Preview: New 1/35th scale U.S. Mine Detectors From MiniArt
U.S. Mine Detectors
From MiniArt
Kit No #35251
1/35th scale
The kit contains four figures, weapons, mines, detectors equipment & decals
The US Army, Marries and engineer Corps all used mine clearing crews and equipment to rid themselves of enemy booby-traps and to also prevent enemy movement by laying their own mines down
An American combat engineer (demolition specialist) removes the detonator of a German anti-personnel S-mine (Springmine 35) during the clearing of an area near Venafro, Italy. Probably during the Winter Line operations which lasted from 15 November 1943 to 15 January 1944
Laying and clearing mines was one of the most dangerous missions performed by the engineers and soldiers during WWII. The deadly task of laying and clearing mines fell on both the individual infantryman and in a greater scale, on the combat engineers.
North Africa, where US mine-clearing tools like the SCR-625H was first tested, contained fairly pure sand and soil. Europe's soil, as in Italy, was richer and filled with shrapnel and debris, often confusing the detectors and necessitating "keen eyesight and bayonets."
The conventional method of mine detection was developed in World War II and has changed little since then. It involves a metal detector, prodding instrument and tripwire feeler. Deminers clear an area of vegetation and then divide it into lanes. A deminer advances along a lane, swinging a metal detector close to the ground. When metal is detected, the deminer prods the object with a stick or stainless-steel probe to determine whether it is a mine. If a mine is found, it must be deactivated. Although conventional demining is slow (5–150 square metres cleared per day), it is reliable, so it is still the most commonly used method. Integration with other methods such as explosive sniffing dogs can increase its reliability.
Demining is a dangerous occupation. If a mine is prodded too hard or it is not detected, the deminer can suffer injury or death. A large number of false positives from metal detectors can make deminers tired and careless. According to one report, there is one such incident for every 1000–2000 mines cleared. 35 per cent of the accidents occur during mine excavation and 24 per cent result from missed mines.
US Mine clearing equipment like the ones depicted in this kit.
The kit from MiniArt:
The Special edition kit also adds mines, mine detectors, infantry weapons and the soldier's equipment in the extra sprues.
The four figures of US Mine clearers each come on their own sprue, dressed in standard summer US Army fatigues, ammo, pouches and gear
German mines, the antagonists of the scene, are included here for the soldiers to detect - or recycle?
All of the gear for detecting mins is included.
The regular US Soldier's helmets, packs, entrenching tools, water flasks, bayonets are included to variate your soldier.
In the case of self-defence, Garand rifles and M1 carbines of two types are included.
The decals showing the markings on the German mines and "Danger" flags for the mine marking are included.
MiniArt has already made up these figures and painted them. Rusland Tomyets has done a great job bringing them to life here!
This kit will be available from Miniart's distributors Worldwide very soon. See more about all of MiniArt's kits on their website...
New MiniArt Kits Available in December 2021:
Status Changed – Again Available:
