TG Luftwaffe pilots (1 Viewer)

[Mitch]

Guys....

Has TG just done the iconic pose of Hans Jochiem Marseille. A friend just sent these two pics and commented on this and thought I would post the pics. It certainly does look that way not identical but so close its uncanny and, its a real good figure with accurate detailing and a great sculpt.
Mitch

 

[jbonzo1]

If they used that picture as a reference, kudos! It's a superb figure either way.

 

[Mitch]

What I found amazing is the detail rather than just paint in the shoulder eppalettes and have them flat they are actually moulded which, IMO is an attention to detail that deserves more credit.

As you say an excellent figure
Mitch

 

[spokeye]

Giday everyone,

I just purchased an example of the figure that Mitch is referring to. While I agree with Mitch that the figure's pose is very good, and closely resembles the pose struck by Hans-Joachim Marseille in the photograph above, I do not agree with Mitch that the attention to detail is good.

For example, the side cap of the figure that I purchased does not include a Luftwaffe eagle. In addition, the cap includes silver piping around the lower edge. I do not believe that any Luftwaffe side caps included piping around the lower edge, (not to be confused with the scolloped edge of the side flap).

The figure I believe is meant to represent a pilot having the rank of Oberleutnant. Accordingly, I would have expected that the figure would have an officer's claw type belt buckle. Instead, the figure has an aluminium belt buckle of the type worn by NCO's and other ranks, (perhaps this pilot has risen up through the ranks or simply prefers to wear an NCO's belt buckle.

Lastly, the piping around the collar of the figure's flight blouse (fliegerbluse) ought to be a silver/aluminium colour - not white.

Best wishes,

Spokeye

 

[Mitch]

spokeye..

Welcome to the forum. Some good points you raised but, I was mentioning the fact that the 'pips' on the eppalletes were actually raised from moulding rather than the actual painting colour.

I have seen pictures especially from the desert where officers carry know eagle on their caps especially, soft caps like this and, have worn personal belts not Luftwaffe issue or, as you say worn other ranks equipement. Perhaps TG looked at similar pictures when creating this figure. Things were not as strict in the desert JG's

Overall I still hold its a great figure and a better representation of the famous Marseille pose than K&C's IMO
Mitch

 

[The Military Workshop]

Mitch,
I am no expert on Luftwaffe uniforms etc but your comment about TG's pilot figure being a

"better representation of the famous Marseille pose than K&C's"

has me confused.

I do not recall TG indicating any of his pilots had specific names. However K&C 's Marseille is clearly not based on the photo you have shown so I don't see how you can compare the "Marseille pose" and say one is better than the other.

If I had a photo of Marseille in the pose used by K&C I could just as easily say K&C has done a better representation of the "Marseille pose" than TG (although that is conditional on me knowing that TG's figure is supposed to be Marseille).

Regards
Brett

 

[Mitch]

Brett....

My comment at the end was not stating that TG said this was Marseille it was only indicating the similarities other collectors had made about the pose of TG and, several famous wartime pics of young Marseille and then made the assertion that it was Marseille. That being so then IMO it was a better detailed and more accurate representation of Marseille. My critique was down to quality in terms of detail and painting.

Had you taken the initial comments from the collector and followed them through to the last post then I don't know if it still would have been confusing

If you wish to discuss the detail and paint work of the two figures as stand alone pieces I am willing to do so.
Mitch

 

[IONA]

Sorry for asking again guys but has anyone heard anymore about the planes that go with the pilots ,i thought they were due out end of September
Scott

 

[Mitch]

I think the only way to avoid rumour or speculation is to contact TG direct. Every other comment is wrong so straight from the horses mouth is the best way to move forward. I am sure they have to come sooner rather than later
Mitch

 

[The Military Workshop]

Mitch,
Actually since, in my opinion, I viewed your comment as without foundation I did not consider it an actual criticism of K&C. For me to accept it as a criticism would be to accept your comparison. If you had said it was a better or more interesting pose than the Marseille figure by K&C then I would not have made any comment.

