1/72 PEGASUS HOBBIES-German 75 mm le IG18 Infantry Gun with Crew (Img and Review)

After reviewing quite many unspectacular sets also related to gun and crews, finally I have the great pleasure to present an extremely detailed and more than attractive set. Taking into account its characteristics and premium quality, I definitely consider Pegasus Hobbies' "German 75 mm le IG18 Infantry Gun with Crew" the best set manufactured in 2008 in the field of 1/72 mass production WWII German Army figures.

In spite having this set since it reached the market for the first time and also few sprues of test shots, I have delayed a little its review and painting because I wanted to have time enough to appropriate do these. In addition, except the standard poses, the images will show a large number of conversions made on the standard figures. I used the figures from three boxes of the same kit, but I assembled only two guns. To be more precisely, there are figures from two sets of market version, the third being a test shot sprue almost identical with the market version. For one gun I use the wooden-spoken wheels and for the other the metal disc wheels with rubber tyres, the first being painted in early war and the other in late war style. Guns were painted with Humbrol enamel and weathering was added with artistic oils and Tamiya pigments.

I like this set too much to rush, and the result is one of the longest reviews I have ever written as well as some figures that I assess as quite detailed painted. The camouflage took me a lot of time, but I am very satisfied by how it appears on figures. I try reproducing various Waffen SS patterns such as spring/summer and autumn/winter oak leaf, spring/summer and autumn/winter plane tree, spring/summer palm tree as well as autumn/winter ribbed edge. This time my favourite are autumn/winter oak leaf featured on the standard poses of the set as well as on other two conversions from Box because I wanted to complete six members the IG18 crew.  Conversions were based on mixing parts of the same set as well as pieces from other Pegasus Hobbies sets and few Dragon (two pistol holsters and a StG44 ammo pouch) and Preiser (one map case, three pistol holsters, three Zeltbahns)  equipment. I scratch built a single strap at the weapon of the SS sniper dressed in M36 tunic.

I hope not only that you will not find the review too long and you will be able to read something interesting inside, but also that you will enjoy the painting and the conversions shown by the attached images.

The more than six pages review is one of the longest I have ever written, the text being supported by a huge number of photos, equally trying to cover and reveal as many aspects of this excellent set as possible.

Any opinion or suggestion related to all these is highly welcome.

Thank you for looking and I wish you will not be bored when reaching the end of the present post....:)

Cristian Florescu

PEGASUS HOBBIES 1/72

German 75 mm le IG18 Infantry Gun with Crew

Review 

The traditional and continuous search of Pegasus Hobbies in portraying interesting and rare topics in the field of 1/72 WWII German Army has materialized this time not only in gun crews, but also in one of the most attractive German infantry gun, namely leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18 (le.IG18). The company, except figures, is famous for its vehicles and buildings in the scale as well, but the le.IG18 is the first cannon produced by them. Nevertheless, taking into consideration on the one hand the excellent German Mortar Teams, another outstanding set of the same manufacturer closely linked to artillery issues, and on the other hand, the experience gained with prior soldiers that is proven here in large amount, have turned the present kit into a brilliant one, integrating high class figures and a very qualitative artillery piece. Due to company's really good custom of surprising the target groups, it should not amaze anybody to find inside the same box practically two distinct sets of figures, respectively one crew dressed in camouflage smocks and another wearing M36 tunics. Through choosing the cloths in this way, it is intended to cover both Early and Late War German troops. Moreover, in compliance with the box of the set, expressing the will of the producer, a different perception could be that there are included Wehrmacht and Waffen SS troops, but anyway, both units worn in various stages of war M36 tunics or smocks.  For each kind of crew, the set offers four figures, not exactly the number of troopers necessary for handling a le.IG18, but quite enough, taking into account that most of reference photos show four crewmen around this cannon. Standard, le.IG18 had a crew of six, and for those wanting to reproduce the gun with the exact number of soldiers, few solutions are at hand. The easiest is to complete the crew with figures from the same set, while under the camouflage smocks, the German soldiers worn the tunics. It might be assessed that two or more did not have time to put on the smocks or for various reasons were not in possession of such an item. A further answer to the problem, even more recommendable, is identifying in various sets figures suitable for manning a gun and dressed in the same style. For best match from the point of view of size, these soldiers have to be looked for in sets of the same manufacturer, for the crew wearing camouflage smocks appropriate are figures from "Waffen SS Set 1" while for the crew dressed in M36 tunics, excellent companions are incorporated in "German Mortar Teams".      

