WWII Plastic Toy Soldiers

Mars - Toy Soldiers

2026-07-17T09:10:00.000-04:00

Latest Update: Polish Infantry, German Infantry in winter uniforms and British Long Range Desert Group at the bottom of the post.

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Mars is a manufacturer originally based out of Ukraine, which has been on the 1/72 scene for a while, at least back to 2007 which is when their website is copyrighted. They entered the 1/32 market in 2016 or so, with some non-WWII sets, with an emphasis on Vietnam and some Afghanistan sets. Fortunately for us, it has been during the recent years (post 2018), that they have made a very strong push into 1/32 WWII. Mostly by upscaling their 1/72 sets, which is in part why they have been able to issue so many sets in quick succession. The best part about Mars throwing its hat into ring, is that they are coming up with sets that had not received much attention in the past. Their contribution to the hobby has been remarkable. Take a look and judge for yourself!

Mars German Elite Division (Waffen SS)

As far as this 'Elite Infantry' set, I have to say that it is just OK. For some reason the way the clothes look on the legs of these figures seems a bit artificial. Either too baggy, or the men's legs are too skinny to fill them... not sure what's going on. I also found it amusing that they preferred to avoid calling the set Waffen SS and went with 'Elite Division'. Anyhow, the poses are dynamic enough for my taste, and they could easily be used as regular infantry if you also wanted to avoid depicting Waffen SS troops.

Mars German Luftwaffe Field Division

This is one of those sets that had not been represented before, as far as I know. Not much to tell them apart from regular infantry or, even trickier, from Waffen SS. When I have seen them in pictures, they are usually wearing cammo smock or the tent quarters, which is what several of these guys are wearing. From what I read, these units suffered terrible casualty rates, given the fact that they had very limited training in ground combat tactics, as they had been hastily repurposed from air force duties to frontline infantry. Maybe that's why they felt compelled to include a figure getting hit.

Mars German Naval Infantry

Another set that I have not seen manufactured before. Not sure if these guys are meant to represent the Marinestosstruppkompanie, the landing parties that a Naval Force would usually carry with them, or whether they were surplus sailors which had been repurposed as ground infantry, as was the case with the Luftwaffe Field Division. In any case, it is an interesting and unique set. In terms of the sculpting, this set is pretty decent, although the poses could be a bit more dynamic.

Mars German Panzergrenadiers

If not because of the name, it is hard to tell that these guys were mechanized infantry. But they are still a nice set that could be used to augment your regular German infantry, or Waffen SS. The best pose is clearly the mg gunner resting his weapon on his mate's shoulder. Unfortunately, it is pretty hard to line up the figures. At best, the muzzle is right behind the front man's ear, which would have been terrible in real life. Also, this set does have a man 'running' which is better than some of the other sets in which everyone is standing, however the running pose could have been sculpted leaning forward a bit more in my opinion. Still a good set overall.

Mars Imperial Japanese Infantry

This is a a set that has been made before plenty of times. But at least you can tell that the Mars sculpting team is getting more adventurous in terms of adding dynamism to its poses, and they have given us two charging men. That is offset however, by the man who is throwing (or holding?) a grenade. If he is meant to throw it, I hope his squad has time to hit the ground because that's going to land a bit short! Other than that, this set is not that remarkable, considering that there's already a good variety of Japanese Infantry poses in the market from prior manufacturers.

Mars Imperial Japanese Paratroopers

Now, here's a set that is new and unique as far as I know. And you can tell that these guys truly are imperial paratroopers because of its distinctive headgear which has wide straps to secure the helmet in place during the drop. Plus a few of them are still wearing their jump suit/smock. This is one probably my favorite set from Mars. The poses show some action, they are engaged in combat, the range of weapons includes a mortar, flame thrower, a sub mg, a pistol, plus several carbines... All in all a good mix to drop behind enemy lines!

Mars German Don Cossacks

Extra points to Mars for addressing a set that had not received any attention (to my knowledge) before. The quality of the set is good overall. The figures come in decent action/fighting poses, with a nice degree of movement, and the sculpting keeps improving. Perhaps the one missing pose from this set is a cavalry figure, maybe a mounted officer. The Cossacks in general, including the Don Cossacks, were renowned cavalry troops. I know that in WWII the role of mounted units in battle was negligible, however I suspect that in the role of the Don Cossacks, hunting down partisans, and chasing them around the woods and countryside, horses would have been useful.

Mars German Elite Infantry (Winter Dress)

This is another good set. A nice set of poses, with authentic looking winter gear. Maybe one less kneeling pose, in exchange for a prone guy would have been a good call, but still a nice set for which there were not many options previously. The only other figures that I recall, which would go well with these are the four 1/35 Dragon Can Do German winter combat troops and another four miscellaneous German winter troops which came with some of the FOV vehicles. So these will augment that squad nicely. Fortunately, the size of these 1/32 figures is not too big, so they will all blend well.

Mars Finnish Infantry - Part I

Another interesting and unique set by Mars to complement Engineer Bassevich's Finnish troops. Particularly nice are the two figures with skis. The actually come attached to them with a small metal peg which allows them to rotate some. I just hope they don't come off. It would have been nice if a couple more had skis, not necessarily on, but maybe on their backs. This set, at 12 figures/8 poses, was also smaller than the typical Mars set of 15 figures/8 poses, I suppose because of the extra molds to make the skis.

Mars Finnish Infantry Part II

Most of the figures in the set are in good action poses, except for the guy who seems to be just standing around. I have also read some comments complaining about how little facial detail is visible on him, and some folks have remarked that he is wearing a mark. Emil K. and Thomas H. have identified him as the famous Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä, also know as White Death, who indeed wore a white mask, and smock to blend in better with the background. With more than 500 confirmed sniper kills, it's a nice gesture to dedicate a figure to him, but imho, it would have been better to pose him in action. Anyhow, happy about having a few more Finns to go against the Soviets!

Mars Soviet Infantry

Not a set for which there is a shortage of poses from prior manufacturers, but it is understandable that a Ukranian firm would manufacture such a set around the 75th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War. No concerns from my end about the selection of poses. All are good, dynamic fighting poses. What's also nice about some of them are the rain capes (Plash-Palatkas). Not very common in sets from prior manufacturers. My only criticism about the set is that some of them show some flashing and/or mold misalignment down the middle line of the figure.

Mars Soviet Assault Engineers

The Mars sets keep getting better! Lots to like about these guys. All of them useful combat poses, nice sculpting, good detail, great variety of weapons, including a flamethrower, a light and heavy MG, a captured panzerfaust, and of course, the fact that a different Soviet service branch is being represented. It is also good that not all poses are standing or charging. While I do like fighting poses, I think there's also a need for poses that are operating behind cover, which is easier to achieve if you have a lower body profile. What makes the Soviet Assault Troops special is that they wear these steel plates as body armor. I am not sure how effective they were against different bullet calibers, and different ranges, but some photographs do show Soviet men with dents on their body armor, which suggests that they did work sometimes.

Mars German Volkssturm

This is another unique set recently released by Mars. Not seen before in 1/32 as far as I know. They will be useful for any late war battle scenes for which you need a few civilians as reinforcements to defend the German Fatherland. The mix of poses is good. I also like how they are generous in the issuance of panzerfausts, as was the case at that stage of the war. The set contains a couple of smaller figures representing a teenage boy and girl, likely from the Hitler Youth. The only thing I did not like was the number of poses that I got in my set. Three of the poses were present 3 times, and 3 only once. Unfortunately, the poses that were over represented were the ones that look less like civilians, and more like regular army men. But still, happy to have this set. Will definitely come in handy in one of my upcoming projects!

Mars German Night Hunters

This is a very unique set. First of its kind as far as I am aware of. Before Mars made it, I wasn't even aware that the German military had fielded such 'Nachtjäger' units. What makes them special is that they were equipped with infrared lights that enabled them to 'see' the enemy in the dark. A huge advantage at the time. The equipment was a bit bulky due to the batteries that it required and had to be carried as a backpack. Not all the figures are equipped this way, which allows you to mix some of these guys with other regular 'daylight fighting' units. My only criticism about this set is that some figures have their arms tucked in so closely to their bodies that it distorts their size. I understand that the sculptor is trying to account for the challenges involved in manufacturing, by trying to eliminate the empty space between the arms and the body so that the figures can be released from the mold, but in some cases it really impacts the pose, like the guy in the middle of the picture. Even so, another nice and special set from Mars. Keep them coming!

Mars German Paratroops Tropical Uniform

Another good set from Mars. This one is aimed at depicting the German Paratroops that might have fought in theaters like the battle of Monte Cassino. On the box they show them painted in cammo smocks and beige pants. As you can see the poses are all useful in combat scenarios, and with the customary 8 poses from Mars, that also makes the set more interesting. For instance, we also get a prone figure, which is often missing in smaller sets. The variety in the uniforms and equipment is also good. Some of them have their smocks buttoned up, and some lose. Some have helmets with webbing, some without, and there's even one guy with a field cap. Good mix of weapons as well, including the multi-potato masher being thrown by the guy on the left. My only negative criticism about this set is the size of the hands in some of the figures. Some of them still seem a bit undersized in my opinion.

Mars US Paratroops

D-Day is a pivotal event in WWII, and the saga of D-Day would be incomplete without the US Paras. Mars has more than checked that box with this set. Great action poses, which can be used both for offensive and defensive situations (holding the Eindhoven bridge?). And very nicely sculpted for the most part. I add that caveat only because of the guy in the middle of the picture who is running with his sub machine gun and his right arm is unnaturally tucked into his chest, but that's easy to overlook, when the rest of the set is so well done. The bazooka team is also a nice touch for a Para set. Something that should be noted about this set is that it fits really well next to the Airfix and ESCI Paratroops. Conte Paras are a bit larger, but if you are not too picky about scale, they can blend with them as well.

Mars German Winter Paratroops

And yet another nice set from Mars. This set gets extra points for depicting the German Paras in winter gear, which is something that had not been done to date. Six of them are wearing padded/quilted suits, another one is wearing a white cammo suit, and the last one is still wearing the regular para smock with some other layers underneath. In addition to the unique outfits, the sculpting in this set is probably the best I've seen from Mars. The detail and dynamism in the poses is excellent. And the choice of poses is great as well. All of them useful in combat situations with a nice range of diverse weapons. The radio man is also a nice touch. My only criticism of this set is that all of them are standing poses. A couple crouching or prone poses would have been useful. But hey, maybe that means that eventually we get another set of winter paras with such poses, right?

Mars German Panzer Crew

This is an original set. Typically when you see tank crew men, they are mounted in their vehicles, but when you think about it, they must have had to abandon their tanks quite often due to battle damage or mechanical failure, and when doing so, it seems reasonable to expect that they had to engage in small arms combat. The set provides a nice variety of action poses depicting the urgency of the situation. What's also good about this set is that if you are into painting your figures, this uniform with a short, double-breasted jacket can be painted in a variety of color schemes, including cammo pattern and various tones of grey, as it was worn not only by panzer crews -in black-, but also self-propelled gun crews, and panzer grenadiers. What's not so great about this set is that one figure in particular -standing in the middle of the picture- has a serious manufacturing issue, with a lot of extra plastic down the middle of his face. This is not just my set, as it has been reported by other collectors. I may try to shave it off a bit or simply replace the head.

Mars US Rangers

Another unique and interesting set by Mars. What sets these guys apart and the reason why you can tell them apart from regular US Infantry is that they are wearing the Ranger assault vest. Aside from that, a few of them are carrying weapons that would have come in handy at Omaha Beach on D-Day, like the Bangalore torpedo, or the mine detector. The guy firing the BAR upwards, could also be firing up the Pointe du Hoc cliffs. The other poses are useful combat poses. So good ratings on the subject matter. What continues to bother me about the Mars figures is the sculpting of the arms. They are always closely tucked into the bodies. I know it is done for ease of release from the molds, but it makes them look unnatural, and sometimes it affects the body proportions. In this set, the sculpting of the sniper's legs also makes it look a bit odd, as the the front leg is bent right against its own thigh. Anyhow, happy about the set in general, but a bit disappointed about some of its details.

Mars German Paratroops w 10.5 cm LG 42 Tropical Uniform

This is a nice and original addition to the existing German Para units produced by other manufacturers which so far have lacked any heavy weapons support. The set includes two guns, each with its respective crew. They are meant to be painted in the tropical uniform. I actually purchased two sets, and plan to paint one crew in the early war (Crete) colors and the other one in the cammo scheme. The recoilless gun is interesting. The wheels are meant to be off the ground when it's deployed, but the plastic is a bit hard to straighten so that it looks even. I may actually use these crews with 21C Pak 40s. As far as the figures go, the poses are all good, but I do feel that the sculpting detail could be sharper.

Mars German Paratroops Mortar Team Tropical Uniform

Here's another useful addition to the German Para units. Again, the set comes with two mortars and two crews. When it comes to toy soldiers, I don't feel that you need a 5-man crew for a mortar. I know that in real life you might require such man power to carry the ammo plus the different pieces when it is disassembled, but I would have preferred to get maybe 3 mortars each with a 3-man crew or simply some other additional supporting poses with other unique weapons. In terms of the detail, these guys seem crisper than the gun crew. One interesting pose that took me a bit of time to figure out its purpose is the man at the front of the mortar holding the bipod. Looks like he is trying stabilize it.

Mars US Infantry Winter Uniform

Another good set from Mars, addressing a topic that is not covered very often. You get a decent set of weapons represented, including a rifle grenade, a sitting sniper, a radio man, plus some of the other more usual infantry poses, including a left-handed man firing from the standing position. There are however two things that I really don't like about this set. The first one is the posing of the grenade thrower. There is something strange about his stance. Maybe he needs to bend the knees a bit more, or maybe the fact that the head is aligned with the standing leg, just makes it look unnatural. The other thing that's not right is the manufacturing of the fourth man from the left. The two halves of his face are horribly misaligned. This is not the first time this happens with Mars figures. I really wish they paid more attention to such details.

Mars British Commonwealth Troops

This release from Mars portrays British Commonwealth Troops, which I guess means that you could use them as any number of nationalities. I know many collectors would like to use them as Canadian. What's nice about them is that a couple of them are wearing a leather vest, which I gather is called a jerkin. Another nice touch is that among their poses they have a prone piat firing team. As far as I recall, only 21C had made a prone piat firing paratrooper, but it did not have a loader. The set is pretty good overall, with almost all figures in good action, fighting poses. My only disappointment is the figure on the left, which I find very poorly sculpted. Like several other Mars figures, his arms are tucked next to his body as if he were trying to hold something with his arm pits. He actually looks worse when you look at him directly from the front. I really wish by now Mars had figured out how to properly sculpt arms in more natural positions.

Mars US MG Teams

This set consists of two machine gun teams in firing position, and a few other supporting figures. As far as I can tell, the two prone guys are operating a Browning 30 cal. MG. The two other guys are firing a water-cooled version of the same MG. The running and standing men are carrying additional MGs, tripods, and ammo. The set comes with 12 figures in total. The other 4 men are repeats of the running/standing men. In general, an OK set. I would not say it is a must have, as there are already other MG teams around from other manufacturers. And the sculpting has the same style of tucked arms as other previous Mars sets. But if you care about having a complete collection, it is still worth getting one set of these guys.

Mars German Tank Hunters

This is a highly specialized set focused on infantry anti-tank tactics. It comes with a nice variety of weapons, including land mines, panzerschrecks (with and without shield), a panzerfaust, a panzerknacker (hollow charge), and even an improvised bundle of potato mashers. The one weapon that is missing is the anti-tank rifle (panzerbüchse), probably because it fell out of favor by mid-war as armor thickness increased. But still it might have been a good thing to have one instead of three panzerschrecks. I actually don't know if these guys would have been deployed as an independent unit or if they are simply a set meant to represent the range of options used for this purpose. I think I will sprinkle them across my other German infantry units rather than have them all as one.

Mars Soviet Border Guards

Normally you don't think of the Soviet border guards as the most exciting topic, but this set makes it look quite intense, and other than the guy who is observing the action with his dog, all the other guys are engaged in the fighting. But I know the dog is a key element of the Soviet guards, so it had to be fit in somehow with its handler. My favorite poses are probably the guy who is running and the officer. The officer was a bit tricky to get to stand straight, but nothing that the good old hot/cold water treatment couldn't fix. The other figure that is interesting is the crawling guy wearing the cammo suit. That guy is going to play double duty with my unit of Soviet scouts. This set certainly exceeded my expectations!

Mars US Marines

It's nice to see Mars cover this service branch. Not that it had been neglected by previous manufacturers, but for the sake of Mars collectors having a more complete range, it is good to see this set hit the market. Overall it is a good set, with nice action poses, and a good variety of weapons, including a flamethrower and two heavy machine guns. The larger one is a Browning M1917, and the smaller one is a Browning M1919. Unfortunately, this set suffers more noticeably from what I've been referring to as the tucked arm issue. I know that it has to do with the challenges imposed by two-part molds, but it still makes this set have several figures with right arms that are in very unnatural positions. Other than that, the sculpting is pretty good, so if you look at the figures from the right angle, you can avoid seeing the tucked arms. But all in all a good set.

