpel blade.

Build Review

For this review I have assembled all five figures and painted three of the figures in order that you can see how they go together. I have assembled the figure using Humbrol liquid poly and I have used no filler on the figures. For the purpose of this review the figures I have semi completed are the seated figure will be referred to as figure A to E and The figures have been hand painted with Tamiya paint. The crease detail in the uniforms is good and while I am unable to comment on the accuracy of the uniforms they do appear to match period pictures of Hungarian tank crews. The facial detail of the figures in the set could be better in some cases, especially those where the seam runs down the centre of the face. The hands on these figures is a tad disappointing as I have seen better from MiniArt.

Figure A
This figure is the officer in the set and the only figure were the front of the torso has a separate front in the form of the jacket, the jacket attaches down the sides of the jacket and gaps slightly at the front. Clean-up of this figure was minimal however the soles of the footwear is bowed meaning some scrapping is required there; this is an aspect that all the figures share but on the plus side the sole and heal are replicated but with no tread pattern. The figure has a great pose that I am sure will appeal. Assembly was straight forward but closing up the join on the left side of the jacket meant I had to leave a small gap at the waist.

Figure B
This figure I worked on is the upright tanker in leather jacket and trousers with the figures hands and arms placed on a hatch or hatch door. The figure parts are easy to cut free of the sprue and are very clean with very minimal seam lines to clean up involving a few strokes of a No 11 blade where needed. As mentioned I used Humbrol liquid poly to put the figure together, I like the Humbrol liquid poly as when applied to both surfaces to be mated it makes the parts stick together on contact and softens both faces just enough that small gaps can be closed up with a little pressure.

Figure C
This figure is one chilled offering and a pose I think is great; suitable for depicting leaning against a wall or a tank with the hands behind the back. I can see this set being grabbed by a few figure modellers to be altered into a figure from another country and or time. Clean up was a breeze as the mould seams are very minimal. As you can see in the images there is a gap at the front of the left arm that I just could not close and will need filling.

Figure D
This figure I covered is the pointing figure in the green single piece coveralls; this figure was also easy to clean up as again there was very minimal seam lines and no flash to deal with. The connection points where the figure was attached to the sprue are small, but I do wish a method was found so that connection points on the arms could be on the mating surface rather than the elbow. The various body parts on this figure also go together easily and well. I know a number of modellers will be going “not another pointing figure” but in reply the figure looks to be laughing which does open up some display options.

Figure E
The final figure I assembled is wearing a grey two piece uniform and is depicted in a seated position. This figure was not so clean with some flash present especially on the front of the knees which can be easily seen in the sprue pictures. I had difficulty closing up the mated surfaces on this figure and it also resulted in a gap between arm and leg where the arm is rested on the leg. I do like the pose of the figure but this one will need some work to get the best out of it. It should also be said that of all of the figures these one has the best definition of the hands with very well defined fingers.

Conclusion

I do like this figure set from MiniArt as it incorporates some fantastic poses for injection moulded plastic figures. The subject will have a limited appeal due to the small number of Hungarian vehicles available but they are a must if you have a use for them. The fit of parts is good to very good for the most part and the figure painters could have a great time working with this set.