Plastic Soldier Review - Esci Japanese Soldiers

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Esci

Set 204

Japanese Soldiers

All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets)

Stats

Date Released	1982
Contents	50 figures
Poses	15 poses
Material	Plastic (Medium Consistency)
Colours	Brown, Grey

Average Height

23 mm (= 1.66 m)

Review

Reviewing Esci sets is something of a challenge as almost all are of exactly the same quality and with the same characteristics, so it is not easy to say anything different about them. This set, one of the first, conforms to this pattern, with 15 poses that are well chosen, accurate and anatomically good. Detail is always excellent and the figures are very useful, if sometimes a little bland.

The poses in this set include the obligatory officer, advancing and brandishing his sword of traditional Japanese design. There are also a number of advancing figures, and one man using his rifle as a club. One surprise is the figure with a rifle over his head. He could be doing several things, including performing the Banzai or wading through a river. However he could also be surrendering, which was quite a rare event in the Japanese army.

The men wear type 98 uniform with puttees and boots. All wear the helmet except one that wears the field cap with sun curtain, and two who are bareheaded. Kit is mixed, but most have the characteristic ammunition pouches on the front of their belts. However few have the larger pouch on the back of the belt.

Apart from the rifle several other weapons are provided. First there is the 50mm Type 89 grenade launcher/light mortar which gave the infantryman a grenade launcher that exceeded the range of hand grenades. Then there is the 7.7mm Type 99 machine gun, which is being reloaded with a new clip by the prone operator. Lastly the Model 92 heavy machine gun is being fired, though there is no ammunition being fed into it and the whole gun is rather too small. This gun is moulded together with the operator, which requires an odd arrangement of its legs.

A workmanlike and very worthwhile set.

Ratings

Historical Accuracy	10
Pose Quality	9
Pose Number	9
Sculpting	9
Mould	9