An extra surprise prepared by the producer for their customers is launching a multi-media kit, comprising hard and soft plastic pieces, an approach extremely rare encountered in Braille Scale, where in general both figures and vehicle or gun model are made of same material.  At the beginning, the present project was supposed to be all in hard plastic, but the sculptor did not make the figures to be hard plastic, so we get soft plastic troopers while the gun is made of hard one. The matter is not so important, bearing in mind that the soft plastic exploited by this manufacturer has unusual characteristics and super glue, especially the gel one, is of great success, making an extraordinary strong bond fully comparable with that made by various adhesives used at hard plastic kits.

This multimedia set comes in the standard box used by Pegasus Hobbies for their 1/72 figures and features as artwork a photo of the assembled and painted gun operated by the crew dressed in camouflage smocks. No image presents the crewmen wearing M36 tunics, but within the text from the back of the box it is clearly mentioned that the kit incorporates two types of crews, one dressed as shown in the artwork and one in tunics, called here "Wehrmacht", while those in smocks are named "SS". The back of the box, according to the custom registered at this company in the last period, reveals a black and white version of the front artwork and next to it is adjusted a text narrating little information about the gun and the fact that we get two sets of crew. Furthermore, the just mentioned text opens with what can be the motto of the kit "Ready! Aim! Fire! Attack the enemy with your new German 75mm IG18 from Pegasus Hobbies!", the high accuracy of the gun and the quality of poses truly inducing such an atmosphere. Two distinct spures, one for figures and one for cannon as well as the sheet with the assembly guide form the whole content of the box.

On the first sprue come the thirty pieces necessary for putting together the gun plus an ammunition box and a spare projectile. Leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18, short named le.IG18, represented as its full name reveals, an infantry gun. Developed in the 1920' by Rheinmetall and entering in service in 1932, le.IG18 was created for providing close artillery support for infantry and saw action till the end of war, being manufactured in over 8,000 pieces. The gun was issued directly to infantry or Panzer Grenadier battalions, especially to those without regimental gun companies. In this light, representative for le.IG18 is that the cannon was operated by infantrymen and not by regular artillery gunners. Firing 7.5 cm projectiles, it had the capacity to engage not only directly, but also indirectly the enemy, like a mortar, a feature that probably brought a major contribution to its maintenance in service until 1945. Three versions of the gun appeared along the war, the standard here portrayed, another for Mountain Troops/Gebirgs (le.GebIG18) recognised after tubular legs and optional shield as well as a special version for Paratroopers/Fallschirmjager (le.IG18F), also with tubular legs, without shield, but with smaller wheels, only six pieces of the last mentioned model being manufactured. Likewise, two types of wheels are common for le.IG18, wooden-spoken wheels for horse transport, six horses towing the gun according to regulations, and metal disc wheels with rubber tyres for motorised transport. At the beginning of WWII German Army infantry relied a lot on horses and the situation perpetuated till the end of war, so it will not be a surprise seeing in 1944 a le.IG18 with wooden-spoken wheels and painted in the late war style. In this light, both types of wheels provided by the present set are appropriate for matching either with the crew dressed in M36 tunics or with the one wearing camouflage smocks.

The Pegasus Hobbies's le.IG18 might be assessed as a true masterpiece in the field, with proportions perfectly matching the 1/72 scale and from the first glance, the complete lack of flash and the remarkable sculpture of the small details, fully accurate in terms of shape, will impress the viewer, leading him into temptation to start working this tinny gun as soon as possible. Considering the low number of pieces and their perfect fit, sometimes facilitated by the pin and hole system for improved assistance, clear assembly guidelines as well as absence of flash, it might be said that this gun does not require much time for putting together. We do not have too often the opportunity to spot a sighting mechanism and the panoramic sight Rundblickfernrohr 16 (Rbl.F.16) as detailed as there are the present one, showing extremely tiny characteristics like the range indicator gear, upper prism micrometer head or main azimuth scale. At its turn, the barrel is nicely done, at the breech being reproduced along other fine details, the firing lever and the breech-mechanism lever. In addition, the shield, wheels and carriage with its specific two boxes are finely and accurate depicted, small specific features appearing in large amount and bringing a particular charm to this artillery piece.

Based on one of the main role of le.IG18 and corroborating it with the previous release of a set embedding two representative WWII German Mortars, Granatwerfer 34 (medium mortar, 81 mm) and Granatwerfer 42 (heavy mortar, 120 mm), also the best mass production available offer, through manufacturing this type of gun it might be assessed that Pegasus Hobbies pushed forward the mortar issues in Braille Scale. The built cannon completely rewards the small effort put in assembly, while adding to it one of the two crews included on the other sprue, we can get an exciting final appearance of an amazing kit. Two mass production companies offer the same type of cannon in the 1/72 scale, but both of them are much exceeded by the fabulous quality of Pegasus Hobbies' le.IG18 gun.

On the front page the instruction sheet repeats once more the front artwork and the information about the gun posted on the back of the box. In addition, several other key tips such as using cyanoacrylate (super glue) to glue the soft plastic parts or the pneumatic tyres, also soft plastic, to the hard plastic gun whose parts require polly-cement are granted inside. The thirty pieces of the gun has to be assembled in seven steps and the directions in this regard are clearly printed and sufficient, guiding the modeller in correctly putting together the cannon without searching supplementary information. The last page of these four pages instruction sheet not only presents the simplified chart of colours to be used for painting the gun in the field gray version, but also shows the ammo box and the extra shell as well as the more important reference related to the removal of the pin from the gun carriage when adding the pneumatic tyres. This item must to be leaved untouched if the wooden-spoken wheels are added.

The sprue with troopers contains not only the bodies and the sharp number of arms necessary for completing the eight soldiers from it, but also other useful things, more precisely eight entrenching tools (six with bayonet attached and two with bayonet and artillery case attached) five Kar98K, two types of ammunition boxes designated for IG18 (opened and closed) and the metal disc wheels of the gun. No instructions are provided for assembling the figures, but at least for the crew dressed in camouflage smocks, guidance can be obtained from the artwork of the box. However, in most of the cases, for attaining the standard poses, the necessary arm or arms is/are attached on the sprue in the close proximity of the figure to which these should be glued. Great decision is that all the warriors come with separate arm or arms, so conversions are extremely easy to be realized, considerably increasing the number of poses if you have the luck to be in possession of two or more boxes of the same set. In fact, from two sprues of the same soldiers, with little effort, all can be different, fulfilling in this way the dream of any diorama builder, collector or wargamer of enlarging his collection, especially with premium figures. The easiest conversions may be achieved simply using the arms of army-men from the same sprue. Though registering a small difference at the end of the sleeves, thanks to a fast surgery, the arms designated for soldiers dressed in M36 tunics will properly fit those in camouflage smocks and vice-versa. In addition, Pegasus Hobbies provides both in hard or soft plastic a large number of sets dedicated to WWII Germans, offering separate arms with palms holding nothing or various weapons and gear that are more than recommendable for bringing to the present figures enhanced diversity and unique poses. "Germans in Berlin 1945" and "Waffen SS set 2" should be taken into consideration with priority, and despite the small difference in size between the arms of last mentioned set and the here reviewed content, the discrepancy is hardly noticeable, nearly impossible. Likewise, for the fans of 1/72 German soldiers making use of captured Russian weapons, a first-rate source of separate arms with such weapons is "Russian Naval Infantry", also a multimedia kit of the same manufacturer with figures made of soft plastic and hard plastic weapons. As mentioned, both materials answer extremely well at superglue gel, so no fear in attaching to the le.IG18 crews several Russian arms or only the palms holding M1891/30 Mosin-Nagat riffles, PPsH41 sub-machine guns or Degtyarev (DP) light machine guns. Nevertheless, other arms form various producers can be utilized, but it is recommended the employment of arms from Pegasus Hobbies soft and hard plastic sets because the materials are specially created to exceptionally react to superglue. For bringing even more mixture, heads might be switched with some wearing M43 caps extracted from "Germans in Berlin 1945", or for even a more spectacular appearance, with heads having the faces covered by camouflage masks that are available inside "Waffen SS set 2".

