Emhar have always been known as makers of vehicle kits etc. This was their first venture into figure sets, and it is a good beginning. The first few sets of many manufacturers are below the standard they later set as they find their way with a new product. Not so Emhar, who have begun their range with a high quality set.
This was the first set of World War I British infantry to depict the later war period when helmets were standard issue. We are given infantrymen in advancing and firing positions, and no less than three officers. One is advancing waving his men on, and the other two are standing apparently watching. There is a very nice pose of a private firing a lewis gun, and another with a hand mortar. Some of the privates wear greatcoats, and one of the officers wears shorts, which reminds us that while the popular image of the Western Front is of bitter cold and nothing but mud, it could also get very hot in summer.
The uniforms all look fine, but we were concerned by some of the kit. Most of these men would wear the 08 pattern webbing, and some seem to, but some of the pouches appear to be missing on some figures, so for example one has a full set on one side and none on the other. In such a set most of the poses should have typical kit, which this does not.
What really makes this set unusual is the addition of tank crew. In fact the only such pose is a pair of gunners carrying an ammunition box, and the normal Mark IV tank required a crew of eight. Both the figures are wearing the 'boiler suit' overall which was very popular among the crews and was often worn with little else as the tanks could get very hot indeed. The man on the left wears a standard helmet and carries his respirator. The one on the right has the brown leather helmet, which was hot and therefore very unpopular, and little worn in later years. This man also has his face mask hanging round his neck, which was a metal mask with closely linked mail suspended below.
The whole set is good, well crafted and with plenty of interesting poses. There are a few areas where detail is lost for the sake of the mould, and some of the faces could be more sharply defined, but mostly the sculpting is good. As can be seen, there is a noticable difference in the height of some of the men, and while clearly humans come in a variety of heights we felt the difference here was over done. Some may find that having almost a quarter of the figures as officers is also over doing it rather, but that apart the set is very fine, and promised good things for the future from this company.