However you made a comparison that I could not see. You made reference to the "famous Marseille pose". K&C's figure is clearly not based on that photo. I have just looked through the previous TG threads and could see no comment that related that figure to Marseille other than your first post in this thread. You made a reference to an
email from a friend. That sort of hand movement pose is very common particularly in the modelling world and one of the K&C RAF figures is doing something similar.

My post only related to your "famous Marseille pose" comparsion. As I indicated I have no knowledge of Luftwaffe uniforms (or detail). You did not make any particular reference to the actual detail or painting compared to the specific K&C Marseille figure. Any opinion I might have on the uniform details would be based on comments from my customers.

From a dealer point of view my main concern is that the TG Luftwaffe figures are suitable to display with the K&C Luftwaffe figures and aircraft. They are compatable and that is good enough for me. Whether the uniform or detail or painting is good enough is up to my customers to decide.

Regards
Brett

 

[spokeye]

Giday Mitch,

Thank you for the welcome.

Having read the posts above, and compared the face of the pilot figure with the photograph of Marseille recounting to his fellow commrades details of a past encounter with an allied aircraft, I can see a close resemblance. While Thomas Gunn for obvious reasons has not publically stated that the figure is Marseille, it certainly does look like him! (To the best of my knowledge Marseille did not fly a Fw 190 over Europe.)

Since my last post, I have covered the piping on the lower edge of the side cap with a suitable tan coloured paint, and have touched up the ribbon representing the award of the Iron Cross, second class, (In my opinion the ribbon as originally painted looked too big and rather garish. A slightly smaller, somewhat understated, ribbon in my opinion looks better.). I am pleased with the results and have wile away the evening admiring the beauty of this figure and the other Thomas Gunn pilot dressed in tropical attire.

I hope that Thomas Gunn will produce more Luftwaffe pilots and ground crew to complement this set.

Lastly, in my opinion, though a minor point, it is a point worth raising. The transfer that represents the breast eagle has been applied to the figure back to front. The eagle should be flying from right to left, not left to right! Has anyone else noticed this?

Kind regards,

Spokeye

 

[Guy]

Mitch,
Actually since, in my opinion, I viewed your comment as without foundation I did not consider it an actual criticism of K&C. For me to accept it as a criticism would be to accept your flawed comparison. If you had said it was a better or more interesting pose than the Marseille figure by K&C then I would not have made any comment as that is opinion. You sometimes confuse your opinion with fact.

However you made a comparison that I could not see. You made reference to the "famous Marseille pose". K&C's figure is clearly not based on that photo. If it is it is a pathetic likeness to the pose you refer to. I have just looked through the previous TG threads and could see no comment that related that figure to Marseille other than your first post in this thread. You made a reference to an
email from a friend. That sort of hand movement pose is very common particularly in the modelling world and one of the K&C RAF figures is doing something similar.

If as you say I bounded to the rescue everytime there was a criticism of K&C or was on some sort of commission then I guess I would be posting a lot more. I would be a General by now !! Or at least a Colonel.

I think you will find I have not done as much "bounding to the rescue" as you might think. Even if you consider your own posts my "bounding" probably would equate to one only "bound' per 4 or 500 posts by you. I would concede that you may have some reason to believe that I "bound" more in
response to your posts and that is purely because I disagree with more of your views or comments than I do with most other forum members. Then again you do make a lot comments.

My post only related to your "famous Marseille pose" comparsion. As I indicated I have no knowledge of Luftwaffe uniforms (or detail). You did not make any particular reference to the actual detail or painting compared to the specific K&C Marseille figure. Any opinion I might have on the uniform details would be based on comments from my customers.

From a dealer point of view my main concern is that the TG Luftwaffe figures are suitable to display with the K&C Luftwaffe figures and aircraft. They are compatable and that is good enough for me. Whether the uniform or detail or painting is good enough is up to my customers to decide.