Mars British Paratroops - Set 1

It's nice to see Mars produce its second set of British troops and that it is representing the Airborne guys as we don't have many of those, at least not released recently. In this set we get a good variety of weapons in use - sten guns, bren gun, mortar, side arm, rifles, some variation in the head gear - helmets with netting and cammo foliage, plain helmet, helmet with netting only, as well as a beret. The poses are fairly decent with all men in useful combat poses. The most interesting poses for me are the two guys in the mortar team who is operating in a prone position. The only thing I noticed on the second man from the left is that its sub mg strap is missing a segment and yet it retains its curvature. This defect is present on both figures that came in the box of 15 men. These guys will go well with the British Airfix paras. Less so with the Conte guys who are a bit taller.

Mars US Paratroops - Set 2

Here we have some reinforcements for Mars' prior set of US paras. A good set of fighting poses. Something interesting about this guys is that several of them have their first aid kit on the side of their helmets. I am used to seeing them on the front. In terms of the poses, the most interesting guy is the one who is lying on the ground shooting at something likely coming at him after he fell backwards. I know... I am imagining a whole scene here. Another interesting guy is the one with the flamethrower. I don't recall seeing any other paras equipped with one. I even wonder if it's possible to safely jump off a plane with one. Or maybe he just found it on the ground. The mortar team is also nice as is the guy firing the 30 cal mg off the hip. One thing that was not so great about this set is that the bottom of the bases is a bit warped and has extra bits of plastic that have to be cut off or sanded off to get them to stand straight and without wobbling. It's doable, but it can take an extra 30-60 mins to do so.

Mars German Winter Paratroops with 10.5 cm Gun

This is a really nice set to complement the Mars German winter paras. Each crew consists of 5 men and you actually get 2 crews per box. I bought two boxes, so I now have 4 guns/crews, so I will likely assign 2 to the paras and 2 to the regular winter infantry. Those who are into conversions could replace the helmets to make them fit better as regular infantry. The best part about this set are the figures. The gun itself is made of softer plastic which bends quite a bit and needs to be straightened so that the gun stands evenly. A minor criticism is that the shells look wider than the gun's barrel. Looking at some pictures of the real equipment online, I think the shells are the ones which are too large. But let's not get too picky and instead be glad that we have this unique set to give our winter units some well needed firepower!

Mars Volkssturm Set 2

This set gives us a good mix of adhoc fighters for the final battles of the Reich. There are some young folks, including a girl second from left, as well as some older and disabled guys like the one with the eye patch, fourth from the left. You also get a nice variation in terms of outfits and head gear, like the firefighter helmet with the crest worn by the man on the left end. And the weaponry is also quite diverse, like the old MG08 machine gun with the drum magazine held by the man in the middle. My favorite pose ironically is the officer which could actually be used in a regular infantry unit beyond the Volkssturm. As you can tell from the positioning of the arms, this set was still sculpted with traditional mold-making in mind, even if in the end it was produced via 3D printing due to production challenges associated with the traditional mold making process. As far as scale, these guys are closer in size to Big 1/32 so they will match the Plastic Platoon Volkssturm guys better than the Mars Volkssturm Set 1 which is true 1/32 scale. But when it comes to 3D printing, I prefer larger figures as that makes them sturdier, particularly the weapons.

Mars German MG Teams

These guys are operating two types of machine guns and are guided by an officer who is spotting for them. The MG with the larger tripod is a MG08 left over from WWI and the one operated by the prone man is a MG37(t). The MG37(t) was also known as ZB-53 when it was produced by Czechoslovakia before Germany took over. This is also one of Mars' first sets designed to be 3D printed, which means that the sculpting is free of the constraints imposed by traditional molds. The result is a truly beautiful set. It's also worth mentioning that the resin chosen to print the figures gives them a texture very similar to plastic. The MG37(t) is printed in a different resin which I fear may be a bit more brittle, but I don't intend to test it :-) In contrast with prior sets, when you buy these you only get one figure of each pose and the price point is a bit higher than before, but the quality of the figures in terms of the poses, the level of detail, and the material seems well worth it!

Mars German MG Teams - bird's eye view

Here's another shot that allows us to get a better view of the prone men and the MGs. One interesting detail is that the assistant on the MG08 appears to have a rare EMP Erma submachinegun slung across his back. You can also see that the prone man can get his hands nicely around the handle of the MG37(t). The operator of the MG08 however can't really grip his handle as his thumbs prevent the handle from sliding in. I am tempted to snap off the handles, slide them into his hands, and then slide the hands into the MG. If it were actual plastic it would be a more predictable procedure, but with resin, I wonder if it will break at the wrong places... Anyhow, a very minor issue within an otherwise exquisite set.

Mars German MG Team - MG08 close up

I had an interesting time assembling the MG08 gun. The base has several holes and the one in which the gun's pin is supposed to go in is actually quite tight, but the other ones are a much better fit. The problem is that in order for the latch in the back of the gun to catch the back of the plate where it is supposed to slide as it rotates you need to insert the gun's pin into the very first hole on the tripod. It took a bit of turning as I did not want to press down hard and risk breaking it. But after a few turns I managed to wiggle it into place. I should point out that I actually reached out to Sergey from Mars to confirm where to mount it and he was very quick and helpful with his response!

Mars German MG Team Extension Set

Here are 3 more figures that were released shortly after the MG Teams shown above, but are meant to be part of that set. In this case we get a team in which the front man is supporting an MG42 on his shoulder, while holding on to the bipod with his hands. What's really impressive about this team is that these are actually 2 separate figures, but the 3D printing is so precise that the bipod can slide really snuggly into the hands of the man in front, making it feel as if they were a single sculpture. The observer is a solid pose and will complement any of the 3 MG teams well, or any artillery, AT, or mortar crew for that matter. One more thing to note is that most of the men in these teams are wearing cammo smocks and helmet covers, which means that they should also work well as Waffen SS troopers. A small but powerful set from Mars!

Mars Winter Mortar Team - Part I

Another beautiful set. It was also designed for 3D printing, which means that the arms are all in much more natural positions. It is also great that we get more troops in winter uniform, particularly a mortar crew. One thing that I am not sure about is whether the man dropping the shell into the tube is supposed to stand on the left or the right side. Both appear to work, but when he is standing on the left as in the picture above, the shell is not quite on top of the tube, but that's the most it can go forward while still holding the tripod with his lower hand.

Mars Winter Mortar Team - Part II

Here's another possible configuration. In this one, the man with the shell can drop it into the tube more easily, but I feel that his face and ears are less protected from the explosion, so it seems less realistic. Another interesting vignette about this picture is that I took advantage of having real snow to take this picture. However I did not consider the effect of the low temperature on resin (it was pretty cold!) and unfortunately when I picked up the mortar, one of the legs snapped. As you can see in the prior picture, I was able to glue it back into place without much trouble but it was a good reminder that resin is not as flexible as plastic, particularly at very low temperatures! BTW, the reason why I retook the picture was not just that I wanted to position the man dropping the shell differently, but also because the prone man is not very visible given the shadows in the second picture. I hope you can get a better idea of how he is stabilizing the mortar based on both pics.

Mars US Mortar Team

This is another really nice set. A mortar team which could probably be used in both the ETO and the Pacific. Again, it was sculpted with 3D printing in mind and it shows. All poses appear so much more natural. I also love the level of detail. Look at the face of the radio man for instance. It is just as expressive as the faces of Plastic Platoon. I may like it even better as it is not overly intense. The muscles on the shirtless man are also very well done and in general, the detail such as the creases on the uniforms are all very realistic. And then there is the 4.2 inch (107mm) mortar with all its components clearly sculpted, including the thread for the angle adjusting mechanism. All remarkable for 3D printing. These guys do set a new standard for 3D printed figures!

Mars US Mortar Team Extension Set

Here are 3 more poses that were released shortly after the Mortar Team, but in theory, they are meant to be part of that set. The reality is that there's not much that ties them to the mortar team. Two of the figures depict a medic tending to a wounded GI. Again, regarding the point of 3D printing precision, the medic's hands line up amazingly well with the wounded man's bandaged knee. The other figure is looking at what appears to be a map. So this guy could be checking out the coordinates to direct the mortar's fire. But he could also be a quarter master looking at a list of supplies. For me this is a plus. I actually like figures that offer flexibility in terms of how they can be deployed. BTW, you can buy these extension sets separately or you can buy them as part of the original mortar team set. You get a better deal when you buy them together.

Mars Italian Paratroops

Mars gets bonus points for having tackled this often overlooked service branch. These Italian Paras, most likely from the Folgore division which fought in North Africa are very nicely done. They are some of the recent sets made via 3D printing and you can tell how the poses are a lot more natural. The chosen printing material has improved and is able to capture a lot of detail and getting less brittle. I ordered these guys in 'Big 1/32' scale (1/30) and they go quite well next to the Waterloo 1815 Folgore Paras. In terms of the figures themselves, one thing that caught my attention is the diversity of head gear represented. Some of them are wearing the standard Italian helmet, although a couple of them with the paratrooper cover, one of them has a field cap on, a couple of them are wearing the Folgore beret, one of them appears to have a German Para helmet, and one of them is wearing a standard Italian infantry helmet (at first my imagination -or was it the netting?- tricked me into thinking it was a US army helmet!). Their weaponry is also pretty diverse, including a few German issued items like the panzerfaust and the potato masher grenade. One thing to consider though is that the panzerfaust went into service during the second half of 1943, so that figure is better suited to represent the Folgore paras who continued to fight against the Allies in Italy, likely at Anzio, after the armistice of Sept. 1943. Also interesting is the kneeling guy who is carrying a backpack with a couple of spare barrels for the Breda Mod 30 light MG being fired by the prone guy.

Mars German Mountain Troops

It seems that Mars just keeps getting better and better. This set has to be on of its best sets ever. Nice theme selection and great execution all around on the sculpting including the poses, level of detail, and diversity of realistic equipment such as crampons, snow shoes, googles, ropes, pickaxes, flare pistol, parkas, etc. in addition to the varied infantry weaponry which BTW, includes a not very common British Boys anti tank rifle in German hands. This AT rifle apparently was also used by the Norwegians, so maybe these guys got it during their tour of Scandinavia. In terms of the poses I like how the mountaineering aspect of the set did not come at the expense of having useful fighting poses, but their alpine nature is still very much present in the figures. These are not just some guys with military gear out on a climb (which is how several of the Airfix guys feel like to me). These men are actual soldiers engaged in combat who also happen to have a lot of cool climbing equipment. As far as their fit with other mountain troops, these guys will go very well with the Hanomak figures, but are rather large next to the Airfix guys. I will post some comparison pictures in the post about German Mountain Troops. At any rate, another great set from Mars!

Mars Afrika Korps

One thing I really like about Mars is how they cover a wide range of service branches, and they have now come around to address a very popular one. This DAK set comes with a very good variety of uniforms, headgear and weaponry. For instance, there are a couple men with tropical helmets, a regular helmet, couple of field caps, a field cap worn backwards, a side cap, and an officer's cap, all in just 8 figures. Some have googles, and one has a scarf across his face to help him breathe. It shows you the level of thought that has gone into designing their poses. The same is true about the weapons, which includes a very rare flamethrower among prior sets of Afrika Korps figures. In terms of uniforms, you get a mix of long and short pants and high boots and ankle boots. And the poses are all useful combat stances. And I also feel that the officer has a very commanding presence. My only wish is that now that Mars has the ability to 3D-print their figures, I would prefer that they didn't sculpt the figures with their arms tucked next to their bodies, but some of these guys still feel like they were sculpted for plastic mold manufacturing. This is most noticeable in the man running holding his rifle at the waist. Having him tuck his right arm feels unnatural and it also makes it appear shorter. Other than that, this is another nice set from Mars which will be enhancing the ranks of my DAK forces heading for El Alamein!

Mars British 8th Army

Mars has checked an important box with the recent release of its B8A figures. More so because they had also released recently their Afrika Korps counterparts. The set is 3D printed as has been the case for the last year or so. The poses are all good, attacking poses. Perhaps the only one who is a bit stiff is the officer, but all the rest are showing a nice degree of action. These men are certainly outfitted for the desert climate. Not only are they wearing shorts, but one of them, the prone sniper, is also wearing a keffiyeh, the Arab looking head dress which also helped protect against breathing sand. I had only seen this attire in figures from the long range desert group. The other men are wearing a mix of helmets with and without netting and a couple even have the distinctive 8th Army khaki beret. The weaponry is also diverse. They have a couple sub MGs, a Bren gun and even what appears to be a Lee Enfield rifle being used as a grenade launcher. All in all a nice set which will still managed to bring something new to the B8A despite the fact that this service branch has been represented in the toy soldier world quite a few times before.

Mars British Paras Set 2

This is the second set of Mars British Paras. These are 3d printed, which means that they are made out of resin and they are also slightly larger. Compared to set 1, I have to say that the poses feel a little less dynamic. I see quite a few guys with limited bending of the knees, even though they are supposed to be on the go. On the positive side, the arms are all well placed and in natural positions. Overall it is a nice set with a good amount of variation in the detail. For example, in terms of weapons you get a PIAT gun, a Bren gun, three sub MGs, a sniper, a man using his rifle as a grenade launcher, and a couple of rifle men. One of the rifle men is also the ammo carrier for the PIAT gun and on his back he is also carrying a small mortar. The head gear is also nicely varied, with a mix of helmets with and without cammo netting, and a few berets as well. These guys are ready for Arnhem!

Mars German Infantry Early War

This is an interesting set from Mars. A remake of a classic set. Well executed, but I would have preferred that they addressed other countries or service branches that have less representation to date. The figures are still pretty nice. They are all fighting poses which could be used in a variety of offensive or defensive operations, although given the fact that they represent early war figures they will most likely be attacking. A couple of highlights in my opinion are the man pulling the bolt on his rifle. I don't know if I had seen such pose before. The mortar man is also nicely done. And the prone man with his helmet at the side is also a unique touch. The grenade man is the only pose that I think is not as fluid as I would like it for grenade throwers. It feels like his front arm should be extended, unless he intends to throw the grenade under arm in which case it probably won't go very far. In terms of uniform, the jackboots, the tunics they are wearing and the uniformity of the outfits indicate well that these men are fighting during the early stage of the war. All in all, a pretty nice set, particularly if you are just starting to collect German troops.

Mars Polish Infantry

Polish infantry has been quite neglected by prior manufacturers so I really like the fact that Mars cares enough to cover less popular subjects such as these. Or maybe they are simply smart and capture all the pent up demand that has been building over the years! Either way, it is great that we now have these figures. The set as usual contains 8 poses, all in useful fighting stances, including a prone guy which is not very common in the Mars soldierverse (did I just make up a new term?). The uniforms and weapons appear to be spot on for that early war period. The equipment presents us with a couple variations of head gear besides the crested Adrian helmet. And the weapons include what looks like the Polish version of the Browning automatic rifle. The rest of the poses are riflemen, including a grenade thrower and an officer with a hand gun. These guys are ready to put up a fight against the early war Germans!

Mars German Infantry in winter uniforms

These guys were released about 3 months back, in April 2026, however I forgot to take pictures of them before I sprayed them with primer so I had to wait until I finished painting them to post about them. I actually like winter troops a lot. The variety of clothing and how they combine the layers gives us many unique figures that despite their differences still belong together. These guys are mid to late war Germans, as they already have much better equipment than those who were caught on the approaches to Moscow and Leningrad during the first winter attempting to invade the USSR. One of them is wearing what appears to be a bed sheet on top of his long coat. Provides good cammo and maybe a little extra warmth? The detail on these 3D printed figures is great. It was a pleasure to paint them as I didn't have to make any guesses of fudge any color boundaries. If you have painted injection mold figures, you know what I mean. The figures are all good combat poses, they carry diverse firepower -notice that we also have a tripod for the MG on the back on the guy with the googles- and also the upsized potato masher to take out the tracks of a T-34. These guys are ready to fight both the Soviets and General Winter!

Mars British Long Range Desert Group

This is another rarely covered subject. The BBC's recent series Rogue Heroes helped renew interest in them and I am glad that Mars answered the call! You could say that they mostly look like British 8th Army troopers, but what really gives them away is the cloth (aka ghutra) that a few of them are wearing on their head a la Arab style. And then you also get 5 other types of head gear. Mars really likes to explore the full range of uniforms! Given the fact that these men went on squad-sized patrols, you can see that they have a good amount of firepower and diversity of weapons - mostly automatic, but they also have a sniper rifle. I guess the desert provides nice unobstructed lines of sight for long distances!

If you can commandeer a couple of sturdy vehicles for them, you can send them on a mission to wreak havoc behind the Axis lines!

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Plastic Platoon - Toy Soldiers

2026-07-16T23:30:00.000-04:00

Latest edit: Added Soviet Infantry, Battle of Konigsberg 1945 at the bottom of the post.

