DiD WH DAK Afrika Korps NCO "Luca" Libya 1941 Preview

DiD (Dragon in Dream) will be releasing a 1/6 scale DAK Afrika WH Korps NCO "Luca" 12-inch military figure possibly seen during World War II in Libya in 1941.

The German Africa Corps (German: Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK), or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II. The DAK was a branch of the Wehrmacht Heer (WH).

The reputation of the Afrika Korps is synonymous with that of its first commander Erwin Rommel, who later commanded the Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army (Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee) and Army Group Africa, all of which Afrika Korps was a distinct and principal component. Throughout the North African campaign, the Afrika Korps fought against Allied forces until its surrender in May 1943.

The tropical uniform worn by the Afrika Corps varied widely in colour, depending on length of use, different manufacturers' batches, etc.; and the latitude tolerated in the desert armies of other nations was also observed in the German forces.

Upon arrival in North Africa, members of the Afrika Corps seem to have been dressed in an olive green M1940 Tropical tunic; flared olive green breeches that laced at the calf and resembled British jodhpurs; high-laced tropical boots with brown leather feet and reinforcement strips, and olive canvas insteps and legs; and cork helmet. The "stahlhelm" (steel helmet) is the M40 design.

Many Afrika Korps soldiers wore the M40 field cap whenever possible, as an alternative to the heavy steel helmet which became a "cooking pot" in the desert heat. Locally-purchased scarves were also more practical for everyday wear than the regulation shirt and tie.

"Luca" comes with 1/6 Head Sculpt, 12-inch Body, 2 Pairs of Hands, helmet, goggles, cap with 3 tabs, scarf, M-40 olive jacket over his tropical cotton twill 5-button Khaki tunic, Afrika Korps sleeve cuff, M-40 breeches (Khaki pants), main belt and Y-webbing harness, MP 40 triple magazine pouches, bread bag, brown bakelite canteen ("coconut"), M-31 mess kit, shovel, bayonet with sheath, gas mask canister, MP40 and tropical boots

MP 40s were generally issued only to paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders; the majority of German soldiers carried Karabiner 98k rifles. The MP 40 (MP designates Maschinenpistole, literally "Machine Pistol"), often called Schmeisser, were submachine guns developed in Nazi Germany during World War II.

Googles and scarves were a must in the desert because of the glare of the sun as well as the wind and sand.

The interesting addition to this set, however is the film camera with battery case (resin and metal) and the personal camera (resin).

Standout pieces of this set include his knee high lace up cloth and leather desert boots, cloth field cap with dust goggles, metal M35 helmet (with nice weathering), metal MP40 sub-machine gun and cloth MP40 ammo pouches.

According to their website, this DiD DAK Afrika WH Korps NCO "Luca" 12-inch WWII figure will be available December 2011