As it was stated above, on the same sprue, there are given five Kar98K from which four have the straps attached, detail that has become a mark of the company. The rifles are extremely fine sculptured and in scale, incorporating even the smallest characteristic features of this type of weapon. Through offering the personal fire arms separately, there are facilitated plenty of options for converting these army-men while the attached straps give the great chance of realistic disposing the Kar98K not only in hands, but also on the shoulders or across the body. Few might assess these straps as being with a micron too thick, and such rigorous people have just to thinning these a little, a manoeuvre taking only one minute and achievable with almost any related tool. With reference to Kar98Ks, it should also be underlined that those with straps might be grouped on pairs, the straps being dissimilarly waved for enhancing the natural appearance. Depending on the situation and from where the gun was fired off, while manning a small artillery piece, sometimes the German soldiers let their personal weapons on the ground, but still at hand in case of necessity. Reference images of crewmen of cannons like le.IG18 or PaK35/36 show them keeping the Kar98K on their backs while operating the gun against enemies situated at a quite close distance. Anyway, both situations with personal weapon on them or not are proven by large numbers of images and it is a plus point of this set allowing the possessor to depict his crewmen as he wants.

The ammunition of le.IG18 cannon was delivered in three rounds wooden or metal containers and inside our set we get the most common ones, the wooden boxes, but diversity is also registering in this field. Two closed boxes and one from which the lid was removed, permitting in this way to be perceived all the content, consisting in three projectiles, are granted by the sprue of figures. Another ammunition box, this time with oped lid and a projectile removed from its emplacement is included on the gun sprue. According to modeller's will, the content of this last box might be completed with a projectile with is also supplied on the same sprue. All boxes open in the correct manner, on one side while on the top has the strap handle. The great variety of ammunition boxes, an aspect extremely rare encountered either in gun with crew sets or in kits featuring strictly the cannon, reiterates once more the huge attention paid by this manufacturer to details and the constant search for covering as many requirements of the target groups as possible.

All members of both teams are crouched, thing that is all right given their designation, as "servants" of a small gun, in general handled from crouching in fire position, as plenty of images of the period indicate. Their crouched poses feature plenty of diversity, with knees bent in normal positions and what is even more attractive, exactly like the real soldiers did, the stances being undoubtable inspired by reference images. Few members of our 1/72 le.IG18 crews are copying real poses of soldiers not manning a le.IG18, but a PaK35/36, an aspect without importance while they match so good both guns, but in the same time prove once again the notable versatility of these figures. Moreover, within this set we can notice another technique that perhaps was employed by Pegasus Hobbies in order to bring on the market probably the best gun crews ever seen in the scale, combining the stance of a real soldier, but offering for him a different arm/arms, while his arm/arms, as this/these appear/s in the real photo, is/are granted to another soldier from the set. A good example in this regard might be two figures wearing camouflage smocks, the one pressing the gun for diminishing the recoil and the gun commander. Both share details provided by a soldier from a pretty well-known image of the period, the one ling heavy on the gun carriage being sculptured exactly in the same pose, but receiving different arms, while the gun commander has got the real soldier's left arm holding the binoculars. Such an approach is more than fascinating and can captivate the attention of diorama builders of collectors for assembling by their own figures portraying real soldiers through mixing various parts of the present set. What is more to be said concerning the above described example is the fact that in a lot of photos with le.IG18 gun in action the photographer did not succeed to catch all the crewmen, sometimes the images showing only the palms of the soldier who pressed his weight on the gun. Luckily, few other photos illustrate soldiers carrying out such an action, and analysing these, it should be stated that our 1/72 trooper doing the same job represents a marvellous pose, capable to replicate the effort in a natural manner.       

The figures dressed in camouflage smocks are definitely intended to be late war soldiers and in order to emphasize the idea, they wear short ankle boots and gaiters, items entering in service in 1943. Helmets covered by camouflage canvas and regular trousers complete their uniforms. As it was stressed above, they can depict not only Waffen SS but also Wehrmacht troops, according to the specific camouflage patterns that each owner chooses to paint, white standing for another option while some smocks registered on one side this pattern for winter camouflage as well. The reversible characteristic of the smocks opens the gates for a large number of painting options, along with various Wehrmacht camouflage, the numerous spring/summer or autumn/winter Waffen SS patterns can be depicted, pea dot being the only one restricted because the smocks had never been issued with such a pattern. The thickness of the uniforms allows the figures to be used in warm and cold environments, such items of garment being universal for any season and even sometimes worn over greatcoats.

For all, the endowment consists in belts and "Y" straps, Kar98K ammo pouches, bread bags, gas mask containers, mess-tins, canteens and entrenching tools with bayonets attached. Regarding the entrenching tool, it is obvious that Pegasus Hobbies applies the same style used in previous occasions, giving it separately for all figures. For fixing it, each body has a hole and the entrenching tool a pin, a system useful just for providing emplacement guidance while the parts must be glued. Delivering entrenching tools individually is great from at least three points of view: it appears flash-less, looks more realistic than to be carved in figures and facilitates conversions, being suitable for displaying in various angles. An interesting issue is that except the classical approach of entrenching tool with bayonet attached, the set brings and another option, with a tool case, worn in reality by some gun crewmen. Here this case covers a part of the entrenching tool, unique detail in 1/72 mass production Germans in WWII and in full compliance with photos of the period showing it at soldiers.

The poses are totally different than most of the rest encountered in sets concerning German artillery piece and crew from various manufacturers, meaning that, finally we have the great chance of getting a set of figures aiming naturalism and a proper interaction with the gun. In order to achieve the designed contact in its very best manner, a small piece of advice valid either for the crew in camouflage smocks or the one in M36 tunics, is assembling first the cannon and then the figures, their arms having to be glued in the definitive position only after checking the link with the gun.

Referring to the standard poses wearing smocks, these are terrific and incredibly realistic, a large contribution being ensured by the separate arms topic. The crew is formed by four members from which three are manning the gun and one is giving the orders, probably an NCO. The gun commander pose, which is a regular trooper and not an officer, according to the fact that he does not have pistol holster and wears Kar98 ammo pouches is exceptionally interesting through its simplicity. He points the direction of the target while in the other hand holds the binoculars as if he has just taken from the eyes, in an uncommon mode for 1/72, but entirely covered by reference photos. In conformity with KStN in most cases NCOs, particularly those from infantry and Panzer Grenadier platoons, were endowed with Kar98K as personal firearm, so no difference can be made between them and privates on the basis of weapon or its related ammunition pouches. Two members of the crew, holding nothing in their hands are calculated for managing the gun, in standard approach one operating with both hands the traversing hand wheel situated on the left of the carriage. Gluing in a slightly modified position the separate arm, he might be engaged to adjust the sighting mechanism with the right, remaining to spin the hand wheel with the left hand. The other figure holding nothing counterbalances the recoil of the gun, pressing with his full weight on the gun carriage, the tactic being ample revealed by images of the period showing le.IG18 in action, usually one member of the crew weighing upon the rear end of the carriage in order to avoid movement of the gun while firing. The last provided crewman prepares to load the next round of the le.IG18, holding the projectile in the recommended method with the base of the shell in the left hand, in this way avoiding the gun hitting him in the chest when firing. Gathering the crewmen around the gun, thanks to the actions they carry out, we get a complex and credible picture of a cannon right in the middle of the action, preparing to fire in the next moments or that has fired few seconds ago.   

As regards their attire, the accuracy is faultless and it should be emphasized that almost all smocks are worn lose, as it can be seen in most of the period photos. From the tightness point of view, the smocks are different than those encountered in the Pegasus Hobbies' series of sets portraying Waffen SS troops in Kursk, where the same type of smocks was depicted tight and with tunics buttoned up, the explanation resting in the fact that most of reference pictures from that battle feature Waffen SS soldiers wearing the tunics buttoned up high and the smocks were tighter than usual. Such things highlight the great attention paid by Pegasus Hobbies to even extreme small details for attaining advanced accuracy. Furthermore, other details like creases, gas mask container straps, cuffs and more than visible collars where it can be painted the Wehrmacht or SS insignia and ranks, are nicely sculptured. In addition, genuine realized are the gaiters, having their two straps put in evidence. Another characteristic feature of Pegasus Hobbies troopers, namely the studs of boots, is superbly revealed here.

Turning to the gun crewmen dressed in M36 tunics, it should be pointed out since the beginning that they are clearly inspired from the other Pegasus Hobbies set related to artillery pieces, "German Mortar Teams". However, there are plenty of distinctions between the figures from the two sets, the unlike arms provided separately making the difference and transforming them into true infantrymen handling a gun. Their uniform characterise the first part of the war, namely M36 tunics, regular trousers, marching boots and steel helmets without camouflage canvas. The tunics are unbuttoned till the last button, facilitating in this way the clear view of some nice shirts under them, while the thickness of the uniform allows the use of these soldiers both in warm and colder seasons. In spite increased suitability for the first part of the war, it is possible to employ them and in the second half. The M36 tunics had continued to be sent to units after M43 entered in service, so even in the last days of the war the early type of tunic could be seen at regular troopers. Evidently, painting the Wafen SS insignia on collars, they also may represent Waffen SS soldiers, not only Wehrmacht.

Related to the poses dressed in M36 tunics, regardless the fact that all are encountered in another Pegasus Hobbies set, still great distinction between them is supplied by the dissimilar arms. In fact, a single pose is identical with the inspiration source, it is about the one of the soldier preparing to open the ammunition box. Nevertheless, for those who own both sets and want to have a small difference between them using the same arm, this can be achieved through gluing the separate arm in another position, a little further from the ammo box and not exactly on it, as intended in its initial designation. Though the poses are entirely unlike than those of their colleagues dressed in camouflage smocks, they fulfil almost the same roles. There is offered a regular trooper as gun commander, pointing the target, the rest of crew members having various roles, namely to aim the target, bring the next round and open a le.IG18 ammunition box. If the gun commander, the soldier opening the ammunition box and the one holding a projectile are clear in their business, not the same thing might be said about the fourth crewmen holding nothing and waving his arms in the air. At the first view this figure appears quite odd, but when he joins the left side of the gun, he suffers a complete transformation, turning him into a reliable army-man operating the piece. At the le.IG18 with the left hand he adjusts the sighting mechanism or spins the traversing hand wheel while with the right hand exercise a pressure on the gun carriage. Diverging from the crew dressed in camouflage smocks and on account of the implemented activities, the team dressed in M36 tunics better evokes soldiers preparing to fire the gun and not in the middle of such action. Their gear is identical with the one found on the crew in camouflage smocks, including belts, "Y" straps, Kar 98K ammo pouches, bread bags, gas mask containers, mess-tins, canteens and entrenching tools with bayonets attached. Of course, and at these figures must be glued the entrenching tools that come independently. The uniforms are very well reproduced, with crisp small details like buttons and shoulder boards, nicely shaped "Y" straps and gas mask straps, authentic creases and the list might continue. Absolutely sure, the most astonishing detail of the present tunics are their specific back and sleeve stitches, attesting once more the remarkable skill of Pegasus Hobbies' sculptors as well as the obsession for an admirable genuineness.

Soldiers dressed in some of the best sculptured smocks and tunics in the scale could only feature great anatomy as well as vividly faces. The proportions of the bodies are excellent and the details of faces are really impressive realised, eyes, eyebrows, noses and moths appearing very clear and putting in evidence remarkable facial expressions. Additionally, the palms, with easily identified separate fingers and in splendid torsions bring a foremost contribution in achieving a persuasive interaction of the crew with the weapon. Likewise, it does not register any disproportion between the size of the weapons or gear at different poses and the amount of flash is very low and easily removable. Meanwhile, thanks to the multipart approach, excess of plastic is not featured at all. The presence of a small pin in the knee of each figure is a detail giving birth to intrigues and a large number of suppositions. Generally, such an item is engaged for attaching troopers to bases, but here, none is granted. Taking into account this fact, on the one hand the pin in case might be used for fixing the figures on scratch-build bases, and on the other hand it can be easily removed with a single cut. This last advance is the most advocated, not only because these fighters have an admirable balance, being capable to maintain equilibrium without supplementary support, but also due to the fact that their interaction with the gun was calculated without an additional device. No matter the thickness of bases, these will modify at least for a part of the crew, the report with the gun and for sure it will be a pity to waste an awesome contact in favour of some bases. Obviously, basing both the gun and the crew on the same device do not do any harm to the just praised connection crewmen-cannon. The only critic brought to this set by few people refers to the absence of bases. Nevertheless, this is not a well founded reproach while soldiers perched on a plastic square, circle or other geometric form could represent a serious threat to accuracy, diminishing the huge effort of the manufacturer in achieving a great interaction between the crew and the gun. Furthermore, Pegasus Hobbies mentioned that instead delivering few bases they rather include on the sprue extra items like ammunition boxes and weapons. Doubtless, this is a healthier and more appreciated approach, being much more difficult and costly for the company to make boots with studs or in depth detailed extra weapons than adding an insignificant piece of plastic.    

In whole compliance with manufacturer's recommendations included in the instruction sheet, two types of glue should be used while putting together the content of this set. The hard plastic gun requires standard model glue (polly-cement) with the single mention that the steeling wheels, made of soft plastic, has to be fixed with super glue. For assembling the soft plastic figures super glue is more than necessary, the most advisable being the gel one for the following reason. The advantage of separate arms proves very important in the moment of placing the soldiers at the guns because they may be adjusted in relation with various components of a gun and should be fixed immediately after the desired position is attained and super glue does not become hard. Apart from the regular one, super glue gel possess the major characteristic of not getting dry very quickly, allowing in a short interval further readjustments in case a mistake occurs during the assembling process.

A brief distinct paragraph should be dedicated to the soft plastic engaged by Pegasus Hobbies for manufacturing the present figures. It is rare the case when a company pays attention to the suggestions of the target groups, and this producer is one of the fewest appropriating the viewings of their customs and making true efforts to give satisfactory answers to their remarks. A general opinion was that the soft plastic Pegasus Hobbies used for their sets was too soft, in this way some weapons being sensitive to bending. Nevertheless, for those cases a successful remedy was soaking the bent part into hot water and then rapidly adjusting it into the correct manner. Starting with le.IG18 crew the old plastic was replaced with an improved version, harder, but still maintaining the amazing propensity of admirable accepting super glue. Furthermore, with the current soft plastic there was avoided the tendency of the old one in bringing a gloss aspect to paint. The novel material excellent accepts both enamel and artistic oils, preserving their characteristics, providing also an appropriate base capable to sustain paint even at intensive handling. Last, but not least a good piece of news for the fans of this company might be the fact that Pegasus Hobbies started to reissue their older 1/72 soft plastic WWII Germans in this new material, more precisely "Waffen SS Set 1 and 2" as well as "Germans in Berlin 1945".  

Bearing in mind that the set includes two types of crews, dressed in different uniforms, the compatibility with other sets should be distinctly established, but stressing again that especially on large diorama, figures dressed in early and late German WWII attire may be mixed. The crew dressed in M36 tunics, from the size point of view of bodies, weapons and gear, obviously perfectly match the figures of the same company enclosed in "German Mortar Teams", the set that is the inspiration source for the crew in early war tunics. A very good relation can be achieved and with soldiers from Imex "German Troops", Hasegawa "German Infantry Attack Group", Esci "German Soldiers"/Italeri "German Infantry", Atlantic "German Infantry" and even Caesar "German Infantry Late War". For sure, despite sculptured a little bit smaller, the figures from Revell "German Armoured Infantry", Airfix "German Infantry" and most of Preiser sets with reference to the German army in WWII are compatible with the previewed set, as well. On the other hand, from the same point of view, the members of the crew dressed in camouflage smocks may be best joined by Pegasus Hobbies "Waffen SS - set 1", Italeri "Pak40 AT gun and servants", Preiser "German Pak 40 Crew" and "German 8 cm trench mortar 34 in combat", Caesar "German Infantry with Winter Gear", Italeri "German Elite Troops", Revell "German Infantry", Esci "Nebelwerfer 41", as well some from Pegasus Hobbies "Germans in Berlin 1945" and Revell "German Engineers". Nevertheless, there are more sets or kits related to gun crews such as Esci "German Anti-tank Gun", Airfix "Opel Blitz and Pak40", Revell "German Artillery", Italeri "Pak40 AT gun and servants", Preiser "German Pak 40 Crew" as well various Hasegawa, MAC Distribution kits and a HaT series of WWII guns, but this thing does not diminish the importance and high necessity of the present set, bearing in mind the large, but still far insufficient amount of artillery pieces without crews issued by a large number of manufacturers.

The "German 75 mm le IG18 Infantry Gun with Crew" from Pegasus Hobbies is a significant set, both for completing the area of German gun crewmen and for the great opportunities of conversions for which they are extremely suitable, improving the collections with nice and unique poses of gun crewmen or even first line infantry troopers. Furthermore, another aspect that must not be neglected is that the set includes a single le.IG18 gun, a weapon not so often encountered in the scale. Ace and HaT offer the same gun, but these are far away from the one released by Pegasus Hobbies which is without doubt the most qualitative model. 