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Plastic Platoon is a relatively recent entrant into the 1/32 Plastic Toy Soldier world. Founded by Mikhail Glikin, a fellow toy soldier collector and enthusiast, they are based out of St Petersburg in Russia. Their first sets came out around late 2017/early 2018, and were focused on the Vietnam War. In 2019, to my good fortune, they expanded their range to cover WWII and since then they have added other topics and periods, such as pirates, US revolutionary war (American &British), US Cavalry, Indians, and I am sure there will be more to come. From the beginning they came out swinging, setting a new standard for realism and creativity in their sculpting. When I first saw their figures I experienced the same level of excitement and enthusiasm as when I first held my first Conte soldiers, and more recently my first Publius figures. They are truly detailed and historically accurate. The only thing not to like about their figures is that they are pricey, around $60 to $75 a set. Apparently that's because their molds can only produce 25 sets before they have to be replaced in order to maintain the level of detail and quality, which is also why they only release limited runs of about 300 sets. I just wish my budget would allow me to get more of them, or that they could get their molds to last longer so that they could lower the price point. Even so, I am very happy that they have joined the hobby and I truly look forward to all the amazing sets that they have yet to conceive of and produce. Without further ado, let's take a look at what they have produced so far regarding WWII!

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 1

Plastic Platoon brings sculpting and action poses to a new level. Their German Paras are supposed to represent the early war troops which were dropped on Crete, and are for sure my favorite German Paras. You can tell that they were just dropped on the island because most of them are still wearing their knee pads, and at least one of them is still wearing his harness. Can't say enough about the level of realism of these figures.

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 2

Here are another six poses released as part of a second set, also representing the Paras involved in Operation Mercury, the invasion of Crete. What's most interesting for me is that several of them are wearing same life jacket worn by the Luftwaffe pilots. It took me a bit of research to figure out what I was looking at, but you can actually find photographs depicting men in this outfit. It makes sense when you think about the fact that they were flown to jump into an island, so if the plane was shot down or, if they were blown out to see during the landing, a Schwimmweste would have come in handy.

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 3

This third set was a bit unusual. We got two more Paratroopers, three drop containers, and one Greek Partisan. I suppose this is useful and original, but if you ask me, I would have preferred if it had come with more German figures and the containers were extras or could be purchased separately. Also, I am not a big fan of figures that are so coupled together that you can't deploy one of them in a separate situation. What's interesting about this set is that one of the figures can grasp the handle of one of the containers so that it looks like he is pulling it. Also the level of detail, even on the containers is very nice. Each container is labeled with a different letter or symbol, and the contents are rich and diverse.

Plastic Platoon British Infantry

This set is meant to represent the British defenders of Crete who fought against the German Paras. Again, characteristically well made, with lots of action and intensity. You can tell that these guys were involved in close quarters fighting. Worth highlighting is who I think might the the Sarge, holding a pistol on one hand, and brass knuckles on the other. A feisty bunch to come up against, although as we know, they were eventually subdued, although at no small cost, which is one of the reasons why German Fallschirmjaegger were no longer used in drops after that.

Plastic Platoon Greek Infantry

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with this set. It was great that they chose to make Greek troops, which until now, had not been paid attention to in the hobby. But it would have been good if they had made at least eight poses or so. Instead, PP chose to release three other figures representing Greek Partisans to round up the set. That essentially gave us too little of both. As far as the three Greek infantry figures go, they are well made and I do like that one of them conveys the emotion that must have overcome them as an army of Paratroopers suddenly dropped on them.

Plastic Platoon Greek Partisans

This is the second half of the set. Plus the partisan figure of set 3 of the German Paras. I just put him next to his comrades in the picture so that you can see how it fits with them. What's nice about these figures is to see the men in their local garb. I don't know if that's what they would have worn going to battle, but it certainly makes them look more authentic. There's also a partisan woman. She is dressed in more 'modern' clothes of that time. Interesting to see that these guys seem more determined to fight than the Greek infantry figures, although it stands to reason that these guys lived on the island and the Greek troops were most likely sent there from other parts of Greece to defend it. That would certainly influence their level of resolve.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry - Defense of Leningrad, 1941

Another superb set from Plastic Platoon. The details on the figures is exquisite. Worthy of note is the carriage for the Maxim machine gun that one of the men is transporting on his back. It is simply amazing. Note also how the man is also carrying the front shield for the gun on his left hand. And the gun itself, carried by the officer is also quite nice. The other figures are also very well done. One of them carrying a capture German submg. The only thing not to like about them is that the plastic is very soft and the bayonet of the man on the right is simply impossible to straighten, even with the tried and tested hot/cold water technique.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Naval Infantry - Defense of Leningrad, 1941

A great set depicting the intensity of close quarter combat happening in an urban theater. These naval infantry figures would be equally at home in Stalingrad or Sevastopol, and they will be a great complement to Publius' and Pegasus' naval infantry troops. Again, the plastic is a bit soft, and that makes the tips of the weapons point in odd directions, but other than that, the sculpting -level of detail and action- on these figures is exceptional. I can't wait to see how realistic they look with some paint on them!

Plastic Platoon German Infantry - Battle for Leningrad, Winter 1941

These guys look like they are going through a rough winter, but at least they have coats. The officer is definitely not freezing. The details like the scarf wrapped around the head, and the helmets wrapped in white sheets give these figures a very authentic winter fighting look. Particularly nice in this set is the two man team operating what appears to be an MG 34. Very well done. Probably the best German winter troops that have been made.

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops - Battle for Leningrad, Winter 1941

These guys not only get points for being well done, but they also deserve extra credit for uniqueness. I don't think anybody had made German Paras in a winter setting. I am glad that we got some poses in this set that are better suited for close quarter combat, as the other Leningrad Soviets needed some opponents to fight in the rubble of those buildings. The desperation and urgency displayed by the guy who is using his helmet to balance the fight is palpable.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Assault Troops - Stalingrad, 1942

Another beautiful set from Plastic Platoon. I love how well you can see the dents on the body armor of these guys. Of course, a good range of fighting poses, and weaponry represented, including a flamethrower, a grenade launcher, a Degtyerev DP light MG, and of course, the popular PPSh-41 subMG. All of them sculpted with extreme detail. The poses are also versatile enough to be used in a variety of urban warfare actions.

Plastic Platoon German Infantry - Stalingrad, 1942

As is customary, Plastic Platoon has treated us to another beautiful set. And while German Infantry is a set that has been made many times before, I love to have them in a set of this level of quality and detail, and in fact, I wish there were more poses to go with them. You can tell that these guys are still in the early stages of the Stalingrad campaign, at the end of summer when it still made sense to roll up your sleeves while fighting. As far as the type of poses, other than the wounded guy who is having to defend himself, the other guys do not seem to be under much pressure. Another clue that this was still early in the campaign, before things got bad for them. The highlight of this set is probably the mortar team.

Plastic Platoon German 'Hunters and Prey' - Stalingrad, 1942

Here's another nice set from Plastic Platoon depicting German snipers as well as some of the German men who would be likely targets of the opposing Soviet snipers. The poses are highly reminiscent of the characters in the movie Enemy at the Gates, where you see Vasily Zaitsev and his fellow snipers take out German soldiers doing things like laying down phone cable, going on a food run, or the officer taking a shower... The set also contains a military policeman, which is might be a first in my collection. The sculpting and detail on the figures is exquisite, as usual. The equipment on the back of the soldiers is quite elaborate, and I also like how the officer has been sculpted a bit overweight, hinting at the inequities in the distribution of supplies, particularly at this time of the Stalingrad siege. The wrapping on the seated sniper's rifle is also very well done. All in all a great set to complement the ones that came before.

Plastic Platoon Soviet 'Hunters and Prey' - Stalingrad, 1942

This set is the complement to the German Hunters and Prey figures that are so reminiscent of the characters in the movie Enemy at the Gates, where you see Vasily Zaitsev and his fellow snipers take out German soldiers, as Vasily dukes it our against German sniper ace Major König. Note how they have accurately included both a male and a female sniper. The other figures, like the officer or the phone operator, I suppose represent the targets for the German snipers. It is also noteworthy that optionally, the wounded man and the fighting medic on the right can be placed side by side, with bases that have been specifically designed to fit with each other. As always with Plastic Platoon, the level of detail is top-notch. A great set to display in the ruins of Stalingrad.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Scouts

If you are looking for a tough and daring raiding party look no more. Plastic Platoon's Soviet Scouts are full of grit and intensity. Are they engaged in a fighting retreat or are they springing up an ambush on an unsuspecting enemy? Whatever the case may be, these guys seem ready for it! These guys' outfits are relatively simple by Plastic Platoon's standards. All of them are wearing the typical Soviet cammo smock/suit, which should make them look quite interesting if you chose to paint them. In terms of weaponry, they are packing a good amount of heat. With the exception of the officer, they are all firing automatic weapons. From a German Maschinenpistole to the more ubiquitous PPSh-41 with its different ammo magazines, and then there's the guy firing off the hip what appears to be a 'conscripted' German MG34. Of this set, my favorite pose is the man throwing the hand grenade. Not only is his stance just right -which is not always the case for grenade throwers- but what about that mustache? I think that gives him bonus points. All in all a really nice set, representing a branch of service rarely depicted.

Plastic Platoon Japanese Infantry

This is Plastic Platoon's first set outside of the Eastern Front, and even though we already have a nice range of Japanese Infantry released by previous manufacturers, it is definitely a welcome set, given the exquisite level of detail and sculpting typically delivered by their figures. Take for instance, the writing on the flag attached to one of the rifles. I can't read Japanese, but it feels like it's real! But even beyond the little details and the action-packed sculpting, these poses are also nicely diverse, covering a good range of weapons, headgear, and equipment. The only thing that I noticed which seemed a bit odd to me is that the flag that we just mentioned would be 'floating' upwards. As fast as that man is running, I have a hard time imagining that the flag would defy gravity that much. But let's not get picky. It is still an amazing set that should be charging at the US forces trying to take their island!

Plastic Platoon US Marines

The perfect complement to PP's Japanese Infantry set. These guys remind me a bit of Austin Miniatures' marines in the shape of the bodies and heads, slim and tall figures, but with nicer sculpting and detailing. The six poses are good fighting poses, and they cover a nice range of headgear (covered helmet, with netting, plain), clothing styles (tucked vs loose pant bottoms, rolled up sleeves, shirtless, ripped pants, etc.), weapons (Thompson sub mgs, BAR, rifle/bayonet, shotgun w/bayonet(!) and my favorite, the flamethrower) and equipment (backpack, pouches, bandoliers, etc.) I also enjoyed the facial expressions. I am not surprised anymore by the fury and intensity displayed by a couple of them. This time I was more impressed by how the BAR gunner seems so concentrated. Is he aiming at something in the distance, or is he simply laying down covering fire with determination? You'll need to figure that one out yourself when you setup your scene...

Plastic Platoon Japanese Naval Infantry

Until recently, the great majority of Japanese plastic troops available have been regular Japanese Infantry, so it is nice and refreshing to see a different service branch being depicted. The challenge now is to find enough other poses to form a substantial fighting unit. But that's a good problem to have. As usual with Plastic Platoon, the sculpting is superb. The poses are good action poses and the detail is crisp and rich. For instance, you can clearly see the insignia showing that these guys are marines, and a few of them also wear Japanese flags on their head/helmet. Another feature that is unique about them is that they all carry a gas mask on their back. I wonder why this has only been depicted with these naval infantry guys. And then you also have a man wearing a bullet-scarred breast plate, similar to those worn by the Soviet scouts. Speaking of that guy, I do think that he could have been sculpted with a wider stance. If you throw a grenade with your legs so close to each other, you are relying primarily on arm strength for the throw... then again, maybe he thinks that the can get pretty close to the objective given the extra protection that he is wearing? :-)

Plastic Platoon Japanese Fukuryu Diver

This guy was meant to be part of the Japanese naval infantry set, or at least he was released at the same time as them. I just got him separately. He is definitely a 'character' figure. Not one of which we will be trying to build a whole unit. The challenge is also to find the right setting to pose him. The best scene would be to place him under water approaching the hull of a ship in a harbor. But that's a tricky scene to setup. And also when you think about it, I doubt they really had that many opportunities to perform such operations. Anyhow, the amount of equipment and detail on this diver is really intricate. Lots of hoses and straps, which make him a figure worth studying and taking a look at every now and then just to enjoy the detail.

Plastic Platoon US Paramarines

These guys are a nice complement to the first set of Marines. Initially I thought that other than the fact that there's a 7th man with them who clearly is a pilot -maybe he crashed or had to bail out on the same mission that dropped the Paramarines- there wasn't much to indicate that these guys were paratroopers, but then it hit me that they are clearly wearing jump boots. I wonder if after the jump that was still a good type of footwear for tropical islands. Maybe it was better at keeping the sand out, but if it did get in, I would have hated having to undo the shoe laces every so often to empty the sand. Anyhow, great poses as usual, with good variety of weaponry. The machete guy is a nice touch. And in terms of detail, look at the ding on the helmet of the second guy from the left. Looks like he literally dodged a bullet! The pilot is one guy that I probably won't have a lot of use for. I might have preferred another Paramarine, but I won't complain. Another great set.

Plastic Platoon Waffen SS / Elite Troops

By now it should be clear to anyone reading this post that I love Plastic Platoon's figures. They've set a new standard in the Plastic Toy Soldier world with their amazing level of detail and the energy and high level of action in their poses. That's mostly true with this set as well, except that in this set the faces have gone off the rails. They definitely over did them. I don't know if the intention was to depict these men as evil, but their expressions resemble that of possessed zombies or something along those lines. Other than that, this set is just as exciting as any of their prior ones. Just look at the man firing the machine gun a-la-Rambo. Or the man on the right with the Stg 44. Really well posed and detailed. The sniper is also very nicely done, although with that big rock underneath him, it limits the places where he could be posed. Still a great set and looking forward to the set 2 of PP's Waffen SS figures.

Plastic Platoon Waffen SS Heavy Weapons

PP's second set of Waffen SS Troops has not disappointed. It's only five figures, but they are all very well done. The faces are not as extreme as in the previous set, although still a bit in that sharp style, particularly the machine gunner. The machine gun is probably the crown piece in this set, and I am pretty sure that's why there are only five figures in this set. The machine gun by itself with its elaborate base was probably more work to make than a figure. That's how detailed it is. The man firing the gun, is actually cast separately and placed on the base by hooking up his hands to the machine gun's handle. The ammo holder is a separate figure, and the base of the gun has a notch that fits perfectly with the ammo box so that you don't have to guess where to place him. The panzerschreck team is also very well posed and detailed and it's definitely good to have a loader with it. The fifth man is interesting because he seems to be firing a captured Bren gun. In terms of gear you can tell that these guys were late war guys. They are wearing a mix of cammo smocks and regular uniforms, helmets with and without covers, most of them wear puttees and shoes, although the panzerschreck loader is wearing leather boots. And the ammo loaded on the MG team is carrying an StG 44 assault rifle, which as the model name suggests, came out in the last phase of the war. This set is now very hard to get, so I was very happy to be able to get my hands on one.

Plastic Platoon US Marines Heavy Weapons

This is a very nice set. It contains a crew for a Browning Heavy MG, a bazooka team, a BAR man, and an officer coordinating the action through a radio. The center piece of this set is the heavy machine gun itself, and not just the gun, but the base. I know that some folks prefer plain/neutral bases so that they can be placed in a variety of settings, but in the case of these marines, I do think that the heavily detailed base adds to the set. The other figures are nicely sculpted, as usual, with a high degree of action in them. A couple of them show bullet dents in the helmet, which is a nice bit of detail. The other creative touch is the trophy sword tucked away in the backpack of the BAR man. Lastly, the expression on the officer captures very well the intensity of battle without overdoing it as was the case with some of the prior German sets. Overall a great addition to the WWII range, and a great support unit for the other Marines.

Plastic Platoon Japanese Infantry Heavy Weapons - Part I

This is an exciting set for a couple reasons. The first one is simply that there are not that many Japanese artillery crews or artillery pieces out there. The Deetail recoilless rifle comes to mind, but that's it as far as I remember. And then there's the fact that the figures and the gun are so well sculpted and detailed. I believe this gun is a Type 92, 70 mm howitzer. The gun comes in several pieces which can be easily attached together. Glue seems to be optional. In terms of the figures, my favorite one is the man operating the sight and elevation lever. The fact that he is straddling the gun gives it a nice touch. The officer and the loader complement the crew very nicely.

Plastic Platoon Japanese Infantry Heavy Weapons - Part II

This MG crew is part of the same heavy weapons set. The MG is a separate sculpture itself and the man firing it can be seated on the base separately. The ammo feeder lines up just right to be able to feed the belt into the MG. This is thanks to a notch in the bases. As you can see, the whole set is rich in detail. From the bullet holes in the sandbags to the Japanese writing on the side of the ammo box. or the hobnails on the boots. The facial features on the men are also extremely well done. The only thing that is less than ideal on this set is the amount of flash on the figures. It is quite a bit and it is also hard to remove. You can still see some left on the leg of the ammo handler. Other than that. this set is a great addition to my Japanese troops.

Plastic Platoon German Infantry Goliath Crew - Summer Uniform

This set represents a Goliath and its crew. The Goliath was essentially a tracked, mobile mine that could be operated remotely. Plastic Platoon came up with a set that contains two such crews. This is the one with summer/non-winter uniforms. As far as I recall, only Revell had produced a Goliath with one operator as part of its set of combat engineers. The figures are nicely done as usual and the officer is done in such a way that he could easily be deployed in other missions without the Goliath.

