When Nic Robson asked if I was interested in sculpting a range of World War 2 Soviet troops to coincide with the Stalingrad mega-game that Mike Parker of Battlefield Accessories was putting on at Cancon, I jumped at the chance.
The sculpting and production of these four sets was unfortunately delayed (partly because I had to fight off a nasty man-flu at the end of last year) and in the end only a few squads of these miniatures made it onto the table at Cancon.
The game was a total blast and I was asked to step in as over-all Russian commander at the last minute. Despite my complete ignorance of the Chain of Command rule system I managed to organise the assets and players on the Soviet side and pretend that I knew what I was doing.
Here's an excellent AAR, and below a flyover of the crazy tables that the Battlefield Accessories guys put together. The buildings themselves are fantastic and the impact of the whole setup was impressive to say the least!
The below photos show a set each of the sub machine-gun squad (8 men) and the rifle squad (11 men). Both sets are available wearing either steel helmet or the pilotka sidecap. These are the display figures that I painted for the Eureka stand at Salute. All four sets are slated for release on the Eureka Miniatures website soon.
Mortars, Maxims and anti-tank rifles are in the works too.
Oustanding miniatures, so finely detailed! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, thanks so much for your kind comment!
DeleteSo so good and so so tempting :)
ReplyDeleteWell you can never have enough World War Sovs.... in all scales!
DeleteTop notch Kosta. when they lift the capital condrols here in the old country I will order hordes (pun intended!!!!!!!!!!!)
ReplyDeleteAnd I dare to say that your rendition of the SSh 41 helmet is the best from all the other figures out there.
Now can you make some 70's-80's plain soviet infantry (no camo ,skeleton order gear,lots of colourful badges on the tunic)
Cheers
Andreas
Thanks Andreas, really glad that you like them!
ReplyDeleteI'm about to start sculpting the support weapons for the 80's Soviets (long overdue) so maybe after that I can look at some plain infantry. I appreciate your suggestion!
Outstanding sculpts!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sparker! I've always been drawn to the rugged simplicity of Soviet gear so these figures were actually lots of fun to sculpt.
DeleteI just purchased a pile of these figures at HUZZAH! Con in the USA last week. I love them. I have collected many, many lines of figures in WW2 28mm, and these are some of the best! Your understanding of the poses (especially when holding weapons at the ready etc.) are really top-notch. The clothing, gear and so on is dead-on accurate. I will be sure to not only buy everything in this line, I will also be telling collectors all about them. I am really looking forward to the Germans in this line as well. I hope some grizzled looking veterans will be in the made as well for them (torn hole in the knee of the pants, maybe? One pant leg over the boot occasional, sleeves rolled up, extra grenades on them, entrenching shovel under the belt at the chest, close combat with shovel, knife etc.) Thanks agin. Great job.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to get the guys to have you make Factory Workers Militia. If Eureka made these, they would be the first. The contribution of the Soviet Factory Workers in the defense of Stalingrad is often overlooked by wargame model companies. I know if Eureka made them, I'd snatch them up in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteshown as examples here ...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ww2incolor.com/soviet-union/tractor.html
here ...
http://maxpark.com/static/u/article_image/12/11/14/tmpk8jBwi.jpeg
here...
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?340035-is-there-any-pictures-of-ww2-soviets-with-m91-rifle-and-1907-carbines
and lastly ... here...(scroll down past all the sniper photos for a bit, they are in the middle of the post)
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?365414-Archival-Photos-featuring-the-Mosin-nagant-amp-Other-Soviet-Arms-amp-More!-(56k-death)
Thanks for your comments! They are very much appreciated as I do try to sculpt figures that are sighting and holding their weapons realistically.
DeleteInteresting links that you've provided too. Though I reckon that figures of Soviet partisans would make close proxies worker's milita, they would make neat additions to the range.
Heavy weapons are on the way first though!
Can't wait for support units!
DeleteYes, Partizans would make for stand-ins. The problem often is, the models are defiantely Western (French Resistance and the like) Partizans, and the weapons are often UK Bren guns, US Thompson SMGs and the like from the airdrop supplies made to western partizan forces. Eastern Militia workers (or partizans) would have to have decidedly Soviet weapons. The hats, clothing tend to be similar to some one not really looking, but often times slightly different. Collectors often have to settle for 'stand-ins' with such units. I was merely suggesting some true Militia for Eureka's line. :-) Thanks for your comments and your fine model line.
No worries at all and I certainly welcome your militia idea. The Red Army in World War 2 is a huge subject so this range does have potential to really expand!
DeleteOutstanding Soviets! I pick up nearly everything you sculpt whether I need it or not :)
ReplyDeleteWill you be sculpting their German opposition? That would make an awesome complete set.
Many thanks!
DeleteI'll certainly be concentrating on the Soviets in the near future though!
These are great, will have to buy a load of nick next time i'm down. Suggestion for support weapon, an ampulomet.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampulomet
My reading suggestion: Island of fire by Jason D Mark.
Glad that you like them Geoff. Thanks for the recommendations, I've heard good things about Island of Fire - it's out of print now and fetches big prices second-hand!
DeleteI love it that you included a picture of a stamp!
ReplyDeleteAnother stamp from my thematic collection thanks to Dad!
Delete...any word when the next batch will be coming out?
ReplyDeleteYes, the support teams have been sculpted and cast!
DeleteI'll get some photos up soon.
....and....and...are they ready yet!? :-)
ReplyDeleteNice paintwork
ReplyDeleteyou may like this...Stalingrad
https://glasgowwarhog.blogspot.com/2019/