Today I'm taking a look at one of my favourite subjects, the Afrika Korp. Having picked up the new PSC platoon set at Salute, I've been eagerly working on Afrika Korp ever since.
I opted for the platoon set after admiring a few of the figures in blisters, and decided that I wanted them to make up the bulk of my infantry forces in my growing DAK collection. The set contains 39 white metal figures, wearing a mix of steel helmets and M40 tropical caps, no pith helmets are included.
For equipment, the 39 figures include the following,
3 NCO's with MP40's, split across two poses. One wearing a helmet and pointing, the other advancing bracing his weapon.
6 machine gun teams. Each team consists of the men, and wear a mix of helmets and tropical caps. These figures can also be freely intermingled to create some variety, and are posed either standing and advancing or prone firing.
Worth mentioning is the separate bipod for the prone gun team, as this adds and extra level of finesse to the finished models. Each team comprises one gunner, and two loader/assistant types.
The rest of the set is made up of riflemen, wearing the same mix of head gear. All are armed with K98 rifles, and have a pleasing variety of field gear and skirmishing poses. between the mix of head gear and poses, I think there are about 10 different poses, and look nicely varied when assembled.
The figures are white metal, and casting was for the most part very clean, though I did have a few mould lines and areas of flash to clean up, however this didn't take long and lines were in accessible places and didn't interfere with any detail.
It took me a little while to notice, however several of the figures wearing helmets have their field caps tucked into their belts, which I thought was a great little touch. Unforms are all the standard tropical issue stuff, with everyone wearing long trousers and tunics.
In terms of compatibility with other ranges, the figures are very close to AB in proportions, however they also mix very well with Kellys Heroes, Brittania and Italeri. I do not have any Wartime Miniatures DAK to hand at present.
At £40 for the set, I think this is good value as it's provided me with the bulk of the infantry I'll need for my Afrika Korp project, and I'm hopefully the range will sell well and we can see it expanded with command and support weapon options. For now, I've added those elements from Kellys Heroes and Britannia ranges, and find the over all effect most pleasing.
You can get your own platoon of DAK from the
PSC website here, and listen to our podcast episode where we speak to one of the minds behind
Battlegroup Tobruk, Mr Piers Brand here.
Finally, you can see more of my work or contact me regarding commissions at
Volley Fire Painting Service
Today I'm taking a look at one of my favourite subjects, the Afrika Korp. Having picked up the new PSC platoon set at Salute, I've been eagerly working on Afrika Korp ever since.
6 machine gun teams. Each team consists of the men, and wear a mix of helmets and tropical caps. These figures can also be freely intermingled to create some variety, and are posed either standing and advancing or prone firing.
It took me a little while to notice, however several of the figures wearing helmets have their field caps tucked into their belts, which I thought was a great little touch. Unforms are all the standard tropical issue stuff, with everyone wearing long trousers and tunics.
Battlegroup: Tobruk, covers the period 1940-41, from the Italian campaigns in East Africa up to the Operation Crusader and the Gazala line, as well as Operation Mercury and the German invasion of Crete. 
Not massively important from a purely gaming perspective perhaps, but certainly adds massively to the feel of a high quality book. Bindings feel sturdy too, and the book should stand up well to the rigours of handling and transporting to games. 
No index is included, however the contents page is very thorough, and the end of the book contains a quick reference sheet, pull out sheets of vehicle cards, and then appendices of references for vehicles and weapon stats making finding the information you need a simple process.
Army lists come next, with lists for British Infantry and Armoured division battle groups, these are similar to those in Blitzkrieg, however come with updates and extra units suitable for the desert war. Particularly exciting (To me) are the addition of LRDG patrols to the reconnaissance section. Amendments are also included for playing the East African campain. 
In addition to the previously mentioned British and Italian platoons, LRDG and Auto Saharana patrols also get army lists for light, raiding formations, these are designed to be used in games of 350 points or less. These offer some very interesting and exciting gaming options for light vehicle fun, as well as a scenario for a meeting engagement between a patrol of each. 
Overall, this is a magnificent book, and a fantastic tool for desert gaming in the early part of WW2. I'm looking forwards to getting some games in, and am currently assembling some 20mm Afrika Korp at the moment... 
