Tagged the “soft underbelly” of Europe, Italy turned out to be anything but! In fact the Italian campaign resulted in some 60,000 Allied and 50,000 German deaths, making it costlier than any other single campaign in Western Europe. The Italian campaign began on July 10 1943 with the invasion of Sicily, and it continued with the British Eighth Army invasion on the “toe” of Italy on September 3rd. It only concluded when victory in Europe was assured on May 8 1945. Responding to popular request for more Allied figures, Dragon has produced a sensational figure set of Commonwealth troops serving in this Italian theatre. Troops from a number of nations equipped with British equipment served there, so this figure set could easily represent British, Polish, Canadian, New Zealand or South African soldiers.
The kit offers six figures all dressed in tropical khaki drill uniforms, including four infantrymen wearing shorts. The 1/35 scale set portrays a squad marching north through Italy’s dusty and mountainous terrain circa 1943, perhaps accompanied by a Sherman Mk. III tank such as the one recently released by Dragon. The soldiers carry mostly Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk. 1 rifles, though a Bren gun and Thompson M1928A1 submachine gun are also in evidence. Each soldier is fully kitted out with personal gear that is accurately replicated in miniature. Their poses are natural, and details are finely represented in plastic. Of course, this set also offers great potential for modification, as the figures could be used in other theaters, or by mixing and matching parts, a variety of new poses can be achieved.