Impressive detailed cannon and dynamic figures astonishing accomplishing their role, both exceedingly accurate from the historical and scale points of view, were launched within the same box by a company that continuously search the perfection, which from many reasons is totally reached inside "German 75 mm le IG18 Infantry Gun with Crew". Addressed not only to diorama builders or collectors, but also to wargamers, the present set provides the appropriate image of how cannon crewmen should look like. We can hear the commander yelling orders to his troop, the hand wheels spinning in expert hands of very hard tried soldiers or the gasp of the crewman in his effort of blocking the recoil of the gun. For sure, the featured figures are not exclusively le.IG18 crew, they can be used at different types of artillery or PaK guns. In this case, the le.IG18 projectiles from the hands of a couple of soldiers should be substituted with one fitting the calibre of the involved gun or a suitable shell to be added to other bare handed figures from here. In addition, offering two crews, but a single gun, the modeller has at hand the helpful possibility to bring close to the gun the soldiers matching the best his needs. The owner of the set benefits by the great chance of getting a spare crew able to operate one of his guns for which he does not possess the necessary soldiers, being well-known the fact that a lot of manufacturers issue their cannons without troopers. The approach has never been applied in the scale, constituting another premier from this manufacturer that always surprises in a pleasant manner their fans. Available at a market price, here we have the great opportunity to get a superbly detailed gun as well as two teams of crewmen whose quality is superior to a huge number of resin or white metal much more expensive sets and containing even less figures. All the just described particulars on the one hand situate the present set on a leading position of 1/72 WWII German Army offers launched in 2008, and on the other hand, these attributes are impossible not to charm the fans of Braille Scale, making them proud and happy that exist in their scale a mass production company capable to manufacture small artillery pieces magnificently reproduced and accurate as well as figures compatible or exceeding from many points of view those issued in upper scales.   

STANDARD POSES OF THE SET

ADDITIONAL ITEMS PROVIDED BY THE SET

THE GUN (PAINTED IN THE EARLY WAR STYLE)

THE GUN WITH THE CREW DRESSED IN M36 TUNICS

THE GUN WITH THE CREW DRESSED IN CAMOUFLAGE SMOCKS

BOTH CREWS WITH GUNS

THE BOX

THE FIGURES SPRUE

THE GUN SPRUE

THE ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS SHEET

COMPARATION BETWEEN PEGASUS HOBBIES AND ACE LE.IG18 GUN SPRUES

SIZE REFERENCES

CONVERSIONS ON BOX 2 OF THE SAME SET

CONVERSIONS ON BOX 3 OF THE SAME SET (TEST SHOTS)

SIZE REFERENCE OF A CONVERSION

COMPARATION BETWEEN AUTUMN/WINTER AND SPRING/SUMMER VERSIONS OF WAFFEN SS OAK LEAF PATTERN

THE GUN (PAINTED IN THE LATE WAR STYLE)

COMPARATION BETWEEN THE SAME GUN PAINTED IN EARLY AND LATE STYLES 

SLIGHT MODIFICATIONS OF THE STANDARD POSES OF THE CREW IN SMOCKS PAINTED IN SPRING/SUMMER WAFFEN SS OAK LEAF PATTERN

ON THE BATTLE FIELD

THE CREW DRESSED IN M36 TUNICS WITH THE GUN 

A COMPLETE SIX MEMBER CREW OF IG 18GUN (DRESSED IN AUTUMN/WINTER WAFFEN SS OAK LEAF PATTERN)

THE SAME CREW, BUT IN ANOTHER EMPLACEMENT

THE FOUR MEMBER CREW OF IG 18GUN PROVIDED BY THE SET (DRESSED IN SPRING/SUMMER WAFFEN SS OAK LEAF PATTERN)

FEW IMAGES FROM THE EASTERN FRONT....(THE BLACK AND WHITE VERSIONS OF THE COLOURED PHOTOS)

THE CREW DRESSED IN SMOCKS TOGETHER WITH FEW CONVERSIONS OF THE SAME FIGURES

ANXIOUSLY WAITING TO START WORKING HIS VERSION OF PEGASUS HOBBIES' IG 18 GUN AND CREW SET, MY 14 MONTHS OLD SON.....

.....LIMITS HIS ACTIVITIES TO WHAT HE KNOWS AT PRESENT....

...AND I DO HOPE THAT AT THE END OF THIS POST, YOU WILL FEEL JUST LIKE THIS...