introduction

After the EM-35021 British SAS Captain of L-Detachment in North Africa,1942 ,Evolution Miniatures released another kit related to World War II Africa campaign. EM-35023 Officer SAS and Local Man is a two figure kit with a British SAS member holding a map,asking for the direction and a desert man in local clothing with a walking stick pointing the address.

For some historical information about British SAS in WW II, please see EM-35021 Review.

box

The figures come in standard Evolution Miniatures 70x100x35 mm hard cardboard box . The front part of the box shows a photo of the assembled figures painted by Sergey Traviansky which can serve as a painting guide.
The parts are represented with the casting blocks. Each figure is inserted in seperate small plastic zip-lock bag to avoid unexpected damages during transfer. Body parts and other small parts are packed in different bags. A paper map is also included inside the box.

parts

Both figures are sculpted by Sergey Traviansky- Menelay and comes in grey resin pieces. The resin quality is good and details are crisp. There will be no need for a serious cleanwork as there were no air bubbles, excess resin or casting mistakes on the figures. In my sample, there was only slighlt visible seamlines inside legs of SAS officer which can be cleaned with a short sanding. The junctions between small parts and casting blocks are well placed and the parts can be easily removed without any damage.

SAS Officer

The figure comes in 4 parts.The main part is Full body without arms.Details on the face, moustache and beard are well defined. He wears traditional arabic headdress widely used by SAS and LRDG members - Ghutra which protects from sun exposure and sandstorms. Headdress is secured with a black corded band made of goat hair - Agal. He carries MT Goggles on his head. These goggles were issued to all motorized elements of the British and Commonwealth armies.
A scarf is wrapped around his neck to protect the face from bown dust and sand during jeep or LRDG trips. His uniform is British tropical KD-Khaki Drill battle dress with long sleeves shirt. SAS operational parachute wings worn on the left breast is sculpted on the figure. Cloth folds, pocket details and shoulder straps are well represented. His webbing is 1937 pattern webbelt with pistol case and cartridge pouch. Flap covered pistol case which can be used for all preferable revolvers by SAS like Enfield Mk.1, Webley Mk IV and even Smith Wesson 38 is hang low on the right hip.
He wears KD shorts named as Bombay Bloomers which are longer than normal shorts and loose fitting. The reason for the long loose fitting shorts was to allow the air to circulate under the shorts and to aid in keeping the sun off the skin. They were also prefered by the British aviators on the Africa campaign. As a footgear, he has Chapplies - sandals on his rolled down standard issue socks. When I first saw this figure; I thought there is a proportion problem on the lower part of body but as I compared with the other figures of the company especially with other SAS figure, I realized it looks like that because of the different length of the shorts and it is worn low on the waist.

Other parts are;

Left arm and Right arm : Both arms are posed to hold a map and show nice cloth folds.Wrist watch on the left hand is a nice detail.

Knife : On the left side, he carries a sheath for a Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife which was a standard issue for most British commando brigades and called as Commando dagger.

Local Man

The figure comes in 3 parts. The main part is Full body without left arm. On his head, he wears a Turban consisting of a long scarf-like single piece of cloth wound around the head in many different styles. Cloth folds of turban and facial details are well represented. He wears a Thobe - a neckless, front buttoned till to the waist, long and loose tunic covering whole body down to the ankles. Thobe also known as Thawb or Dishdasha is usually worn with loose white trousers underneath called Sirwal. Cloth folds over the garment and loose right sleeve are well defined. Note that thobe can be painted in any color (mostly white or light colors to reflect sunshine) or lined pattern. He wears sandals on his bare feet.

Other parts are;

Left arm : Posed to point a direction, it shows nice cloth folds.

Right hand : He carries a long, slightly curved on the top walking stick on his hand.

conclusion

A very nice figure kit sculpted in nice details and cast flawless in high quality. It can be displayed alone, with a camel, together with EM-35021 kit or next to a SAS Jeep or LRDG 30 cwt Chevrolet Truck in a desert scene.

references

The following books and websites can be useful when painting this figure.

Osprey Publishing - Men At Arms 116 - The Special Air Service by James G Shortt & Angus McBride

Osprey Publishing - New Vanguard 032 - Long Range Desert Group 1940-1945 by Robin Jenner & Peter Sarson

Osprey Publishing - Battle Orders 023 - Desert Raiders : Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940-43 by Andrea Molinari

http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/lrdg/lrdg.html