Plastic Platoon German Infantry Goliath Crew - Winter Uniform

This is the second half of the set. The main difference is that the crew is wearing long coats. Similarly to the summer crew, the officer, who seems to be intensely engaged, could be easily deployed to coordinate other missions. The Goliath itself comes in four pieces that can be snapped together relatively easily. I suppose that if you want you can glue them together, but in my case that was not necessary. All in all this set scores high both on uniqueness and sculpting detail.

Plastic Platoon German Infantry MG Crew - Summer Uniform

These guys are half of the MG set. Similarly to the Goliath set, one crew is wearing summer uniforms and the other one is dressed up for the winter. Besides that, the MGs are also a bit different, at least the bases. For instance, this base contains some urban rubble, including a metal beam, which makes it well suited for a setting such as Stalingrad. Some will like this level of detail, but others will likely think that this constrains the set unnecessarily to a specific setting. In my case, I do have a few buildings like that, so they will fit just fine once they are painted. As usual, the figures are very nicely detailed, so this is a MG team that is worth incorporating into my army.

Plastic Platoon German Infantry MG Crew - Winter Uniform

The other MG team is bundled up for winter operations. In addition to the long coats, you can tell that they are wearing other layers underneath. A nice detail is the cloth cover (typically white) on the man firing the gun. Another nice detail is the fact that you can see his corporal insignia on the sleeve of his coat. Lastly, another detail that sets Plastic Platoon's sculpting apart is how he also has the collar of his coat turned up for a bit of extra protection against the wind. A great addition to my unit of German winter troops!

Plastic Platoon German Winter Infantry Kharkov - Set 1

And speaking of German winter troops, Plastic Platoon has recently come up with this really nice set! The level of detail on these figures is exquisite. You can even see the fleece lining on the hood of the coats, and you can make out the helmets' insignia. The uniforms are all very authentic, the thickness of the figures is consistent with all the layers of clothing they are wearing, and the captured subMG is a nice touch. The most interesting pieces in this set are the two guys making up the MG team. The reason for that is that the MG itself, along with the hands of the man firing have been sculpted attached to the man where the MG is resting. This means that when you assemble them together, you really need to make sure they line up perfectly. Luckily they do. The other implication is that you can never deploy them separately, unless you took the time to perform some delicate conversions. Another great set from Plastic Platoon!

Plastic Platoon German Winter Infantry Kharkov - Set 2

These guys are a good follow up complement to the previous set. The winter gear is just right. I really like the details like the sheepskin on the inside of some of the coats, or the cloth wrapped around their heads. Another interesting detail is the guy wearing the cap with the ear flaps. Initially I couldn't tell if that was a German or a Soviet cap, but upon closer inspection I realized that it has a German eagle insignia on the front. In terms of poses, I usually prefer fighting poses over wounded guys, but in this case, since these are part of the second set, I am OK with this wounded pose, particularly because it goes well with the medic moving towards him with the bag. Interestingly enough, the medic is holding a pistol just in case. The pose I like the most is the man exchanging the magazine. We don't get many of these, so it is a nice touch. The two other guys, are just good, solid firing poses. Overall a nice set.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry Kharkov

These guys are a nice counterpart to the German winter troops. Their outfits display a good variety of styles, from the padded suits, to the long coats, the man wearing the balaclava, and the guy with the winter smock which I will likely paint white. One thing I really like about this set is that all the figures are in an attacking mode. Most of them are firing on the move. The only one who is standing, although still firing, is the commander. The squad is also handling a decent variety of weapons. The most interesting one is the grenade launcher. And the Molotov cocktail can always come in handy against German armor. Can't wait for these guys to face off against the winter Germans on the eastern front!

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle Team, Winter Dress - Part I

These guys will be a nice extension to the Soviet winter troops above. The set comes as several parts that need to be assembled: the base, the assistant, the shooter, and the shooter's rifle/arm. The assistant is wearing a one piece winter smock, while the shooter is wearing a two piece suit. The PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle looks big and powerful. The only thing that is not ideal is that it gets bent a bit easily. I will try to give it the hot/cold water treatment and see if I can straighten it out.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle Team, Winter Dress - Part II

Here's the look from behind, which makes it easier to appreciate the differences in the uniforms. One thing to be aware of is that the base bends a bit upwards so the manufacturer has glued a couple of bits of plastic under the back side. This keeps the base from rocking back and forth, but it will permanently lift up the back side. Which is why I pushed some snow close to the base. That hid it well.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle Team, Summer Dress - Part I

Here's the equivalent team dressed for the non-winter months - yes, why restrict them to summer! As was the case with the winter guys, the man firing the rifle requires minor assembly to attach the rifle and arms to the body. And the rifle itself may require some straightening. Other than the summer dress, what's different in this set is that you can actually see the assistant handing over the next round to fire.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle Team, Summer Dress - Part II

From this angle you can appreciate better how he is getting the next round ready. Another thing that you can appreciate is that the loader has a helmet in front of him, which makes you wonder if it's his and why he wouldn't be wearing it. Something you can't see because of how I cropped the picture is that the back of the base also bends upwards a bit, and has similar bits of plastic attached on the bottom to stabilize it. Not ideal, but not a deal breaker as you can simply place some rubble around it.

Plastic Platoon Soviet and German Tankers, Battle of Kursk

One set with 3 tank crew members from each side. But that's not where the symmetry ends. Each side has what looks like an officer firing a pistol, a crew man firing a sub machine gun, and another crew man firing a light machine gun from the waist - a la Rambo. The poses are all in Plastic Platoon's usual high action style. One detail that I like from this set is how they made the Soviet commander bald. The Soviet tank helmets and the reinforced knees on the uniforms are also a nice touch. I also like from this set is how they made the man firing the machine gun step over a piece of tank track. You can tell that this panzer crew is definitely having a challenging time evacuating its disabled tank! These guys will go well with the Mars and Hanomak tanker sets.

Plastic Platoon German Infantry, Battle of Kursk

In retrospective, if these guys represent the units from the Kursk offensive, I should have probably placed them among countryside scenery when I took the pictures, but then again, these guys could fit in any other battle scenario. Note that this is a seven piece set, which is nice. My favorite pose is probably the prone grenade thrower. It resembles a picture I've seen multiple times, taken at ground level and looking slightly upwards towards the face/chest of the man throwing the grenade. If you know which one I am referring to, leave a comment. My least favorite pose has to be the man who just got shot. The way that he is falling feels a bit stiff to me. The other poses are all good action poses, and the man with the wounded/bandaged head adds a nice bit of realism.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry, Battle of Kursk

Another seven piece set to fend off the German's summer offensive of '43 at Kursk. Six of them equipped with submachine guns and only one rifle man. The most interesting pose is the man carrying the flag, although I have to admit that I wonder how often they may have gone into battle carrying their colors. In any case, the flag is well-made, with several bullet holes piercing its fabric. I wonder how I am going to paint those holes, as the plastic is actually solid... The pose that I find a bit intriguing is the man kneeling who is also handing over an ammo drum. Not sure who he is handing it to. My best guess is that guy that I placed next to him, but I am not sure, as he is not really looking at his hand and he is moving too fast to be able to pick it up on the run. Perhaps I am over analyzing this. But I like the pose, and I am sure I can find some other guy who is a better candidate to be getting extra ammo.

Plastic Platoon German Volkssturm

Definitely a hodgepodge of uniforms and gear for this crew. Some of them are still wearing some civilian items. The most interesting character in that respect is probably the man with the brim hat about to throw a grenade. Others are wearing military issued gear, but definitely nothing standard. In terms of weapons, it is interesting to see how they have what looks like an old MG. Maybe left over from WW1 or captured and reissued? Another interesting bit is the female in the unit. She is handing over a canteen. I wonder if most were in such supporting roles, of if some of them actually picked up weapons. Lastly, the guy on the left with the glasses and the coat looks a little bit like he could have been a professor or an accountant before taking up arms...

Plastic Platoon German Infantry, Battle of Berlin

These guys will go well with the Volkssturm as they make a last effort to prevent the inevitable fall of Berlin. The first interesting bit is the presence of an Indian soldier, likely from the Indian Legion recruited from British POWs. This guy had to fight to the end or face tough consequences if captured. Another thing that they did well is the bases. I know that some folks find them too bulky or constraining in terms of the scene where the men can be used, but in this case, I find them quite appropriate. One of them is standing next to a grandfather clock, and another one is standing next to a broken gramophone, not to mention the several sections of brick wall. The weapons are all good choices for urban fighting, with a panzerfaust and a panzerschreck, plus other automatic weapons. And similarly to the Soviet guy in the Kursk set, we have a guy handing over his ammo pouches with sub machinegun magazines to a Kamerad. Overall, a good, intense set.

Plastic Platoon Soviet 76mm Gun with Crew, Winter Dress - Part I

This is a really nice contribution to the hobby. There aren't that many Soviet artillery crews and guns available. I can think of the Italeri set, but that's about it. PP has released this set in both summer and winter outfits. Unfortunately I have only been able to find the winter crew. The figures are certainly nice, as usual, but clearly, the highlight of this set is the gun itself. It comes in a few parts that must be put together - the wheels, shield, trail/carriage and the barrel, but it is fairly easy to assemble. The detail is all there. You can see many nice touches like the hinges on the front of the shield and the grooves on the wooden spokes of the wheels, as well as the firing mechanism of the gun itself.

Plastic Platoon Soviet 76mm Gun with Crew, Winter Dress - Part II

As you can see from this other angle, you get an officer who is directing the firing of the gun, an ammo handler ready with the next round, a guy ready to fire, and another guy who can be placed in a couple spots to help operate or move the gun - he is carrying a side arm, so he might also be an officer. The uniforms are nicely detailed and show a variety of winter clothing. A couple of long coats, a padded jacket, etc. My favorite is the cap with sheepskin lining. And to round it all up, you also get a couple of ammo boxes. Ready to lay some supporting fire!

Plastic Platoon Soviet Naval Infantry, Defense of Sevastopol

For some reason I really like Soviet Naval Infantry troops, so I was very excited to learn that Plastic Platoon had come up with its own interpretation. The set does not disappoint. Perhaps the only thing to criticize is the fact that some of the bases are almost like the base that you would have for an actual sculpture, particularly the anchor, the cannon, and the steps, but even those elements are well done. I also like that we get a guy wearing a cape, as well as one wearing a helmet instead of the usual cap. We also get a good variety of weapons, my favorite being the light machine gun. These guys will definitely go very well with the rest of the detachment! BTW, The title of the set refers to Sevastopol, but I feel like deploying these guys within the ruins of Stalingrad... WDYT?

Plastic Platoon US Paratroops 82nd Division, Operation Overlord

US Paras are also some of my favorite toy soldiers. Plastic Platoon has gifted us representatives from both the 82nd and the 101st divisions, and you can tell which unit they belong to thanks to their nicely detailed shoulder patches. Regarding the troopers from the 82nd, there are several interesting bits, starting with the fact that there is a chaplain in the set administering the last rites to a wounded man. I usually prefer fighting poses, but given the uniqueness of the characters, I will take them. Another interesting pose is the man with the machete or whatever you call that weapon that he is wielding. I would not want to catch the sharp end of that thing! I also like the fact that among the weapons you see a grease gun being fired by the man on the left. Overall, lots of good detail and touches everywhere you look.

Plastic Platoon US Paratroops 101st Division, Operation Overlord

The screaming eagles from the 101st are also ready to fight. Just look at the guy with the mohawk! That's a fierce looking warrior right there. His expression and the fact that he is ready to stab you and shot you simultaneously make him a fearsome opponent. Another interesting guy is the medic who apparently has taken up arms. You can tell he is the medic because of the big cross on the front of his helmet. And these guys have also liberated what looks like a German MG42 being carried by the guy on the right. The officer issuing the hand signals is also a nice touch. Lastly I also like how they gave us three different styles of helmet. Bare, with net covering, and with cammo inserted into the net. And speaking of helmets, there's also a German helmet with cammo cover on the base of the man carrying the MG42. Another great set!

Plastic Platoon US Paratroops Heavy Weapons 101st Division, Operation Overlord

In case you are worried that your paratroopers are going to be outgunned, here are a few more guys to upgrade your squad! You get a bazooka man, a BAR, a rifle grenade, a 30 cal MG and then there's this guy who seems to be holding a mortar round, but there's no mortar to go with it :-) this had me a bit puzzled until it hit me that he is holding a bazooka round. I should have placed him next to the bazooka guy so he could assist him! BTW, another clue is that he has a bazooka rocket tube lying next to his right foot. Initially, I did not know what that was either. In fact in another picture that I found online, they had chopped it off the figure! Luckily, I left it there :-) One last interesting detail is the fact that despite their heavy weapons, all these guys have a big bad knife tied to their leg. I guess you never know when you are going to need it so better safe than sorry!

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry, Final Assault on Berlin 1945

Another nice set of Soviet Infantry courtesy of Plastic Platoon, all posed in good action poses, very appropriate for taking over Berlin. One of them is even carrying a Soviet flag. Is he going to set it on top of the Reichstag? The officer is also interesting. Not only because he is firing upwards, into the many upper floors of the city buildings, but also because he is one of the few Soviet figures wearing a cape. The bases are also definitely urban, littered with bricks and furniture. Notice also how a couple of them are firing German weapons which they have 'liberated'. One of them is firing an StG 44 assault rifle, the man next to him is about to fire a panzerfaust, and the man throwing the grenade is actually throwing a German potato masher. All in all, a good set to complement the other Berlin sets made by others like Engineer Bassevich and Publius, or simply to reinforce your Soviet army.

Plastic Platoon German Winter Infantry Mortar Team

Here we have a 4-man mortar team in winter uniform to complement the two other sets of 'Kharkov' winter German infantry. Even though Plastic Platoon has produced other sets of winter infantry, like the Leningrad set, the thick parkas were not available until the second half of the war, so the Kharkov guys are definitely a better match for these guys. In terms of detail, I like how a couple of these guys have tears in their parkas. Could they be caused by bullets that went between their legs? If so, these guys are some lucky Landser! Another interesting detail is how the officer in charge is doing his best to protect his ears even though he only has one hand free to do so. A good set overall which will provide a very welcome heavy weapons support to my German winter troops!

Plastic Platoon Soviet Paratroops

Every time I have to pay the price for a new set from Plastic Platoon I have mixed feelings, but when I get the figures, take the pictures and zoom in I am amazed at the exquisite level of detail in their figures. Their sculptor certainly needs to be rewarded for such a good job. And this set of Soviet Paras is no exception. In fact, I feel that he/she is just getting better. You can now see even the stitches in the leather pouches that these guys are carrying. They also deserve credit for a set that had not been made to date (I am not sure who did it first PP or Kozak). At any rate, besides the amazing level of detail, the amount of action, intensity and fighting grit in the poses is just what I am looking for in plastic toy soldiers. One interesting bit about this set is that while the bases continue to be on the large side, they have now been made hollow, probably to decrease manufacturing and maybe even shipping costs. I am very happy to enroll this guys into my army and can't wait to deploy them on the eastern front for a surprise encirclement maneuver!

Plastic Platoon British Paratroops Set 1

Another exciting set from Plastic Platoon! The Red Devils are here and they mean business. The first set of 7 figures will be enough for you to capture Pegasus Bridge. They bring lots of intensity along with a nice range of weaponry and firepower, including a Bren gun and several Sten guns, a grenade thrower, a couple riflemen, and even a Sten gun with bayonet -the first one I have ever seen! Their headgear is also interesting. In 7 poses we have 4 different kinds: helmet with netting and cammo, just netting, bare helmet, and the traditional red beret. Note by the way, the dent on the helmet without any netting. Nice touch of realism. Speaking of realism, the facial expressions are also very nicely done. They reflect focus and intensity without looking like they are possessed as was the case with some earlier sets. The bases as usual, are a mixed bag. One of them is huge. One of them is almost non-existent. The rest are OK. At any rate, these guys have now dethroned the Conte guys as the best British Paras ever!

Plastic Platoon British Paratroops Set 2 - Heavy Weapons

And if you felt you needed some extra punch for Operation Market Garden, here you have 6 more poses with quite a bit more firepower. The crown jewel here is the machine gun team and the water cooled machine gun itself. It comes as 4 separate parts, if you count the base which is quite substantial. Everything fits very nicely together. Perhaps the only thing to criticize is that the machine gunner's hands can't grip the handles of the machine gun. You have to place his hands right behind them, but it is not really noticeable. Rounding up the heavy weapons team we have a two-man prone PIAT team, with a case of PIAT rounds, a sniper with a nicely camouflaged rifle with scope, and a radio man on the move, which is a nice touch as they are usually crouching trying to send or receive a transmission. As usual, the uniforms as very nicely detailed. You can see buttons, rivets, buckles, shoelaces, the elastic fabric at the end of the sleeves... everything is sculpted exquisitely. A very worthy expansion set!

