Review Gebirgsjager from Elan 13 Miniatures

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Nap

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Hi to one and all ,

Now I am sure you all realise that I rather like busts (shocking statement I know :eek:) and it was nice to receive a bust from Elan 13 Miniatures for review.

The man who runs Elan 13 Minaitures is Robert Lane , who if you go to Euro in particular will have noticed his name appearing in the winners enclosure as a dual entry with Rob sculpting and others doing the painting (indeed this year he got a silver(y)...amongst others ) .

Rob loves WW1 airman and specialising in the small scales in particular , this time however he had decided to choose a subject that he hasn't seen done as a bust.

The subject a Gerbirgsjager so lets start with a history of these elite troops .

Raised in 1915 as Alpenkorps with the most famous soldier being a future field marshal ..the one and only Rommel who won the Pour le Merite leading a unit of Wurtemburg troop fighting against the Italians .

The distinctive badge worn so proudly by the Mountain troops was of course the Edelweiss (meaning "Nobel White" in German) , named after the beautiful mountian flower .

The units served with distinction in WW2 , fighting in the severe mountain conditions against highy trained troops displaying superb climbing skills .

The soldiers of the mountain infantry of today also wear a grey cap (Bergmütze) with an edelweiß on its left side, stem to the front. This distinguishes them from all other German army soldiers who wear berets and the Austrian army, whose edelweiss has its stem to the back. The formal uniform, which is based on traditional skiing outfits, is also different from the standard German military uniform, and consists of ski jacket, stretch trousers and ski boots. A soldier is allowed to wear the edelweiss on the forage cap after he has completed the "Edelweißmarsch". This honor is only allowed for the mountain infantry.

German Gebirgsjäger traditionally share a very close comradeship and distinct esprit de corps. There is also a special perception of discipline which can for example be seen in a relatively informal relationship between officers and soldiers during normal day duty.

The unit has also been the subject of many reference books all of which I recommend you get a look at .

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Nap

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Whats in the package I hear you say :

Subject: Gebirgsjager (Eastern Front) 1943

Scale: Approx 1:12th

Material : Resin

Sculptor : Rob Lane

Box Art: Rob Lane

Casting: Tim Perry


I received the model which was secured in a plastic bag secured in a clear snap together container , inside was a photograph of a painted model with a backing piece with the details of the model on , the actual model consists of 2 parts , the head and the torso , both cast in a gray resin.

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Nap
 

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Lets look at the Torso first :

Rob has sculpted him wearing the Wind jacket or Windjacke, , normally according to my references (The German Mountain Soldier of WW2 pages 90 -91 by Wade Krawczyk and Bart Jansen) in a gray green waterproof cotton in double breasted style with 2 rows of 5 buttons , this item was intended to be worn over the field blouse, the epaulettes display the rank of Oberfeldwebel (note the Waffenfarbe piping would be "meadow green")

Our mountain man is wearing the Model 1931 rucksack and associated leather straps and is carrying one of the esential tools of his trade ..the climbing rope ..

Sculpting is very nicely done , particularly the epaulettes, the undercuts are well done with the jacket collar (normally folded down) being a very fine piece of work. Buttons are well defined with the folds of the cloth not being overdone.

What do I like best well its got to be the rope , a lovely piece of work , all of which will benefit from careful painting .

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Nap
 

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Hi William ,
Lost my internet before I could post the head so here goes !!!!!!


Rob has the subject wearing the Bermutze .the mountain troops one having a smaller peak , our soldier is also wearin his snow goggle and proudly wears the Edelweiss on the side of the cap .

Sculpting is IMO great with all features well defined , the goggles could be painted a tinted red or darkened , the edelweiss was normally metal sown on the side but also pinned .

Facial features are well done also with high cheekbones and a tight lipped expression , definition of the eyes are good also .

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Nap
 

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Now for my overall thoughts :

This is a nice little bust , well sculpted and of an interesting sunject , perhaps a base might have been included but it does give you the option to use a brass rod or other version of your choice ..when I paint this I will probaly include an edelweiss onto my base somewhere .

Sculpting is very good , particularly on the rope and the epaulettes , fit of the 2 pieces are also good with minimal wok needed to remove the slight casting plugs on the undersides of the neck and torso ..but no real drama there .

I recommend this sculpt and others from the Elan 13 range , the cost of this is a mere £15 plus shipping and should be available from El Greco Miniatures (Phone: +44 (0)1280 840364)

Email: [EMAIL="[email protected]"][email protected] [/EMAIL]

Home Page: http://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk

or contact Rob direct at [email protected]

Rob is also the sculptor for the busts in the range from The Basement Forum ...here is the link to that to have a look at this range:

http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showpost.php?p=447966&postcount=1


Nap
 

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A great little bust with particularly fine details. Well worth the money for the rope detail in itself. Cracking review as always Kev. (y)(y)(y)
 
Grüß Di' Kevin und Bergkameraden,

Great review of the Elan 13 Gebirgsjäger bust...a subject near and dear to me. I will definitely get this figure.

I'll add my two cents worth as a historian, researcher and collector of Gebirgsjäger militaria.

Rob has sculpted him wearing the Wind jacket or Windjacke
Rob has done a great job with the Windjacke, but with the upturned collar he left off a tab and buttons used to secure the collar in this position...will have to take of picture of the tab details:

gjwindjacke014tb.jpg


You can paint the Windjacke either the olive green above, or white below, as the Gebirgsjägers would sometimes bleach out the color to use the jacket for snow camo. I have also seen examples in Army Splinter camo and in Italian camo.

weisswindjackesb01wse0.jpg


Our mountain man is wearing the Model 1931 rucksack
The rucksack that Rob has sculpted looks to be the kleines (small) Rucksack:

gjstuff0180ic.jpg


The grosse Rucksack has a much larger top flap/pocket with three straps:

p8070120uk7.jpg



What do I like best well its got to be the rope , a lovely piece of work
Yes, this is a great piece of modeling, but it seems to be lacking in quantity. A normal Gebirgsjäger climbing rope, or Bergseil, is about 30 to 40 meters in length.

gjropegrn017kc.jpg

njz461943.jpg



Rob has the subject wearing the Bermutze .the mountain troops one having a smaller peak , our soldier is also wearin his snow goggle and proudly wears the Edelweiss on the side of the cap.
Nice work again, though the Edelweiss could use some reworking. Here are a few examples of Bergmützen and goggles:

berg014nz.jpg

bergmu776tzegar79010oy.jpg

berg037dp.jpg

berg029sd.jpg

gjgoggles032ky.jpg

gjgoggles046hk.jpg

gjgoggles020eo.jpg

gjgoggles019kx.jpg

gjgoggles050al.jpg




Berg Heil und Horrido!

Patrick


IMG_0293 by bergfuhrerkiser, on Flickr
 
Hi Patrick ,

Thank you for your comments and what can I say except so many more thanks for the historical information and pictures ...simply superb references for those that buy this bust .

When you buy the bust please do post any rework you might do as I am sure we all would welcome your thoughts and painting as this is obviously your specialist period and unit .

Thank you again and I am pleased that my review has prompted your response ..............its what modelling forums are all about .

Nap
 
Another fantastic review Nap and fantastic pictures and info from patrick .

At £15 is a very small bust.

Just one niggle, is the rope a bit over scale and does seem a bit short for any serious climbing :cautious:
 

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