During the war in Russia the German Forces encountered a second enemy in the form of the harsh Russian winters. It wasn’t until well into this war that they were able to provide any real degree of winter clothing to the troops in the field, and we don’t often see fully bulked up figures in plastic kits, which is one of the things that makes this set so nice to come across.
This kit comes in a small open ended box that contains three dark yellow sprues holding the four figures plus a heap of equipment. The level of detail is very good and the moulding is nice and sharp with no excess flashing. There are some light mould seams to remove but other than that the finish is good, including the way the anorak skirts are moulded to provide full undercut detail. The faces are all very good, being well defined and individual.
The four figures are all wearing the type three Italian Camouflage winter anorak, which was lined with rabbit fur, and the German winter boots which are seldom seen in use by 1/35 scale figures. These boots consisted of a leather lower boot combined with a fur upper which look like big fluffy socks attached to the boot. So pay attention when you paint these as they aren’t, as some people assume, gaiters, but a part of the boot made from fur.
To complete the winter look all wear balaclavas and woolen gloves with one also wearing an optional ushanka, albeit a rather large looking one. Oddly three of the figures are in poses which suggest impending contact whilst the fourth looks rather relaxed. These figures all look rather bulky but they’re supposed to, the winter anorak was a thick, fur-lined one that added a lot of bulk to a soldier as did the boots. So don’t make the mistake of thinking they are badly modelled, they look as they should.
A large weapon and equipment sprue comes with the figures which gives you a full range of choice in what you arm or equip each figure with. In total equipmentwise there are eight breadbags, five helmets with covers, five helmets without covers, five rolled zeltbahns, five bayonets in scabbards, five entrenching tools with bayonets attached, five gas mask containers, seven MP 40 triple mag pouches, two MP44 triple mag pouches, seven rifle triple mag pouches, five mess tins, five canteens, a mapcase and a pair of binoculars. All of these are quite well done other than the rifle mag pouches which are a bit thin, though this could be deliberate as the pouches worn around the waist would sink into the anorak a bit.
The weapons consist of a Panzerfaust 60, an MP44 assault rifle, two MP40 sub machine guns, three Kar 98K rifles, two holstered Luger P08s, and five Type 24 “stick” grenades. The shoulder part of the folded stock on the MP40s is too square and needs rounding off and hollowing out, and the stocks on the Kar 98K rifles are a bit thick and square in cross-section, but can be easily thinned down and rounded off using the edge of a sharp blade.
Overall this is a surprisingly good kit. I say surprisingly as it is a very cheap kit and I didn’t expect much from it but the excess of weapons and equipment is always a nice touch, and the figures do actually look very good, with the added advantage of being suitably dressed for a “coldest part of winter” scene.
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