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry, Battle of Konigsberg 1945

This set represents the Soviet troops that conducted the final assault to capture Konigsberg (currently Kaliningrad) in April of 1945. It contains an interesting mix of service branches. Aside from regular infantry, we also have tank man -with tanker headgear and overalls with distinctive knee patches. There's also a naval infantryman carrying the DP light machine gun outfitted with the characteristic striped shirt worn by the sailors. And we also have a female sniper -nothing new, just consistent with the role. A nice detail is how her rifle is wrapped in rags. Another interesting pose is the man firing a captured panzerfaust. In general, the prevalence of submachine guns is accurate for this stage of the war. Across the set the uniforms are just right for the early spring weather. Perhaps the most dramatic figure is the man charging forward with the flag. I have no idea how often this actually happened in battle but it's definitely a unique and interesting pose. The bases in this Plastic Platoon set are less intrusive, except for the two men who are running up steps. Unless you place them right next to a building or some elevated square they will look a bit out of place. Overall this is a nice set worth getting, although at this point it would be nice for Plastic Platoon to cover other subjects before pursuing any more Soviet infantry sets.

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Stanimir Stratev - Toy Soldiers

2026-07-16T22:15:33.216-04:00

Stanimir Stratev is a vendor I found on Facebook. Specifically, in the 'Big 1/32 WW2 Plastic Toy Soldiers and vehicles' group. He is one of the up and coming manufacturers enabled by the advancements in 3D printing. As far as I know he produces his own designs. He offers vehicles, figures and artillery pieces with focus on World War II. So far he seems to have many more vehicles than figures, but he seems to be adding figures at a good pace. Besides the German Paras that I recently purchased, I have also seen him offer US infantry, US Paras, US Paramarines, German Waffen SS, Soviet Infantry, Soviet Scouts. Given the explosion of figures available via 3D printing, I am no longer aiming to acquire every available set that becomes available. Instead, I am being more selective and only getting sets that fill a gap or add to a limited supply in my collection. The German heavy weapons sets below are one such example. One way to see Stanimir's figures is to go to the FB group and search for posts from him. Alternatively, you can contact him on FB messenger and ask him about his sets and he will send you pictures. His customer service was very good, and his communication prompt and effective. Pricing and shipping times were also very reasonable, even though the package came all the way from the Netherlands. We are looking forward to Stanimir's success and future figures. For now, you can check out two of his sets below.

Stanimir Stratev's German Paras Heavy Weapons Set 1

The center piece of this set is the Mortar team, but it also contains a machine gun with a bipod, a sniper team, and a guy firing a panzerschreck. Lots of firepower here! Which is precisely why I decided to get them. One thing to note is that the finer bits of these figures are fairly thin so you do need to be careful with them. But you can order them in whichever scale you want (1/35, 1/32, 1/30) so if you go larger, you will get figures that are a bit more robust. The other reason why I got them is that they are very well sculpted. The poses, the proportions, and level of detail are just right. I have a feeling they will look very good once painted. I also like the fact that they are all crouching, suggesting that there's a good amount of opposing fire coming at them. Now I just need to find some ruins or trenches to let them take cover!

Stanimir Stratev's German Paras Heavy Weapons Set 2

In this set, the main piece is the mounted MG team. Besides the gunner and the helper feeding the ammo belt, you also get an ammo runner, and an observer helping to direct the fire. Protecting the flanks of the MG there is a man with an MP40 and just in case an armored vehicle tries to overrun them, we also get a guy with a panzerfaust. As you can see, these guys are wearing knee pads which also offered support when jumping. Initially I thought this made them specific to the Crete operation, which would have been odd given that they are equipped with a panzerfaust which was introduced later in the war. According to Google's AI, German paras continued to use knee pads even when deployed as ground troops as they offered protection when crawling over rubble and rough terrain. I can see how that would have been pretty helpful in a place like Monte Cassino! Unfortunately I can't find any pictures to support that claim, so I will let you be the judge of that. At any rate, these guys will be a very welcome addition to my German airborne units fighting in Crete and beyond!

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Introducing the German Paratroops

2026-07-15T16:00:00.000-04:00

Latest update: Stanimir Stratev's Heavy Weapon Sets

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The German Fallschirmjäger were an elite formation in the German armed forces. They took part in several important airborne operations in the early years of the war, such as the invasion of Denmark (apparently the first time airborne troops were ever used), the invasion of Norway, the glider landings on the roof of the Belgian fortress of Eben Emael, the invasion of the Netherlands, and the invasion of Greece. Their main role was to drop ahead of the main attack to capture key objectives such as airfields or bridges. They fought with such tenacity that the allies gave them the nickname of 'green devils'. Perhaps their most dramatic airborne mission took place during the invasion of Crete which was a division-size operation combining glider landings and parachute drops. Together with a division of mountain troops, they achieved victory, but at such a high price that from that point onwards, they were only used as ground infantry in places like Monte Cassino, France, and actions in the East, including the final battle for Berlin. Ironically, it was after the 'success' of the Crete campaign, that the allies began to take more seriously airborne assaults and increased the size and role of their own units. In terms of available figures, until recently only Airfix and 21st Century had produced them. In September of 2013, Pegasus Hobbies released 10 very welcome new poses, Action Casting followed that a couple of years later with 4 more poses, and most recently in 2019 Warhansa and Plastic Platoon have added to the range.

Airfix German Paratroops - Part I

As usual, Airfix did a nice job with the sculpting and the poses. In contrast with most of their WWII sets, they actually made 14 poses for this set, which is great considering the lack of additional vendors. The size of these figures is slightly smaller than the rest of the Airfix 1/32 figures, but it's still acceptable.

Airfix German Paratroops - Part II

The set includes a good number of automatic weapons, which was a good way to give airborne units a bit more firepower. The prone guy firing the machine gun seems taken directly out of the rubble of Monte Cassino as shown in this picture. The only guy that I would have done differently is the guy wielding his rifle. He is holding it too close to his body, not like you would if you were swinging, but I can see how they had to keep his left arm this way due to the restrictions imposed by the mold making.

21st Century Toys German Paratroops

21st Century Toys released several series of German troops around 10 and 8 years ago. Most of the figures in each set were German infantry, but each set had 1 or 2 German Paratroops and after a while I ended up with 7 different poses. As you can see, the uniform is not consistent, but since they are already pre-painted I am not going to worry about painting them over. Also, for some reason, several of them seem to be off-balance. Having said that, they still represent a good addition to the Airfix figures.

Pegasus Hobbies German Paratroops - Part I

A nice complement to the existing paras. An officer with a cap to lead them, a man with a heavy MG firing off the hip, and a very much needed panzerschreck. In terms of scale, they are a very good match with the existing Airfix figures. Perhaps the head/helmet is a bit smaller, but it's not going to be very noticeable. Once they are painted they will mix well with the others.

Pegasus Hobbies German Paratroops - Part II

In terms of sculpting, they are just the way I like them. Lots of action in these poses. All of them engaging the enemy and their bodies leaning the way they are supposed to and plenty of detail on them. In terms of new weapons, the panzerfaust is also a welcome addition to the unit and will be put to good use in close quarter combat against Allied armor.

Action Casting German Paratroops

These are some nice and interesting figures. In particular, I like the man throwing the grenade. It is nice how he is leaning back while his lower legs lean slightly forward. The level of detail on these figures is also quite good, with quite a bit of gear on the figures accurately represented. If you pay attention you can see some of the casting imperfections, but I hope that once they are primed, painted and they get their protective coating, those will be less obvious.

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 1

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 2

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 3

Warhansa German Paratroops

This set is OK, but in the context of Plastic Platoon's releases, it has a high bar to match. The poses are a bit static, the figures feel slightly chubby, maybe because the oversized weapons required bigger and thicker hands. And the material is a bit too shiny for my taste, although that's something that will be taken care of once they are painted. Anyhow, I am glad that Warhansa has added some more figures to the range. And on a positive note, I do like the expression of the officer quite a bit.

Unknown German Paratroops

These are some figures which came with a building I purchased. They were already painted, although I suspect that might have been done by the previous owner. The scale and the sculpting is fairly decent. Unfortunately, there are no identifying markers in terms of who made them. So if you happen to know, please leave a comment.

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops - Battle for Leningrad, Winter 1941

Mars German Paratroops Tropical Uniform

Mars German Winter Paratroops
And yet another nice set from Mars. This set gets extra points for depicting the German Paras in winter gear, which is something that had not been done to date. Six of them are wearing padded/quilted suits, another one is wearing a white cammo suit, and the last one is still wearing the regular para smock with some other layers underneath. In addition to the unique outfits, the sculpting in this set is probably the best I've seen from Mars. The detail and dynamism in the poses is excellent. And the choice of poses is great as well. All of them useful in combat situations with a nice range of diverse weapons. The radio man is also a nice touch. My only criticism of this set is that all of them are standing poses. A couple crouching or prone poses would have been useful. But hey, maybe that means that eventually we get another set of winter paras with such poses, right?

Mars German Paratroops w 10.5 cm LG 42 Tropical Uniform

Mars German Paratroops Mortar Team Tropical Uniform

WW23D German Paratroops

I like this set a bit more than the others in terms of the sculpting and the level of action in the poses. Even the guys who are standing -except for the one on the middle- are all leaning in some direction. The pose I like the most in this set is the one on the left, who is advancing while firing his sub MG. These guys will blend well with the Airfix, Mars, and Pegasus German paras. The only thing to criticize is that the 3D printing sometimes crates a few defects, like the edge on one of the helmets is a bit uneven. I suppose we will attribute that to battle damage.

Mars German Winter Paratroops with 10.5 cm Gun

Stanimir Stratev's German Paras Heavy Weapons Set 1

Stanimir Stratev's German Paras Heavy Weapons Set 2

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Introducing the German Infantry

2026-07-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Latest addition: Mars German Infantry in winter uniforms at the bottom of this post.

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The German infantry (Heer) of World War II formed the backbone of the Wehrmacht's ground forces. At the war's onset, the German Army fielded 85 infantry divisions. These divisions spearheaded the early Blitzkrieg offensives in Poland, France and the Soviet Union. As the war progressed, the number of infantry divisions raised by the Wehrmacht grew significantly, reaching a total of 315, and as the tide of the war turned against Germany, these divisions formed the core of the defensive efforts in North Africa, Italy, Normandy, and the multi-year onslaught of the Eastern front, up to the final battles in Berlin.

Training for the German infantry emphasized physical endurance, marksmanship, and tactical flexibility, particularly at the junior officer and NCO levels. The doctrine of "Auftragstaktik" (mission-specific tactics) encouraged initiative and independent decision-making within the framework of the overall objective. This fostered a reputation for adaptability and aggressive fighting spirit. However, as the war dragged on, the quality of training diminished due to the increasing number of conscripts and the shortening of training periods. The character of the German infantryman was often marked by a strong sense of duty and discipline, particularly in the early years, though this was increasingly tested by the brutal realities of the Eastern Front.

The appearance of the German infantryman evolved significantly during the war, but the basic uniform consisted of a field-grey tunic and trousers, the distinctive steel helmet (Stahlhelm), and black leather marching boots. They also wore unit insignia and regimental numbers on their collar and shoulder straps. Personal equipment included a leather belt with ammunition pouches, a gas mask canister, an entrenching tool, a water bottle, and a mess kit. As resources became strained, especially in the later war years, variations and simplifications in the uniform became more common. Boots gave way to shoes plus puttees. Camouflage smocks and helmet covers, such as the splinter pattern, were often combined with the earlier field grey items.

The standard infantry weapon was the Mauser Karabiner 98k rifle, a reliable bolt-action weapon. Machine guns, initially the MG34 and later supplemented and partially replaced by the more efficient MG42, provided crucial firepower at the squad and platoon levels. Submachine guns like the MP40 were issued in smaller numbers, primarily to squad and platoon leaders, as well as assault teams. Infantry support weapons included mortars of various calibers (50mm and 81mm), and initially, anti-tank rifles, which proved increasingly ineffective against more heavily armored Allied tanks. Later in the war, infantry anti-tank capabilities were augmented by the Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck rocket launchers and more automatic rifles like the Sturmgewehr 44 were issued to compensate for numerical disadvantages.

Throughout the war it is estimated that 13.6 million men served in the ranks of the German Army. As a result of a massive mobilization it went from 3.7 million at the start of the war to a peak of 6.5 million, before dwindling to 5.3 million by its conclusion. The German infantry suffered a large number of casualties throughout the war, especially on the Eastern Front, contributing significantly to the estimated 5.3 million German military deaths.

In terms of our hobby, one downside of trying to assemble larger units for a given country/service branch is that most of the time you end up having to deploy multiple guys with the same pose in order to make your numbers. That is definitely not a problem with German Infantry, as this is one of the first sets produced by any WWII plastic toy soldier manufacturer. Let's take a look.

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This post is a consolidation of several German Infantry posts I had previously made. It started out as a post about the German troops I painted, 100 different poses in total. Then I added more recent production figures, as well as other less common or 'vintage' figures, which I'd like to be able to paint some day.

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Matchbox German Infantry

Another classic. The set contains 9 poses. These guys were the core of my German army growing up. The posing and sculpting detail is pretty good. Maybe slightly thicker than Airfix's. Unlike Airfix, here we get two separate prone guys instead of having one of them act as a loader. I also like that they cover all the bases in terms of useful combat poses and we even get a flamethrower. Note also that on the right side of the picture there is a panzerschreck guy. It came in a bucket of clones from Hing Fat, but it must be an upscaled 1/72 Matchbox figure as the sculpting and all his equipment is just like the other guys'.

Matchbox Afrika Korps

Again, here I borrowed from another 'service branch', so that I could have more poses to paint and also to have more men with field caps. This set may not be as solid as Matchbox's regular German infantry set, but it is still fairly good. Here I am showing only 9 poses. The full set contains 12, but 3 of them are wearing short trousers, more adequate for the desert, so I left them out of this picture. One thing that I don't like very much about these guys are the two running poses on the two ends of the picture. One of them appears to have his hips turned sideways while the other one is running holding his legs really close to each other. The third running guy holding his sub MG on one hand is actually pretty good. The MG team also has a couple of sticking points. One side of the MG's tripod has been turned into a flat plane instead of two legs. I understand the manufacturing challenges at the time, but I still don't like how it makes the painted figure look. Lastly, the ammo loader seems to have his cap pulled a bit too low over his face. But don't let my criticism steer you away from this set. I still think it is a nice set worth collecting.

Conte Collectibles German Infantry Set 1 - Part I

Sets 1 and 2 are the first Conte figures I got my hands on and they were such an exciting release at the time. I ran into them at a toy soldier show and a vendor who had the whole D-Day playset offered them to me separately from the playset. Had I been wiser, I would have bought the whole thing together as I still ended up buying the playset a few months later. Anyhow, I really liked the grenade men, both the one throwing it who is posed really well, as well as the one pulling the cord on it, which is a very unique pose to this day. The officer also displays a certain attitude, turning slightly back to fire his side arm. The other poses are a bit more standard, but all in all, it was a very solid first set.

Conte Collectibles German Infantry Set 1 - Part II

I prefer action poses over casualty figures, but even Conte's dead guy looks pretty good. At the time I chose not to make it part of my company of painted figures which is why he is shown separately and in plain grey plastic. One thing I should point out about Conte's figures, if you are not aware of it yet, is that they introduced the larger 1/32 scale figures which some have come to refer to as Big 1/32 scale and which is closer to 1/30 in size.

Conte Collectibles German Infantry Set 2 - Part I

Set 2 had more interesting and exciting poses. I really like the two guys firing from the waist. The one with the MG could be fending off an attack single handedly, and the one leaning sideways brings a rush of adrenaline into any scene unlike any pose of German infantry that came before him. The prone grenade man is also pretty cool and it resembles a famous photograph that you may have seen. Note that Conte introduced plug-in arms which allows the creation of new poses by just exchanging the weapon/accessory. In the case above, the kneeling guy with the MG-42 is the same figure as the guy with the phone, but they really look like two different poses.

Conte Collectibles German Infantry Set 2 - Part II

Again, by using pluggable arms, I was able to create four figures out of two running bodies, each of them having a different foot planted on the ground. The arms allow you to create several different poses based on what they are carrying/holding, like an ammo box, a rifle, a mine, a hand grenade and a slung machine gun. The two other firing men are also nice, particularly the one firing the submachine gun aiming at shoulder level.

Conte Collectibles German Infantry Set 3

This was the set that was supposed to represent the Waffen SS figures. Four of the figures can pass as German infantry, so I included them here. The prone machine gun team is certainly something that every squad can use. The guy cautiously holding back his men while he checks out what's around the corner is certainly a unique pose. And then there's the kneeling rifle man, who is just a solid addition to the unit.

Airfix German Infantry

This is one of the most classic sets of German infantry and the figures that many folks use as the standard for 1/32 scale. I wish I had taken this picture with better lighting, but for now this will do. Eight figures in all the basic poses that you need in a squad - maybe the ammo loader could have been made in a way that it could have been deployed as a stand along figure without the ammo box. But that's nitpicking. All nicely sculpted with a good level of dynamism and detail. They have been around for about 50 years and they are still a favorite among the collectors.

Airfix Afrika Korps as regular German Infantry

Here I borrowed figures from a different 'branch of service', but once they are painted they look like German Infantry, which I guess is what they actually were. These guys are slightly smaller than the Airfix regular German infantry figures, but I think I like their sculpting and poses even more. And the reason why they come in very handy is their head gear. If you want some variation and want to add some guys with field caps to your regular German infantry guys, then look no further.

BMC German Infantry - Part I

These BMC guys are definitely not my favorite. Their heads are elongated and their helmets are not really sculpted like the actual German helmets. I have these guys in the collection mainly for completeness. The officer might be the best one in the set, although he lacks intensity. The man firing from the standing position is very stiff and the mortar man handing the shell has such an awkward posture. the other mortar man could be OK if we could find a mortar for him. The casualty figure and the man firing while kneeling are acceptable, if you ignore the headgear. The grenade man's redeeming feature is that he is aiming - maybe even firing his sub MG while on the go to throw the grenade.

BMC German Infantry - Part II

This machine gun team was cut from the ones I painted. I already had 10 prone figures and these were the least well sculpted of them all. Even to take this picture I had to find an angle that would make them look a bit better.

BMC German Infantry - Part III

At the time I painted all the other German figures I thought that there was not much use for a dead guy on a war-game. Since I started working on this blog however, I have come to realize that these poses would make the posts with battle scenes more realistic. I might come back to him at some point.

Classic Toy Soldiers German Infantry - Part I

This is one of the older CTS sets. Four of the guys are scaled down poses of 6" figures that I had as a child growing up in the 70s. This picture has two of them. The rifle man firing while kneeling and the man charging with the bayonet. And you can tell that the other guys were 'bolted on' to the set as they are stiffer. Like the guy on the left marching with the bayonet (which seems repetitive also). Of the guy with the panzerfaust who is standing totally straight. Definitely sculpted by a different hand. The man firing the sub machine gun is probable the best one in this picture. The officer also gets a passing grade.

Classic Toy Soldiers German Infantry - Part II

This picture shows the other two scaled down poses. The rifle man firing while standing and the grenade man. Note how their movements are a lor more fluid. The man with the sub machine gun is as stiff as the one with the panzerfaust. The machine gun team gets mixed reviews. The loader is actually pretty good, and I like that he is helping to direct the firing. Unfortunately, the man firing the machine gun is not great and his legs are very large - not very visible in this picture. The prone sniper guy is actually fairly decent. It originally comes with a tree stump attached to him, which offers him some protection, but at some point I fired a marble at him and it broke off, so not the sturdiest protection.

ESCI German Infantry

A pretty nice set from ESCI. These guys are actually 1/35 in scale, but if you don't care that they are a bit on the shorter side, they can mix with the the rest of your unit. All useful combat poses. Maybe my least favorite guy is the grenade thrower who has a funny stance. But I really like that they included a panzerschreck. The variation of the officer who is wearing a helmet is also nice, particularly if you are not into conversions and swapping heads. The two men with sub MGs are solid. And the two other rifle men firing from standing and kneeling position round up the set nicely. Another nice detail that you can't fully appreciate in this picture is that several of the poses (3 if I recall correctly) have potato mashers tucked into their boots.

Marx German Infantry - Part I

Another classic set. A bit slimmer and taller than Airfix and Matchbox, and a few of the poses are a bit less fluid, but a good set nonetheless. Even if you are not a huge fan of the poses, the fact that you get 13 poses is something to be happy about. These are also the guys who came with the battleground playset so for many collectors, there's also that association and sentimental value. Out of the guys in this first picture, I like the man on the left, firing while kneeling, the officer with the binoculars, the guy walking with the MG, even though I'd rather have him firing it, but I like his rugged look, and then I also like the officer with all his medals and insignia. Makes him look good when painted.

Marx German Infantry - Part II

In this other batch, you get a couple of standard poses: the man firing while standing and the grenade thrower. The former is pretty decent. The latter may not be able to throw that grenade very far based on how he is standing. Then you also get an officer leading an advance with his side arm unholstered. You also get a man carrying a panzerschreck -why carrying it and not firing it? and lastly you also get a man charging with fixed bayonet (mine has the tip broken off in this picture).

Marx German Infantry - Part III

I don't have much use for marching poses in battle scenes, but I do like this guy. I actually plan on painting him and about 99 other marching guys that I have been collecting to make a nice parade scene at some point. To this day when I go to toy soldier shows I enjoy sifting through bins of soldiers just looking for a few more of his peers for the parade scene. Luckily, Marx soldiers were plentiful in their day and there is no shortage of them.

Marx German Infantry - Part IV

To round up the set, here's a casualty figure. A nice sculpting touch is how they were able to include his helmet in the figure, even if he is no longer wearing it. I have to say that I do find it interesting that he held on to his MG until the end.

Marx German Motorcycle with Sidecar

This is Marx's representation of a Zundapp I suppose. For the 60's this was probably a highlight of the Battleground set, and I am sure that once it is painted it looks fairly decent. The only thing that I find amusing is that the feet of the man riding on the sidecar actually reach the ground. It reminds me of the Flintstones!

MPC German Infantry - Part I

These guys are not my favorite. A bit too stiff for my taste, and they are also very tall and skinny. I added them to the collection mainly for the sake of completeness, and also because at the time I was trying to get to 100 distinct poses to paint. Out of this 5 guys, I think the second one from the right is the one I like the best. The grenade man seems to be contorting himself to make that throw, and then guy on the far left has very short and tucked arms. Not to mention that I don't recognize his weapon. Maybe it was meant to be an MP40? And then there's the phone guy. Is he standing at attention? Lastly, we get a senior officer with what looks like a field marshal baton. Odd that he would be part of an infantry squad. But he can be made part of a much larger scene and we can perhaps pretend that he dropped by for an inspection.

MPC German Infantry - Part II

This is the rest of the squad. Not really a fan of these figures. The guy on the left would fit better in a football game as a wide receiver asking for the ball. The guy on the right looks like a flat 2-D figure. And the prone guy who is already pretty tall/long got made even longer with such a MG. If you place him next to any of your other prone MG guys he really stands out - no pun intended.

Revell Afrika Korps (left) & Reproductions of Marx 6" German Infantry by DSG and sold by SWTS

The Revell AK guy is here to give us an extra infantry pose. This is a 1/35 figure so he is a bit small, but he is well done and is a good addition to the company. As far as the other two guys, they are scaled down clones of the 6" Marx German guys. Unfortunately, they lost a bit of detail in the cloning/scaling down process and they also turned out to be small. Maybe closer to 50mm instead of 54mm.

Reproductions of Marx 6" German Infantry by DSG and sold by SWTS

Here is the full set. Several of these guys have a strong resemblance with the CTS German Infantry. One thing that I don't like is that the guy who is running carrying the ammo box used to have one foot off the ground in the 6" version, but in this scale they forced it to have the back foot on the base, and to lower the rest of the figure they shaved the bottom of the front foot.

Atlantic German Infantry - Part I

This set reminds me of the Airfix poses. The guys are a bit thinner, but many of them are in very similar positions. Note that the prone guy on the left is supposed to be operating a machine gun, but I bought these on eBay his machine gun was missing. Maybe that's why nobody outbid me! I've got a few other MGs as among my loose accessories, so eventually, when I paint them I will provide him with a weapon.

Atlantic German Infantry - Part II

The prone guy throwing a grenade is a good idea, but the figure is not well balanced, so you need to prop him up a bit from the front if you want to avoid having his feet stick up in the air. A little rock or tree stump will do the trick. In this picture I used his neighbor's foot.

Dulcop German Infantry - Part I

These guys were hard to come by. In fact I only managed to get 7 out of the 8 poses. The guy who is firing from the kneeling position is missing. A few of the poses resemble Airfix a little bit. Perhaps what I like the most is the variety of weapons.

Dulcop German Infantry - Part II

There are a couple of funny details though. Not how some men seem to be sculpted in a different scale. Also, the helmet on the guy on the left. Was that meant to be a paratrooper helmet or did they just did not sculpt the edge well enough? Anyhow, a nice set to round up your collection.

Dulcop German Infantry - Part III

This is the last man in the set. He came in a different plastic. Not just the color, but it is also harder and feels a bit easier to break. If not for the color, he seems to have been cast from an original mold. As you can see, he is a typical pose in most infantry sets. His carbine seems to be a bit small, but other than that he is a solid guy.

Lido German Infantry - Part I

These guys are pretty rare. The poses are fairly decent and a bit less common. There are a couple other poses out there that I am trying to get my hands on. The three with color on them were painted by a previous owner, but they used to come in plain grey. The guy on the right is operating a flamethrower. The original figure used to have a flame at the tip, but this one is missing it.

Lido German Infantry - Part II

Here is a close up of the two guys in their original color. As you can see, they are well detailed, down to the facial expressions. The main thing that jumps out as being a bit off is the machine gun that the man on the left is holding.

Lido German Infantry Hong Kong Clones - Part I

I recently found the whole set of Lido Germans. They are not originals, but at least I got all 8 poses.

One of the 'new' poses is the second guy from the right. Not my favorite one though. He is about to throw a grenade, but he is in a very awkward position, and the grenade is not even German.

Lido German Infantry Hong Kong Clones - Part II

The other two new poses are the ones on the left. Another grenade thrower -with a real German grenade and a man engaged in hand to hand combat. These two are much better and round up the set nicely.

Lido German Infantry Hong Kong Clones - Part III

Since they are clones, I wanted to show them next to the original figures to show the difference in size. Since the molds are generated from actual figures, some shrinkage is inevitable as you can appreciate from the picture.

Trojan German Infantry

This is another scarce set. They appear to have been produced factory-painted, although as you can see, not with the most accurate color scheme. The level of detail is not as good as what you would expect from original figures. They almost feel like clones. Maybe they are and I just got duped when I bought them!

Classic Toy Soldiers German Medical Team - Part I

This is a recently released set from CTS. It contains a mixture of medics and casualties. It is nicely detailed and when painted they will blend very well with other German figures, such as Conte's. The only thing to criticize about these figures is the shape of some of the helmets, which seem to have a softer edge than expected -like the kneeling guy's helmet.

Classic Toy Soldiers German Medical Team - Part II

Here you have one more casualty -who does not seem to need any more medical attention, a man carrying a stretcher and a presumed prisoner. Not sure what the prisoner has to do with the medical team, but since these are all non-fighting poses, I can see how he fits in in that respect. Overall a nice set from CTS who will go very well with the FOV ambulance.

Classic Toy Soldiers Artillery Crew - Part I

CTS just released a set that was sorely missing: an artillery crew. Italeri had also produced a PAK 40 with crew, but you had to buy them as a set, so you could not really staff any artillery pieces purchased without a crew. Well, now you can. The set comes with an observer/officer and two loaders.

Classic Toy Soldiers Artillery Crew - Part II

This crew can also be deployed to serve an 88 gun. They look equally good and the size of the shell might be more in line with an 88.

21st Century Toys German Infantry - Part I

21st Century Toys released several series of German Infantry over 8 or 10 years. Some of them were released with their playsets. Unfortunately I did not keep track of what figures came with each set, but I have tried to group them in the pictures by the paint scheme used, which should not be that different from how they were grouped when they were released. Overall, 21C Toys did a nice job with the sculpting and paint work. The first series though were made of a plastic that was a bit brittle and some of the weapons would break, but that was improved in the later series.

21st Century Toys German Infantry - Part II

The only thing I don't like about these figures is that the men come glued to the base and sometimes they glued them way off-balance as you can see in a couple of the guys in this picture. I suppose you can try to fix that yourself, but I have not wanted to risk breaking them by trying to pull them apart from the base.

21st Century Toys German Infantry - Part III

While some of these guys are not action/combat poses, they come handy for scenes where you need some guys in guard duty. Forces of Valor has released some accessories that are ideal for road blocks and go very well with some of these guys.

21st Century Toys German Infantry - Part IV

This was among the last and best series released by 21C. Note that the base is different and also the quality of the painting and even the sculpting is improved. The base for the prone guy is a bit too bulky for my taste and forces you to set him in an urban setting, but the nice thing is that the figure can be removed from the base, so you get the best of both worlds.

21st Century Toys German Infantry - Part V

A conversion. This is a guy that came with along with a building I bought. It's put together well enough that I think it deserves a spot on the page. It's really just the lower body from one guy with the upper body from another, but it turned out nicely.

21C Toys German Infantry PAK crew

These are some nice figures to staff your PAK or most other small caliber artillery pieces in your armies. The sculpting is of the same quality as the later 21C sets, which means that they are well proportioned and detailed. In terms of the poses, I definitely like the guy holding the shell, but the other two are very similar. It would have been good if one of them was posed as if more actively operating the equipment. Anyhow, I am still glad I came across them. I did not know they existed back when 21C was in production.

First Gear German Infantry

These are new production figures of the old Britains Deetail figures. They only make six poses and they have given them bases with round corners. The uniform is painted grey which makes more sense to me than the blue of the originals.

Britains Deetail German Infantry - Part I

These are the original figures. I have placed them in the same order as the new First Gear guys for ease of comparison. As I said, I am not sure why they gave them blue uniforms, but I still like them. There is something special about these old figures with a heavy, metal base that makes them just cool to have.

Britains Deetail German Infantry - Part II

Here are a few more poses. Note that some of these guys were manufactured in two parts, with arms that can move up and down, but can also come apart. That can sometimes be a problem and some of the guys that you can buy second-hand are sometimes missing arms. Note that a few of these guys still retain some of the stickers on the side of their helmets. A couple of rare poses are the guy with the flamethrower and the guy marching.

Britains Deetail German Infantry - Part III

Now, here is a more common pose. Unfortunately most of the guys I have in this pose are missing their weapon, which in the original seems to be an anti-tank rifle. So I have given these guys a variety of weapons/accessories and tried to make something good out of the situation.

Britains Deetail German Infantry - Part IV

Here is another nice set. The mortar can actually 'fire' mortar shells. It has a small spring inside and a little lever on the back that compresses it so that when it is released, the shell is fired. Unfortunately I do not have any of the shells that came with it, but you can improvise your own kind of shells and have some fun lobbing some shells at the opposing army.

Forces of Valor German Infantry - Part I

These are the first series of FOV German Infantry. The paint job on the figures is very realistic and the poses depict a decent level of action. The sculpting is on the bulkier side, particularly when it comes to details like hands and facial expressions. The bases are also detachable and they constantly come off.

Forces of Valor German Infantry - Part II

This is the most recent set of FOV German Infantry. They still have the same detachable base system, but the sculpting of hands and faces has improved. This set comes with a nice MG mounted on a tripod. The plastic for the MG however is really flexible and you will need to spend some time straightening it with hot water. Hopefully it stays that way, as mine hasn't.

Forces of Valor German Infantry - Part III

These were actually released before the previous set, but as you can see, they are not meant for battle, but rather for some specific diorama scenes. The sculpting of these guys is actually better than that of their other figures. You can tell that they were made by the same people that sculpt the guys that come with the FOV vehicles.

Starlux 60 mm German Infantry - Part I

I was pleasantly surprised by this set. My first set of Starlux figures. The poses are 60 mm in scale, but are really close enough in size to 54mm that they blend quite well with the rest of the 1/32 guys. The sculpting is nice and detailed, and the poses well balanced and proportioned. Quite surprising for the time when they were made. My only complaint is the paint job. I am not sure if this is how they were painted at the factory or if the previous owner gave them a touch up. Particularly the faces/eyes are a bit odd.

Starlux 60 mm German Infantry - Part II

Here are two more figures that I recently found. Unfortunately one of them had the rifle tip broken, but they are still quite nice and match the other guys perfectly. I like the stance of the man on the right. He really looks ready for some action.

Starlux 60 mm German Infantry - Part III

Here are a few more guys. By now I am starting to realize a manufacturing pattern used by Starlux. If you pay attention, the manufactured the bodies and arms separately and then they glued different arms to different bodies to create a large combination of figures. Conte used the same approach with his first set of Germans.

Starlux 60 mm German Infantry - Part IV

A not very common pose is the one carrying the anti tank rifle.

And we also have an officer wearing a field cap.

Starlux 60 mm German Infantry - Part V

Another kneeling man. Not sure what he was holding on his left arm, as it has come off.

Starlux German Marching Band - Part I

These are just three poses. I just thought I'd let you see how they look from the other angle. I don't know how many there were in the original set, but I'd bet there must be more. These will probably go well marching with the Marx guys, as they are also stepping forward with the left foot and are the same scale. I might also combine them with the Atlantic SA set which come with flag and standards, although those are lifting the right foot.

Starlux German Marching Band - Part II

Three additional poses and a second version of the officer, this time with the unbroken scabbard. Of these, poses, I have to say that hands down, the best pose is the flag bearer. A very good find which will add a lot visually to the parade scene. The flag actually displays Nazi symbols which I have obfuscated so that our readers in Germany can consume this content without having to be concerned about existing laws.

Elite Command German Infantry

This is a set of 4 metal figures representing Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and some of his infantrymen. Compared to other metal figures, like King and Country and so on, they are not as nice. In fact, I bought them thinking that they were plastic figures as that is the focus of my collection. As far as the resemblance with Rommel, I think it requires a bit of imagination to get there.

Armies in Plastic WWI German Infantry - Part I

Lastly, if for some reason you find that you don't have enough German Infantry options you can always throw in some late WWI guys. These already had steel helmets. The only thing that is noticeably outdated is the use of the puttees up to the knee. Most WWII German soldiers used ankle puttees during the second half of the war when leather became scarce and jackboots were no longer manufactured. But I have seen one picture of a WWII officer wearing puttees up to the knee, so that opens the door for these guys!