Regards
Brett

Gentlemen,

As the war progressed all soldiers from army, navy and airforce, German an Allies alike wore a mixture of old and new uniforms.I even have a picture of a German 1st Lieutenant- flyer in N-Africa (in june 1942) wearing a captured British unform with German distinctives and badges. As for the pose, there are lots and lots of pictures of Allied and German fly-boys- other than Marseille- taking the same pose as the one discribed above.
We are collectors and if I do not agree with the pose or the painting of one particular figure being it K&C or TG or somebody else, I simply repaint or rebuild it without making such a fuss
guy
Keep smiling

 

[Mitch]

spokeye...

I cannot looking at the eagles from K&C and TG see the detail you mention as they are both not as detailed as I would want from making my own transfers the eagles wings seem to go in the right direction as the picture added and from their decals can one really tell whether its the tail or head of the eagle?

I don't think TG released this pilot just for the FW190 but, as a stand alone figure but, the more you look the more it resembles the iconic pics of him and, I think that was the point that was raised to me by the collector who e-mailed the pics before Brett went off on his crusade. Is this the figure you mean about breast eagle or not?
Mitch

Giday Mitch,

Thank you for the welcome.

Having read the posts above, and compared the face of the pilot figure with the photograph of Marseille recounting to his fellow commrades details of a past encounter with an allied aircraft, I can see a close resemblance. While Thomas Gunn for obvious reasons has not publically stated that the figure is Marseille, it certainly does look like him! (To the best of my knowledge Marseille did not fly a Fw 190 over Europe.)

Since my last post, I have covered the piping on the lower edge of the side cap with a suitable tan coloured paint, and have touched up the ribbon representing the award of the Iron Cross, second class, (In my opinion the ribbon as originally painted looked too big and rather garish. A slightly smaller, somewhat understated, ribbon in my opinion looks better.). I am pleased with the results and have wile away the evening admiring the beauty of this figure and the other Thomas Gunn pilot dressed in tropical attire.

I hope that Thomas Gunn will produce more Luftwaffe pilots and ground crew to complement this set.

Lastly, in my opinion, though a minor point, it is a point worth raising. The transfer that represents the breast eagle has been applied to the figure back to front. The eagle should be flying from right to left, not left to right! Has anyone else noticed this?

Kind regards,

Spokeye

 

[The Military Workshop]

Mitch,
Yet again you miss the point.

You made a clear comparison to the "famous Marseille pose" when anybody can see that K&C's figure is not based upon that pose. It is therefore simply a wrong way to compare the two figures.

If you had been comparing it as a Marseille or pilot figure in general terms then I would not have commented.

Any post where I might make comment on yours is usually because I have found your comment to be contrary to my knowledge.

Would love to chat some more but watching a great doco on Operation Certain Death in Sierra Leone and then to bed.

Regards
Brett

 

[Mitch]

Here it is plain and simple. I put information on the site from a collector who stated the likeness and pose of the TG figure to Marseille. My last comment was that should this be considered to be the pilot then IMO it is a better representation of Marseille than K&C just standing holding a map case. I think I said therefor that it was the better pose for the iconic image which everyone associates Marseille with.

I think it was self explanatory or the people who have contacted me seem to agree so, I cannot see why you are still on about this issue apart from the obvious.
Mitch

 

[jbonzo1]

Is the figure perfect? No. Is it meant to replicate the figure in the photo? Don't know. Is it a great figure? Yep!

 

[Mitch]

Still some of the best Luftwaffe to hit the market IMO. More to come also one hopes
Mitch

 

[lancer]

Got Luft002B this am. This is the desert pilot gesturing with his hands, and it is a really well done figure. Excellent paint and very animated sculpting. Looks great talking to the Marseille figure as they stand next to the desert 109. -- Al