1/6 DiD D80158 Afrika Korps Infantry MG34 Gunner – Bialas

[MeatHookGekko]

The comments on the BBICN thread are dominated by how empty the second tray looks.

It shouldn't have been a surprise because they all knew what as included.

The one thing missing, which is disappointing, are the Y straps. There's a lot of gear to put on his belt that in real life would've benefited from the extra support.

Even back in the days of the old Warrior Forum, many collectors have asked for smaller boxes.

Shipping costs have risen exponentially since that time. Paying for more box means more shipping cost means fewer dollars to spend somewhere on a hobby budget.

I was always a proponent of plain white mailer boxes with a sleeve over it (Very Hot Toys) or just a sticker ( Toy Soldier)

For a showpiece set like the HT Samurai Predator, sure I get the appeal of a really complex and elaborate box. But it just doesn't do it for me otherwise.

What DID could have done was fill the 2nd side with empty cloth sandbags. Let people fill them up themselves. Cheap, light and appropriate for a machine gunner.

With inflation going where it's going, the question needs to be asked if a high end uniform set is the way to go. Give everyone the gear and nix the nude body and box. Lower the cost to move more units.

100 dollar uniform/gear sets is more palatable to more collectors. Lighter to ship.

 

[Asta]

Even back in the days of the old Warrior Forum, many collectors have asked for smaller boxes.

Shipping costs have risen exponentially since that time. Paying for more box means more shipping cost means fewer dollars to spend somewhere on a hobby budget.

I was always a proponent of plain white mailer boxes with a sleeve over it (Very Hot Toys) or just a sticker ( Toy Soldier)

For a showpiece set like the HT Samurai Predator, sure I get the appeal of a really complex and elaborate box. But it just doesn't do it for me otherwise.

What DID could have done was fill the 2nd side with empty cloth sandbags. Let people fill them up themselves. Cheap, light and appropriate for a machine gunner.

With inflation going where it's going, the question needs to be asked if a high end uniform set is the way to go. Give everyone the gear and nix the nude body and box. Lower the cost to move more units.

100 dollar uniform/gear sets is more palatable to more collectors. Lighter to ship.

DiD responded about the size of the box, but I don't think they understood the issue. They said it can be flattened!

I have an attic full of boxes, and an OCD that prevents me from throwing them away. Ideally they would be minimalistic and just enough to protect the items inside, because that's all I'm interested in. Hence the inclusion of jigsaws puzzled me.

 

[Asta]

https://bbs.bbicn.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=387379&extra=page=1
Photos by Ronaldo is brother:

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

They should have included Ystraps, a full length bullet belt or an A Frame and few other bits. Seems bare compared to Burk.
I want a 1/6 Kubbelwagen

 

[Asta]

 

[Asta]

I'd read that DiD had done away with working buttons for this one, but at least the poppers are metal and not the flimsy plastic kind that are prevalent nowadays:

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

Buttons obviously look better but for practicality the snap ons are better. I have two jackets both with ripped off buttons due to being unable to fasten them closed. I need to get round to sewing them again but the holes for the button is so tiny I can only get a needle to pass through once.

The brother of 'WH Infantry Freid',
'WH Infantry Oberleutnant – Winter' has snap on buttons on his jacket also.

 

[Asta]

Buttons obviously look better but for practicality the snap ons are better. I have two jackets both with ripped off buttons due to being unable to fasten them closed. I need to get round to sewing them again but the holes for the button is so tiny I can only get a needle to pass through once.

Working buttons are a nice touch, and it's the only way to go if you want to display a jacket open.

With this one I'm okay with the poppers, and am glad it wasn't the fragile black ones. Sometimes those are difficult to fasten and it feels like the tiny studs are going to bend and break off.

Metal poppers are very old school nowadays.


Whenever I've had to stitch a button back on I've pushed the thread through once and tied it together on the back rather than doing the usual repeated overstitch.

Rebuttoning is a delicate process though, so as not to rip the button off again.

 

[Asta]

This is DiD's video for their MG34 set, which I'll put here since it's associated with Bialas:

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

Have any of you seen the prices of the Bialas MG34 gun listed on ebay belonging to this set? Its like €110 / $110
That's crazy, around half the price of the entire set.

 

[Asta]

Have any of you seen the prices of the Bialas MG34 gun listed on ebay belonging to this set? Its like €110 / $110
That's crazy, around half the price of the entire set.

Sounds like collectors have been starved of MG34s!

I've never had a DiD version before.

I've only had the plastic Dragon/DML, and the ones that came with either Hot Toys or Sideshow Star Wars figures, so I can't judge whether this is such a improvement that it warrants the price tag.

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

Sounds like collectors have been starved of MG34s!

I've never had a DiD version before.

I've only had the plastic Dragon/DML, and the ones that came with either Hot Toys or Sideshow Star Wars figures, so I can't judge whether this is such a improvement that it warrants the price tag.

Same, I've only ever had a Dragon one and it felt cheap and parts were very loose on it. If this is the price they're selling for I'd nearly buy another one of the figures and sell the MG, put on K98 pouches and give him a rifle instead which I have extras of. Another figure for half the price.

 

[Asta]

Bialas is another good one.

When I opened the box I had a feeling the uniform was a different colour to Burke's, and I think putting them together shows three different colours for the three figures. It realistically depicts the variation in uniforms as they faded under the north African sun.

Those are the colours using the camera flash, which is why the photos aren't that good.

The MG34 is heavy, and he's the smallest guy having to carry it because he's on the new Advanced Slim body like Marseille.

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

Really cool Asta, I love the variations I've noticed Wilhem and Burks uniforms are different shades. Wilhems was a brighter green. I've bought a few bits to kitbash a 4th figure myself using leftovers of the other two.

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

Coming soon from DID...
MG34 Stand

 

[Asta]

Really cool Asta, I love the variations I've noticed Wilhem and Burks uniforms are different shades. Wilhems was a brighter green. I've bought a few bits to kitbash a 4th figure myself using leftovers of the other two.

Wilhelm's looks the brightest. Bialas looks like a slightly faded version of Wilhelm, and Burke is much more olive.

I went through the specs for all the figures to check on the bodies used, because Burke and Marseille are actually both on the Advanced Slim, with Wilhelm on the older regular body.

The reason Bialas is shorter is because he's on the newest version: Advanced Slim Short.

The new metal poppers on his tunic sit remarkably flush, so it's as close fitting as the ones with real buttons. Also, with flash photography all the extra stitching for the working buttons shows up pretty badly (but not so in normal light).

 

[Asta]

I swapped his cap out for the helmet because I think it suits his sculpt better, as does the cap on the brown coated figure.

Also tried to capture them in different lighting

With some Tunisian tribesmen...

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

Very cool set. You need the MG stand next for Bialas. Here's mine so far but should have Bialas in about a week

 

[FlyAndFight]

Love that last photo, Asta!

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Sounds like collectors have been starved of MG34s!

I've never had a DiD version before.

I've only had the plastic Dragon/DML, and the ones that came with either Hot Toys or Sideshow Star Wars figures, so I can't judge whether this is such a improvement that it warrants the price tag.

IIRC, the DML MG34's often broke at the hinge point. Where one could do the barrel change or simulate one. And I think there was no real way to clasp the barrel shroud the the main section, which made it easy to dangle.

I don't remember if it had a metal barrel or not, I know some of the DML MG42's had metal barrels ( pure work on that one...)

Add weight plus that hinge point and easy snap.

Some things should be metal, some things should be not, that's always been my take. I'll never pick realism over "durability".

The way a foreign dealer explained it to me long long ago, was that DML used it's proprietary plastic blend from it's modeling lines, and used them to create the 1/6th weapons. Even to today's standards, they are still really well made pieces. The finish on them is also impressive for their timeline.