CMK 1/48 & 1/35 Resin Figures

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

CMK has put out some great resin detail sets for both aviation and armor subjects. Now they have added to these detail sets with several figure sets in both 1/48 and 1/35. Most are WW2, but one of the 1/35 sets is from the Vietnam era.

CMK F-48017
German Fighter Pilots, Battle of Britain

This set provides two Luftwaffe fighter pilots from the Battle of Britain era. Both have the typical Luftwaffe flying uniform on along with their life vests. One is wearing his cap while the other is not.

The resin is very well cast and captures a lot of detail. There's not a lot of parts in this set, with one pilot being made up of a one-piece torso & upper legs with separate arms and feet. The other pilot has a separate torso and legs. Both have separate arms, allowing for different poses. The heads are attached to the torso in both figures, and this could pose a problem. The heads are the one shortcoming of these sets in that they are too small. This is very noticeable and the only real solution would be to replace them with heads from some other figure, a difficult challenge indeed. This is a pity considering how well detailed and nicely cast the rest of the parts are.

CMK F-48020
German Pilot & Ground Crew

Another 1/48 Luftwaffe pilot set, this one includes one of the ever-present "black men", the ground crew so essential to maintaining fighter aircraft. This set has the pilot stripping off his heavy flying suit, with his flying helmet still on. The ground crew is set up to be assisting the pilot out of the suit.

This set is even simpler than the previous one, with the figures being cast as one piece. The ground crewman has separate arms and the pilot has a separate hand. The castings are very well done, but like the set above the heads are again too small. This is very noticeable in the pilot figure, with his bulkiness from the flying suit and one-piece casting. Again, the only solution would be to remove the head and replace it with another piece. Given the layout of the pilot figure this would be nearly impossible, but for the ground crewman it wouldn't be too hard to do. Alternatively, you could place the ground crewman in a hatch or something similar, hiding the head that way.

CMK F-35013
German Tank Hunters

A pair of Wehrmacht tank hunters make up this set, complete with an RPG. Being in a larger scale than the 1/48 sets, these are broken down into more pieces, allowing you more freedom in how you put them together. Slight variations in position will really help bring these figures alive. Unfortunately, these figures suffer from the shrunken head syndrome as well, although not nearly as bad as the 1/48 sets. The heads are separate pieces, though, so replacing them will be a simple matter.

The soldiers are separated into torso, legs, feet, arms, and heads, with extra castings for accessory items such as the weapons, helmets and canteens. All the castings are very well done and reveal lots of detailing. While you won't be able to change the position of the figures greatly, the separate parts do allow some freedom in how you can display them, lending themselves well to potential diorama possibilities.

CMK F-35014
US Marines - Vietnam

This set is mislabeled, sort of. It states that there are two figures included, when in fact there are three. The third figure is the one in the body bag, and while it is proportioned correctly, the other two standing figures suffer from the small head problem. Like the previous set, though, the heads are separate and replacing them won't be too difficult.

The accessories in this set are plentiful (adding stuff for the third guy in the bag) and the castings on the helmets are very well done. Two M-16s are included, as well as two helmets, four canteens, several accessory bags, a flashlight, and a sheathed knife. Like the previous set, the figures are broken down into basic parts, allowing you some freedom in varying the positioning of the final figure.

CMK F-35034
German Infantry After Combat

This set has a couple German infantry taking a bit of R and R. One soldier is sitting on a crate, molded as one piece with a bit of groundwork, while the other is standing with a wine bottle in his coat pocket. Again, the heads are slightly too small, making the finished figures look bulky.

The seated figure is very well detailed, as is the base he's on. The standing figure is molded as one piece, with separate lower pant pieces, boots, head and arms. The seated figure has just his arms and head as separate pieces. The only accessories included are a pair of guns. One is the typical German grease gun while the other is a larger machine gun with a separate part for the stock.

CMK Resin Sets are distributed by MPM.