1:72 U.S. Machine gun team D-Day (WWII)

Three men around one weapon

In the American infantry the machine gun was not the weapon of an individual but the center of a small team. The gunner lay at the mount, the second man fed the belts and watched for overheating of the barrel, the third carried the crates of ammunition and covered the flank. In the days after the sixth of June 1944 it was precisely the placing of such a trio that decided whether a breach in a hedgerow or an exit from the beach could be held. For a modeler it is an exceptionally rewarding subject, because the figures are visibly connected and the scene gains action even without further props.

When a stance does not fit the scene

With figures cast in one piece the stance is given and sometimes does not fit into the intended scene. Alteration is possible, but it calls for a different approach from the large scales: nothing is bent, everything is cut.

Cut through, turn, fill

The cut is made directly at the joint, that is at the shoulder, the elbow or the hip, with a new blade perpendicular to the axis of the limb. The new angle is glued with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) applied in an amount the size of a pinhead. The gap that arises on the outside of the bend is filled with stiff putty, which is shaped with a pointed tool into the form of a fold of cloth once it has set a little. It helps to work with the figure glued to a wooden stick — a small casting cannot be held in the fingers and the cut then never goes where it should.

Before you start cutting

It pays to place the group dry on a piece of paper first and to establish the direction the whole team is facing. Only then is it decided which figure needs its head or arm turned. Most of the intended alterations turn out that way to be unnecessary.