Hello everybody,

The Korean company continues to pleasantly surprise our wallets with new releases and thats what we will be looking at in this review

Announced here on PF and Social media

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/mj-miniatures-new-release-for-dec-2016.81660/

with the Box Art being announced here:

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/us-tanker-box-art-mj-miniatures.81957/

the release being:

As you can see it depicts a tank crewman wearing the M38 helmet with goggles on the front , the Winter Tanker Jky , carrying a Thompson sub machine gun , with a leather 1911 holster with a pistol inside , at the back we have a small first aid pouch.

The helmet was specifically designed to meet the needs of the crew , protection , and smaller than the M1 helmet and became the instantly recognised item of the Armoured units.

The Tanker Helmet (or Helmet, Tank) developed in 1938 was made of rubberized fibre/leather with a thicker band of leather stitched around the rim. An inner suspension was made of a cross of soft leather straps. Ten 3/4 inch ventilation holes helped keep heat down while the back of the head was protected by a neck flap of the same material as the cap.
Side ear pieces (again, same material as the cap) were loosely attached, each with an R-14 earphone built into a center hole. The ear flaps could be worn flipped up, but inside a tank the noise level was so high that you could hear nothing unless the earphones were right against your ears. Side spring-loaded tabs held the earflaps tightly to the ears when that was desired. A throat microphone was usually used with this helmet.

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The whole shell was painted olive drab as issued but some were also painted other colours to show ank or special roles. The leather was natural tan color, not dyed. Rawlings was the manufacturer of the Tanker Helmet. Typical markings were stamped on the leather suspension with the Rawlings logo, a size, and patent numbers.

The Tanker jacket was vastly superior to the flimsy (and cold) M41 field jacket resulting in a rapid spread of the tanker jacket to any troops who could get their hands on them. The zipper was more convenient than the button/zipper of the M-41 and the shorter length was an improvement over the longer M-41 for anyone sitting or crouching. Tanker Jackets found their way into the Air Force in both the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters. It was especially favored by officers who took much of the available supply.
The Tanker Jacket is basically a windbreaker design, waist cut medium weight jacket with two outside pockets and zipper front. There were two patterns made, the first in 1941, and a revision in 1942.
The material was heavy khaki or OD color, If khaki, the lining was "mustard" brown while the OD jackets had a lining of the same color. 8.2 oz cotton for the outer shell with a bi-swing back. There was a knit wool collar, waistband and cuffs, as well as a wool blanket lining. The zipper front closure had a wind flap.
The 1941 first pattern jackets had patch pockets with horizontal openings. This was revised to slash pockets ("hand warmer") for the 1942 2nd pattern.

Also issued was a Tankers Overalls , consisting of wide openings at the ankle to allow for the boots to be retained when putting on and removing the trousers , they were a bib like and sometimes worn over the jacket .

Goggles there were 3 main types that were issued these are the 1938 Resistants , the Polaroid 1021 and the 1944 version
Boots of course are vital here are commonly seen buckle type
Weapons included the Thompson and the pistol worn in various holsters , here is the one the model has

Books are many of course here are a couple , we also have the internet as well .

Continued in next post

Nap

Onto the resin

Initial thoughts

MJ Miniatures have in the past been releasing busts and smaller scale figures ( 75mm) with excellent results and now with this , their 1st in their larger scale and in my opinion a good move , adding another option to the modeller ( I see also we have 1/35th scale coming as well )


Title: US Tanker in WW2

Reference: MJ16F001

Scale: 1/16th

Material: Lt brown/flesh coloured Resin

No of pieces: 7

Sculptor: MJ Studio

Box Art: Man-Jin, Kim

As with previous release the resin is held safely in the brown box with bubble wrap and parts in resealable bags , on the top we have the box art and also a picture on the ends as well , something which is a personal touch is a "Thank You" on the lid flap ( also MJ's signature on the outside) .

Parts consist of Main figure , 2 arms , one hand, holster, 2 head options , no base is included.

Prep is minimal consisting of simply removing casting remnants , all easy to get to, on the review there was a fine casting line to sand quickly from the left side of the jacket but this could be painted to match the seam on the opposite side. , dry fitting showed no filler need at the arm to shoulder area with the fitting nicely into the sleeve cuff.

The biggest decision to make ...which head to use !!!



Main piece this consists of the upper torso and the legs

Looking at the jacket first , a good area that looks like there is something being worn underneath, sculpting is as we come to expect , very good with the surface having indentations into which the arms fit smoothly and accurately , the seams are well defined with good details on folds and the collar, cuffs as well as the lower edge of the jacket .
Moving up towards the neck we see the zip details again well sculpted , this opens up the neck exposing the clothing worn underneath , I like the way the collar has been positioned slightly out , the neck area is all ready to take the head of your choice.

Trousers show a good understanding of materials and how it reacts when being worn , good folds again and the way the material hangs is good as well , a nice touch are the pocket flaps , the right being slightly in the pocket the left has the flap raised and open with the button hole.

At the reat our taker wears the first aid pouch

Looking at the boots ..again well sculpted with fine details including the laces and the lace holes , sharp work on the actual boot form itself.

Arms/Hand

The left arm is holding the Thompson gun or rather 75% of it with the other part being the weapon muzzle area which is held in the right hand .
The work on the clothing is again well shown with the folds being natural and correct , good detail on the weapon itself including the rear swivel itself and the firing mechanism , he has the forefinger over the trigger guard , the magazine is in place .

The same positive thoughts can be said about the left arm the difference being the at we have a"blank" triangle shape to put the unit of your choice on, the cuffs are well done with nice ribbing of the material , the cuff itself inside is opened ready to take the hand .

The hand is a very clever bit of sculpting and casting , fitting well and in position easily , the hand details are excellent as is the other , this hand grips the front part of the gin and again we see good work with the muzzle being well defined and underneath we have the front swivel.



Holster
This is a good shape with the distinctive "US" stamp sharply on it the actual flap hangs well and is secured shut , peeking out from inside we have the pistol handle itself ( Colt 45 )


Head(s)

Here we are treated here to 2 options within the kit , one smiling the other with the mouth closed , both wear the tankers helmet , the details on this are excellent , sculpting the details are very sharply done with crisp undercuts the sides fall down towards the middle of the neck .

On the top we have the goggles , very well shaped and a nice challenge to paint the lens .

Facial features are very good , I particularly like the smiling option , the mouth slightly lifted up , teeth showing .




Final Thoughts
A really good addition to the products line adding a new area to release into , the pose is a strong if perhaps a little stagnant one the feet slightly splayed out with the weapon being across the front .
I have no doubt the film Fury was in the sculptors mind and that is indeed an option , but aside from that you are given a opportunity to swirl the brushes on a real QUALITY piece

My pleasure to HIGHLY RECOMMEND this

For more details on this and all the other great releases in all scales why not visit the website at:

www.mj-miniatures.co.kr

e mail: mjminiatures@gmail.com

Thanks to for the Review piece and all of you for looking in

Nap

Lets now have some more pictures from MJ


ENJOY

Firstly unpainted

now PAINTED by MJ

Happy modelling

Nap

Here's a couple more reference pictures for you


Nap