Armies in Plastic WWI German Infantry - Part II

As you can see, the AIP figures are not the most detailed -for instance, the faces look a little plain. The poses in some cases do not show enough movement for my taste, or the movement does not 'flow' as is the case with the grenade man on the right. Still, they are good enough if you need to add extra manpower to your unit.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry - Part I

Here is a sample of Timpo Swoppets German Infantry figures. A bit hard to find, particularly with helmets and weapons. As you can see, some of the poses are better than others. I personally prefer the three guys in the middle over the two on the sides which are leaning in a bit of an unusual way.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry - Part II

A couple more guys. The only new thing in this picture is the torso of the man throwing the [missing] grenade. The other torso and the two sets of legs were already depicted in the previous picture, but nonetheless, the nice thing about the swoppet system is that you can recombine them to create new poses as is the case with the man on the right.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry - Part III

A more complete grenade thrower and the officer's upper body as a rifleman.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry Mortar

I am quite happy with the state that this set is in. All parts seem to be there, including helmets, and as you can see, it was a fairly decent set. In addition to the actual mortar and its crew, it also comes with a few extra shells and a detachable bush which can be swapped for another plant of your choice :-). A nice addition to the collection.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry Series 1 - Part I

Initially I thought these guys were German paras due to the shape of the helmet. Later I learned that they were the first attempt from Timpo to make German Swoppets. They are basically the same figures as the GIs, but cast in shades of Grey. There are supposed to be 7 of them, and I can actually count 7 distinct torsos and 7 sets of legs, but I don't know which were originally attached to which.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry Series 1 - Part II

As you can see, some of these guys would barely be able to see with those oversized helmets.

I must admit that I am very happy that they gave it another try at making Germans, as Series 1 was not their best work. And I still think they might be better suited as paras being used as regular infantry.

Speedwell German Infantry - Part I

These are not quite 54mm. They are at the most 50mm in size. They are very rare and therefore a bit pricey. At the same time, the sculpting is nothing extraordinary. The poses are a bit stiff and the level of detail is not quite there. Also n terms of the color scheme that they came painted in, it is also a bit unusual. Perhaps they could be used as Afrika Korps troopers.

Speedwell German Infantry - Part II

Here are a few more poses. From what I've heard, I am still missing one additional pose: an officer with a moveable arm holding binoculars Note that these guys have different head gear. The man on the right seems to be wearing a paratrooper helmet. Again, the poses are a bit stiff.

Speedwell German Infantry - Part III

Here is the man at the far right of the prior picture, this time in the AK color scheme. I think I like him better like this.

Speedwell German Infantry - Part IV

And here is the commander. Unfortunately, missing an arm. You can tell that it was not resting at the waist as there is no hand left behind, but based on the rest of the body, it could not have been doing something very exciting. Or maybe he was doing the nazi salute and that's why someone chopped it off?

Cherilea 60mm German Infantry

These are old Cheriela DAK figures, cast in darker colors to represent regular German Infantry. As you can tell there must have been multiple iterations based on the colors represented. One thing to note is that even if they are cast in darker tones, the laced up boots and the officer's (Rommel?) shorts still give away the fact that they were originally sculpted as Afrika Korps figures. In terms of the sculpting, it is well done in terms of the posing and the level of detail. There are two more poses in the set. One wounded man crawling and another one charging forward.

DGN German Infantry - Part I

This is one of the weakest sets. The figures are under scale and the detail is not what it could be. For instance, the shape of the helmets is definitely not the distinctive German style. While they did try to add the ledge at the bottom, it did not turn out quite right. The bipod on the kneeling machine gunner is also quite large and the barrel a bit short.

DGN German Infantry - Part II

Here you can also see how some of the figures are quite short, particularly the grenade thrower. The mortar man also poses a bit of a challenge when it comes to getting him to stand straight and not fall over.

DGN German Infantry - Part III

These are the best poses when it comes to head gear I think. Only the sub mgs are a bit on the larger side. Other than that, these figures are fairly decent. This is another set for which I only have 11 poses.

Dragon German Infantry - Approach to Stalingrad

These are the basic 4 poses. There is a 5th pose with each set which is much harder to find. Seems like they intentionally produced it in smaller quantities to make it a more appealing collectible. As you can see, the figures are very well detailed and the paint work is done quite nicely. I bought these guys as a set of 12 figures which had 3 of each pose.

Dragon German Infantry - Barbarossa 1941

The weapons and the bases have to be glued to the figures. As you can see, some of the bases have a slight grade on them and might make the figure seem like it is not standing straight. Also the thickness of the bases is not ideal in my opinion. These guys do not depict much action, but other sets do have poses in fighting poses.

Elastolin 70mm German Infantry - Part I

These are some Elastolin combat/action poses. Note how even though they are supposed to be action poses, many of them tend to be standing fairly straight.

Elastolin 70mm German Infantry - Part II

The two guys in the middle are the ones displaying the most movement. Other than the straight bodies, the figures are fairly nice. The fact that they come factory painted/molded in colors is a nice plus. I certainly hope I can get my hands on a few more.

Elastolin 70mm German Infantry - Part III

BTW, you can tell that they were sculpted by a different hand than the parade poses as they are a bit thinner. I tried placing the marching guys from this picture next to the Elastolin parade figures and you can certainly tell the difference.

Elastolin 70mm German Infantry - Part IV

The spotter will make a good complement to either the machine gunner or the sniper, as the sniper does not have a scope on his rifle.

Elastolin Swoppet

I found this guy by chance. I did not know that Elastolin had released a line of swoppet figures. Unfortunately, I don't have his original weapon, but I hope I can find him something that is not too undersized for him among my assortment of 1/32 weaponry. Also, the colors could be better, but compared to other swoppet figures from other manufacturers, they are not any worse. Anyhow, an interesting and unique figure. I hope to run into the rest of his squad at some point.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Assault Section - Part I

This assault section contains a good number of automatic weapons. Particularly well suited for the task is the man firing the Sturmgewehr 44. It's also an interesting touch to have a man firing an MG 42 off the hip.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Assault Section - Part II

The rest of the section is armed with rifles with fixed bayonets in case the assault runs into close quarter combat. The bayonets are a bit tricky to glue as there's not much contact surface to work with, but with a strong glue, they stay in place just fine. There's an extra bayonet for the man firing, but I chose to leave that one off.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Defense Section - Part I

As you might agree, the most interesting pose in this section is the standing machine gunner, particularly because of the tripod. Note also that instead of having the ammo fed by a belt, it has a drum attached to it. A really nice pose. The officer is a variation of the officer in the assault section, with different arms. The man on the left with the assault rifle is also nicely done. The ammo carrier is OK.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Defense Section - Part II

As you would expect with a defense section, there are also some guys crouching. Based off the same base body, they have managed to create four poses. The man on the left is actually a sniper. the man on the right has a grenade launcher attached to its rifle.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - HQ Section - Part I

The HQ section has a few additional heavy weapons. The panzerschreck team is another well done couple poses. There's also a phone operator, which is based on the same body as the man with the panzerschreck. The man with the assault rifle is a repeat of the one in the defense section.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - HQ Section - Part II

The rest of the section gives us another standing machine gunner (yes!), a panzerfaust, another sniper, another ammo carrier, and yet another officer, with the same arms as the one from the defense section, which I've posed differently to create some variety.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - MG Section - Part I

This section features another superb couple poses operating the machine gun, and the MG itself. You get two of these in the set. You also get two of the crouching poses on the left. Rounding up the set are three men leading the teams. One is the officer shown here.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - MG Section - Part II

Then there are also two other officers (NCOs?) wearing helmets and also holding binoculars.

I posed one with the binoculars at eye level.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - MG Section - Part III

The other one I posed with lowered arms. He could be tapping the shoulder of one of the machine gunners or simply signaling to cease fire.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Mortar Section - Part I

The mortar section is also very well done. One thing to point out about the mortar teams as well as the machine gunners is that their arms are manufactured very precisely so that they can only be attached in a specific position, which is very helpful so that they line up just the right way, as the left and right arms need to meet in just the right place. Many of the other guys allow you to rotate the arms and pose them at any angle that you wish.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Mortar Section - Part II

This set also comes with three different officers/NCOs and just as I did with the MG section, I've posed them slightly differently to create some variety,

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Mortar Section - Part III

A frontal view of the mortar, as well as the last officer with binoculars at eye level.

Expeditionary Force Late War German Infantry - Part I

These guys are smaller than the first set of Germans, but they are still larger than 'big 1/32' scale.

Each set has 9 figures, and I purchased 2 sets so that I could assemble a greater variety of poses by combining different arms/weapons, heads, and bodies. In this picture I meant to display the figures I assembled with the base body that's stepping forward with the left foot. Only afterwards did I notice that there two base bodies in this picture. The differences are very subtle, mostly in the tunic, and one has a grenade tucked in the belt. I would have preferred to see more noticeable differences in the placement of the feet. Setting that aside, as you can see, I was able to make quite a few poses with them. Sometimes just rotating the head a bit give the figure a different attitude.

Expeditionary Force Late War German Infantry - Part II

These are the poses I was able to assemble with the base body that is stepping forward with the right foot. Again, thanks to the variety in weapons and heads, you can get a good range of fighting poses from a grenade thrower, to a panzerfauster (a late war weapon), a charging man, a firing man, etc. BTW, another sign that these are late war Germans is the absence of jackboots, and also the prevalence of cammo tunics and helmet covers.

Expeditionary Force Late War German Infantry - Part III

These last batch is also stepping forward with the left foot. The two on the right side of the picture are using the same base body as as the first batch. The 4 on the left are using the last type of base body, which has the back foot pointing forward instead of sideways. Again, a more pronounced difference in the base body would have been preferred. The set came without one of the heads, so for now the guy on the far left is headless. Expeditionary Force will be shipping it to me with my next order. All in all, I like the set's range of arms/weapons and heads, but the base bodies could have been a bit more interesting and diverse.

Mars German Night Hunters

Plastic Platoon German Infantry - Stalingrad, 1942

Plastic Platoon German 'Hunters and Prey' - Stalingrad, 1942

Speira Miniatures German Infantry - Part I

Given that I like my figures to be in action/fighting poses, the figures I selected do not include any guys standing guard or just walking. This first set are guys running into battle. Note that the range of weapons represented is quite nice. I really like the guy carrying the panzerschreck rockets on his back, and also the guy carrying the panzerschreck itself. One thing I should have noticed is that most of these guys seem to be running with the right foot forward. I should have taken advantage of the ability to mirror the figures to get some more stepping forward with the left foot. Also interesting is the guy who seems to have just taken a bullet and is crumpling down. Not a big fan of casualty poses given their limited use, but this one can still be part of a charging unit, which is why I ordered it.

Speira Miniatures German Infantry - Part II

Here's another batch of men advancing. Only one guy is running forward -again, leading with the right foot. The rest are being a bit more cautious. I should also add that once these figures are painted, they look really nice. I have not painted any myself, but a FB buddy -Emil- has and the color brings out a lot of the details that otherwise fades a bit in the plain resin finish. Speira mentioned that even just priming them will do a lot to bring out the details.

Speira Miniatures German Infantry - Part III

This batch is mostly firing from a standing position, plus the ammo handler for the panzerschreck. One thing that caught me a bit by surprise is that the machine gunner seems to be firing at a low angle. I suppose he could be used on top of a Normandy beach bluff, firing down on the D-Day landings, or on the second level of a Berlin building trying to hold back the Soviets. In general I prefer my firing poses to shoot at the same level that they stand as that is less limiting, but we'll find a good firing location for this guy.

Speira Miniatures German Infantry - Part IV

This last batch are my crouching poses. Good for defensive actions, where it's better to take cover and/or make yourself a smaller target. I find the grenade thrower a bit interesting. Most grenade men, are usually in the throwing position, but it makes sense that before throwing, they ought to spend some time contemplating what would be the most effective way to throw it, or simply waiting for a gap in the opposing fire to make their move. There are two other poses that I like here because they are not fully kneeling. I can see how these guys might be switching between standing/firing and crouching, or maybe they simply want to maintain a small profile while they fire on the go. All in all, a very nice batch of figures.

Speira Miniatures German Infantry - Part V

A few more German Infantry figures to supplement the platoon. Most notable here are the mortar team and the rifle grenade man. The prone machine gunner is also handy, although a pose that is easier to come by in other sets. And then there's the guy advancing with the MG at the waist. That one is a more unique pose.

Speira Miniatures German Infantry - Part VI

And a few more heavy weapons. The MG team just needs some sandbags or a short wall to make it all work well together. The rest of the squad is ready to lend some support to their flame thrower buddy as he sets off on his mission. What's interesting about this batch is that all of them are wearing late war puttees, except for the flamethrower guy who is wearing some very nice leather boots.

Hanomak German Infantry Officer

Hanomak has produced a few extra figures that you can purchase separately. This is a German officer who is surrendering. H is nicely detailed, wearing gloves, spectacles, and his briefcase is lying at his feet. Note that he is also wearing a Y-harness, typically worn by the infantry men to attach and carry their kit/gear. So maybe this guy was a frontline officer, but he looks a bit too polished to me. More like a staff officer who would hang out at the rear, where he would not need to carry around a kit. What do you think? There are three other individual poses that I did not buy. All of them are German casualty figures (one of them a Mountain Troop), lying flat on the ground, too neatly for how you would expect a body to fall, so I took a pass.

Hanomak German Penal Battalion

Hanomak's interpretation of a penal battalion seems to be one in which troops would be heavily engaged in hand-to-hand combat. As you can see, several of these guys are fighting with knives and one of them is even wielding a wrench. I do find it odd though that one of them would be carrying his knapsack at that time. My favorite man in this set is the machine gunner, although we'll need to find the right wall/foxhole/sandbag position to place him so that he can rest the MG. The other two figures are not my favorite ones. The officer's pose and his attitude do not match that of the other figures. You'd expect that if the men are engaged in heavy fighting, the officer would be directing the action and most likely also participating in the fighting. And then there's the casualty figure. I've never been a big fan of those guys. I'd much rather get another action pose.

Plastic Platoon German Infantry Goliath Crew - Summer Uniform

Plastic Platoon German Infantry MG Crew - Summer Uniform

Mars German Tank Hunters

Plastic Platoon German Infantry, Battle of Kursk

Plastic Platoon German Infantry, Battle of Berlin

Hanomak German Infantry 45th Division - Part I

These guys are certainly a unique set. The only other German troops in a raft that I am aware of are the ones that came with the Revell Combat Engineers. These guys can now join them in their river crossing. About the figures themselves, all three fit very well in the contours of the raft. The raft itself feels a bit narrow. They could have probably made it a bit wider and allowed a fourth man to sit in the middle. But I am not complaining. Definitely a nice addition to the German troops!

Hanomak German Infantry 45th Division - Part II

These are the other three figures in the set. I am not sure what they have to do with the raft. We already have enough firing rifle men, or prone guys. And I don't care much about dead poses. So I would have been happier with another raft and a slightly different crew. Or just the raft and crew at half the price. But well, sometimes you have to get some filler figures to get the special ones.

Hanomak German PAK 40 Gun with Crew

This is a nice set overall. It includes the PAK, the crew and even the sand bags/wall protection. The gun came in several pieces which have to be put together. It does require a good glue to do so, but once it's put together it will stay nicely in place. The crew comes with two loaders, a gunner, and one officer. You can place them in a variety of configurations, although the gunner needs to be sitting and I could not find many places for him to sit while being able to reach the gun. You also get an ammo box which will give the loaders a focal point in your scene. About the wall, I think I would have preferred just the sandbags. The wooden wings seem to be cut off too abruptly and leaves you feeling as though it should be part of a larger trench. Not a big deal and definitely a nice set.

Hanomak German and Soviet Infantry 'Confrontation' Set

Sets in which figures can't be set up on their own are not my favorite as they limit their usefulness. These guys however seem useful for hand to hand combat scenes and there aren't that many figures like these available. What's most interesting about these guys is that there are two pairs in which there's a Soviet guy stabbing a German and their knives can actually fit into a cavity in the Germans' bodies. In terms of the sculpting, I think that the German man standing on the right, seems to relaxed and straight for the situation that he finds himself in. In that situation he would be leaning forward with bent knees and perhaps his torso also writhing in pain towards his left as he just got stabbed. More like the German guy on the left side who is responding more realistically to the blade sliding into his gut. The guys in the fistfight are fairly decent, although I also think that the Soviet feels a bit stiff. He could be swinging his upper body more.

Hanomak German PAK 36 with Crew

Another nice set from Hanomak. Both the figures and the gun are nicely detailed. You can see the clearly see the helmet emblems on the crew as well as the hinges and rivets on the gun shield. The gun itself comes in several pieces that must be glued together. I glued everything except for the barrel piece to the carriage so that it can still rotate left and right. In terms of the crew, the firing man is sculpted just right so that he can have his arms around the carriage and the breech. The other two guys are really solid. And this might seem minor, but I am happy that the caliber of the ammo being held by the loader fits the weapon. Sometimes you get gun crews where that's not quite right. A good unit to provide more firepower to your early war German armies.

Mars German MG Teams

Mars German MG Teams - bird's eye view

Mars German MG Team - MG08 close up

Mars German MG Team Extension Set

Dragon CanDo German Infantry Machine Gun Team

I came across these Dragon figures at the Chicago Toy Soldier show last October (2025). They were made in 2004, so this was a good find. They were still in their original blister packages, so that might be why it took me several months to unpack them and photograph them. As we know, they are 1/35 scale, so they are on the smaller side, but they still pack a lot of good detail -like the hob nailed boot soles and the face expressions- plus they come factory painted. The machine gun is particularly nicely detailed. From this angle the prone man's hand looks a bit chunky, but it is actually OK when you look at it from the other side. And you also get a small ammo box to go with it. It's quite small, so I will have to pay attention not to lose it! BTW, these guys are part of a release that also included two Feldgendarmerie (military police) figures with dogs. Unlike the Dragon Tiger Aces, these guys don't have names. I think I will call them Helmut and Holger.

Mars German Infantry Early War

German Infantry - Winter Uniforms

Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat - Part I

Here's another nice set from Dragon. It is missing one of the basic figures -the man aiming his sub MG from a standing position- as well as the 'special' pose -each set has a pose that is only present about 2% of the time-. I have to say that I really like the detail, the quality of the sculpting and even the paint job. I am still not a big fan of the bulky bases. Will probably replace them at some point. One thing to note though is that the bayonet attached to the waist is a bit brittle. As I was inserting the men to their bases one of them broke off just from me holding the figure a bit tightly.

Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat - Part II

I managed to find the fourth guy of the basic poses in the Winter Combat set. Another very well done figure by Dragon. One interesting thing is the lighter color for his leather subMG magazine pouches. It's possible that was done intentionally for cammo purposes. Now I just need some Siberian troops to go against these guys!

Dragon German Infantry - Krakhov 1943

This time I managed to get my hands on all five poses of the set. To my surprise, the fifth 'special', & rare pose is just one of the other poses in a different paint scheme. He is the second one from the left, wearing the cammo smock. Again, as with the other sets from Dragon, the detail is really nice. The poses could use a bit more action, but they are still a notch better than just marching or standing guys. At least these guys have their weapons ready. About the bases, I won't say anything anymore.

Forces of Valor German Winter Troops

These guys actually came as 'accessories' for the tanks. They were not released as a figure set. Because they were meant to ride/fight from a tank, I had to customize a couple of them. for instance, the man on the right, would be sitting on a tank, but I made him sit on a box handing out panzerfausts. The man on the left was supposed to be standing on the tank firing a machinegun, so I made him stand on a box, and fire a panzerschreck. Overall, a nice set of figures, with a nice degree of action in them. I will have to paint a few more Germans with winter outfits to complement them. I will also add bases to the other two to make them more stable.

Mars German Elite Infantry (Winter Dress)

This is another good set. A nice set of poses, with authentic looking winter gear. Maybe one less kneeling pose, in exchange for a prone guy would have been a good call, but still a nice set for which there were not many options previously. The only other figures that I recall, which would go well with these are the four 1/35 Dragon Can.Do German winter combat troops and the four miscellaneous German winter troops which came with some of the FOV vehicles shown above. So these will augment that squad nicely. Fortunately, the size of these 1/32 figures is not too big, so they will all blend well.

Plastic Platoon German Infantry - Battle for Leningrad, Winter 1941

Plastic Platoon German Infantry Goliath Crew - Winter Uniform

Plastic Platoon German Infantry MG Crew - Winter Uniform

Speira Miniatures German Winter Infantry - Part I

I got these guys mostly because of their outfits. I like how they are all bundled up for the cold weather of the eastern front (or maybe they are part of the Ardennes offensive?). I also like how there a some guys who are taller/shorter than the others, as it happens in real life. But I wasn't thrilled about the fact that most of them are simply walking or standing around. Other than the poses, the sculpting is fairly nice, well proportioned, with good level of detail -look at those folds in the clothing, the scarves around their heads, and the leather of the boots. These guys are also in Big 1/32 scale, which makes them feel pretty solid.

Speira Miniatures German Winter Infantry - Part II

The mix of weaponry across the 10 figures is also adequate. There are a couple of heavy MGs, 3 subMGs, one officer with a pistol, and three rifle men. And then you also have a bit of variety in the head gear, with couple of them wearing caps instead of helmets, or some of them wearing the cap under their hood of their jacket, and many of them wearing heavy mittens - I guess you had to take those off to be able to pull the trigger. The best pose of them all is the guy on the far right who is charging forward while getting ready to fire his subMG.

Plastic Platoon German Winter Infantry

Plastic Platoon German Winter Infantry Kharkov - Set 2

Plastic Platoon German Winter Infantry Mortar Team

Mars Winter Mortar Team - Part I

Another beautiful set. It was also designed for 3D printing, which means that the arms are all in much more natural positions. It is also great that we get more troops in winter uniform, particularly a mortar crew. It will go great next to the one from Plastic Platoon! One thing that I am not sure is whether the man dropping the shell into the tube is supposed to stand on the left or the right side. Both appear to work, but when he is standing on the left as in the picture above, the shell is not quite on top of the tube, but that's the most it can go forward while still holding the tripod with his lower hand.

Mars Winter Mortar Team - Part II

Here's another possible configuration. In this one, the man with the shell can drop it into the tube more easily, but I feel that his face and ears are less protected from the explosion, so it seems less realistic. Another interesting vignette about this picture is that I took advantage of having real snow to take this picture. However I did not consider the effect of the low temperature on resin (it was pretty cold!) and unfortunately when I picked up the mortar, one of the legs snapped. As you can see in the prior picture, I was able to glue it back into place without much trouble but it was a good reminder that resin is not as flexible as plastic. BTW, the reason why I retook the picture was not just that I wanted to position the man dropping the shell differently, but also because the prone man is not very visible given the shadows in the second picture. I hope you can get a better idea of how he is stabilizing the mortar based on both pics.

Mars German Infantry in winter uniforms

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Here are some pictures of German Paratroops in action.

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Introducing the Polish Infantry

2026-07-13T09:24:00.000-04:00

Latest edit: Added Mars Polish Infantry

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The Polish army leading up to WWII was not very well prepared for the upcoming conflict. It numbered about 1 million men, had about two hundred tanks, three times as many tankettes, and about 800 planes of all types. While Poland did anticipate that war with Germany was likely, they assumed they had more time to modernize and strengthen their military, particularly their armor and air forces. As war drew nearer in 1939, defense plans were drafted, but even those were too optimistic, assuming that Poland would be able to defend itself for several months, thus buying time to mobilize more troops and allow France and England to open up a second front against Germany. This defensive plan also called for defending right along the border, where the terrain was less favorable, as well as defending the 'Polish Corridor' which connected Poland to the Baltic Sea, with about a third of their troops. This was not very wise, because the Polish Corridor neighbored Germany to the west and German East Prussia to the east, and therefore could be cut off if attacked from both sides at its base. Polish armor was also thinly spread out as infantry support, instead of concentrated as dedicated armored units. As it turned out, when war broke out on September 1, 1939, the German attack proved too fast for the Polish. The Germans deployed their Blitzkrieg doctrine for the first time. This consisted of fast, enveloping armor attacks, supported by strong air tactical support, mostly provided by Stuka dive bombers and followed up by infantry units that would mop up or capture the remaining encircled defenders. In the first week of the war, despite some local successes, the surviving Polish army units quickly fell back towards Warsaw, and during the second week, the withdrawal continued towards Romania where the Polish command thought the could mount a more effective defense. Additional Polish troops which were being mobilized were ineffective, and many of them became casualties while headed to the front as their transports were bombed from the air. Unfortunately, by September 17, the Soviet Union attacked the Polish rearguard from the east, rendering the defensive plan moot. Poland, as a nation, never surrendered and fighting continued through October 6, when the last Polish forces were defeated. France and England did declare war on Germany on September 3rd, but no forces were deployed on time to help Poland in any way. At the end of the conflict, close to 875,000 Polish soldiers had become casualties or POWs. 66,000 of them were killed in action. About 120,000 men did escape into neutral Romania and eventually found their way to fight with the Allies. Comparatively, the Germans had 59,000 casualties, of which a bit over 17,000 were killed in action and they also lost about 10% of their attacking tanks and aircraft. The fact that the campaign only lasted 6 weeks, had somehow made me think that this was not a very costly conflict, but the casualty figures say otherwise. As far as toy soldiers, perhaps due to the brevity of the conflict, there had not been any Polish infantry figures made in 1/32 scale. After many years of waiting, that changed recently, when Speira Miniatures released a set of 10 3D printed figures. Let's take a look!

Speira Miniatures Polish Infantry - Part I

This is a nice bit of innovation from Speira. Both in the sense that they have released a set that has not been made before, and also that they released it as a set. All other figures you have to order individually. These guys however, can be ordered as a set of 10 figures (or you can also buy them individually), but I did enjoy the convenience of just ordering all 10 of them at once, instead of having to go through the selection/ordering process 10 times for each guy. As far as the figures go, they are all really good, except for the grenade thrower. I don't know why sculptors have such a hard time finding the right stance for these guys. I also ordered this set in Big 1/32.

Speira Miniatures Polish Infantry - Part II

These other five guys are really solid. Great combat potential. And their sculpting/level of detail is also pretty good. The MG team is certainly the cornerstone of the set. But the other guys don't come short of it. For instance, the guy on the right charging forward while firing his weapon at waist height is also very engaging. Look at his facial expression. He really looks like a bad ass sergeant. One thing to point out about these figures is that most of them are carrying around their backpack, which is something that I find a bit odd when going into combat. But it gives them a nice 1939 feeling. Overall, a great set to have!

Speira Miniatures Polish Infantry - Part III

Here are a few more guys that I found to enhance the squad. The MG being used as an anti aircraft gun is a unique and interesting touch. I do find the man feeding the ammo to be a bit too relaxed considering the fact that they are under air attack. You'd think that he'd be crouching a little at least. If you are not interested in depicting an AA scenario, the MG team could also be used for ground combat, if they were firing at some other ground units coming downhill or taking cover in the upper floors of a building. One thing to note is that the MG and the man firing it appear to be a single figure, but mine came as two separate items that I have to line up together as one. The joint is where the trigger hand meets the gun barrel. I don't know if it broke or they were split on purpose to avoid the possibility of a worse break. The officer doing the spotting fits well with them or could also be used in a regular infantry scene. The prone man turned out to be very similar to the other guy I had already bought with the original 10 man squad, except for the fact that he is looking to the side instead of aiming, and the feet are in a slightly different position. But given that there aren't that many poses available for Polish infantry, I'll take him.

Mars Polish Infantry

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Introducing the British Long Range Desert Group

2026-07-12T21:35:00.000-04:00

The British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) aka as Long Range Patrol (LRP) was a unit of the British Army that specialized in reconnaissance and raids deep behind enemy lines. They operated primarily in the North African theater of operations, initially against the Italians, and later on against the Germans. The unit was formed in the summer of 1940. Initially staffed by New Zealanders, it later added men from other Commonwealth countries. The unit was never larger than 350 men, and their main goal was to gather intelligence on enemy troop movements, defenses, strength, etc. as opposed to engaging in direct combat. Their main means of transportation were Chevy or Ford trucks and the Willys Jeep which was issued from summer 1942 onwards to the patrol commander and sergeant. The LRDG men were organized into patrols, which varied in size over time, but could be 15-18 men led by an officer in 5 or 6 vehicles. Each patrol had a medic, a mechanic, a navigator and a radio operator, and a corresponding vehicle was outfitted to serve that role. The LRDG would sometimes escort and guide other units such as the SAS in raiding missions behind enemy lines. One raid that stands out in the record of the LRDG, is the raid on the Italian airfield at Barce, code named Operation Caravan. This mission involved 47 men, 10 trucks, and 4 jeeps traveling 1150 miles deep into enemy territory, where they destroyed 32 Italian bombers. Unfortunately, while the raid was successfully, the team lost most of its vehicles during and after the operation. Only one truck survived the mission which was used by the doctor to evacuate 8 wounded men. 10 men became POWs and the rest ended up having to evade capture on foot until they were able to make contact with other British patrols. When the Axis forces were defeated there in 1943, the LRDG transferred to the Eastern Mediterranean, operating in Greece, Italy and the Balkans, where they performed a series of parachute drops to perform reconnaissance and sabotage missions until the end of the war in Europe when they were disbanded. In terms of toy soldiers, until recently, I had not come across any representing this service branch. Fortunately a new set was just released. Let's take a look.

Kozak Miniatures British Long Range Desert Group by WW23D

For me, this was the most interesting set at WW23D because I did not have any other figures representing this service branch. As you can tell these guys look rugged from spending a lot of time in the desert in long range patrols. They are dressed accordingly with short trousers, turbans and have not had a shave in a while. The range of weapons represented is good, although with strong preference for submachine guns. The sculpting is OK in the sense that there's not a lot of fine detail, and also the poses are standing a bit too straight for my taste. Nonetheless, given that this is the first set of British desert scouts that I incorporate into my army, I am quite happy with them.

Kozak Miniatures British Long Range Desert Group Jeep by WW23D

Aside from the foot soldiers, this vendor also offers a couple of vehicles to enable them to go on their missions deep behind enemy lines. One of them is this jeep. It is also 3D printed and comes with a driver and a copilot operating a dual machine gun. You also get a couple of guys that you can throw in the back. Note in this picture also that one of them is wearing a beret. That's because this maker also prints these figures with different head gear. I ordered them with turbans, but the owner was nice enough to throw in a few extras and this is one of the additional guys I got.

Kozak Miniatures British Long Range Desert Group Truck by WW23D - Part I

This truck is a bit larger and can fit 4 or 5 guys in the back in addition to the driver and copilot. The copilot is operating a dual machine gun. The man standing in the back is also handling a dual MG, so these guys are well armed with a 360 degree field of fire, and they can also shoot upwards to defend against strafing planes! The vehicle appears to be a Chevy 30CWT 1 1/2 ton truck and it is reasonable well built for a 3D printed vehicle. What I like the most is that it does not have the layering pattern that some 3D printers create.

Kozak Miniatures British Long Range Desert Group Truck by WW23D - Part II

This is the same Chevy truck from a different angle. Note that despite this being an American-made truck, the driver is sitting on the right side of the cabin, as is the case in Britain. Not that it would matter much while driving off road in the North African desert, but I suppose when they were back at base, driving among other fellow country men, it was safer to keep to the familiar norms.

Mars British Long Range Desert Group

As mentioned before, this is a rarely covered subject. The BBC's recent series Rogue Heroes helped renew interest in them and I am glad that Mars answered the call! You could say that they mostly look like British 8th Army troopers, but what really gives them away is the cloth (aka ghutra) that a few of them are wearing on their head a la Arab style. And then you also get 5 other types of head gear. Mars really likes to explore the full range of uniforms! Given the fact that these men went on squad-sized patrols, you can see that they have a good amount of firepower and diversity of weapons - mostly automatic, but they also have a sniper rifle. I guess the desert provides nice unobstructed lines of sight for long distances! If you can commandeer a couple of sturdy vehicles for them, you can send them on a mission to wreak havoc behind the Axis lines!

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Attack on Modellbaudorf

2026-06-19T18:38:00.000-04:00

Modellbaudorf is an inconspicuous, yet surprisingly important town for the German war effort as it is here where, until recently, a key component of the V2 rockets was manufactured in the town's tiny industrial sector.

It is the onset of spring, in 1945. The town has gone unscathed until a few weeks ago, when it made it onto the Allies' radar and it experienced an air raid. Now, with the rumble of war approaching from the east, the residents have all fled. The town is desolate.

The Allies and many on the German side, including soldiers, politicians, and civilians can all see that the end of the war is near. The German forces are barely hanging on, but they keep on fighting with fierce determination trying to buy the civilians time to flee ahead of the Soviets. They hope that the Allies in the west capture most of the country. Some even hold the naive expectation that the western Allies will join Germany in their fight against the Soviets. Whatever their reasons, they keep on fighting...

At Modellbaudorf, this determination is no exception. It is truly remarkable that its industrial sector, which was shutdown completely by the recent air raid, restored operations to almost regular capacity just two weeks after the bombing.

Once repaired, the factory continued to operate and supply the parts to power V2 rockets up until the evacuation orders 48 hrs earlier. The evacuation however, has turned everything into an eerily quiet "No man's land".

A hastily assembled Kampfgruppe is tasked with defending the town. It has been cobbled together from several small units -some regular infantry, some Waffen SS, military police, engineers, a reconnaissance platoon, a couple panzers, all of them augmenting the anti-aircraft unit which had been based in the town and is now repurposing its last operational 88mm flak gun to fight the oncoming Soviet armor.

Additional men have been commandeered and rerouted to Modellbaudorf. Men who were on their way back to the front after a short leave, the lightly wounded who were trying to make their way to a hospital in the rear, and a rare collection of stragglers -half a squad from an adjacent HQ unit which had been sent to get supplies from the divisional quartermaster, a couple cooks who had been foraging for farm animals for that evening's meal, a momentarily disoriented towing crew, and other unlucky souls who were in the vicinity of Modellbaudorf- they all continue to trickle into town and take up positions as regular infantry.

The Soviets are determined to capture this town but the Germans have arrived early enough to dig in and set up a reasonable defense, barricading the main streets...

... and placing heavy weapons at key locations throughout the town.

The Soviets, unsure about the level of resistance that they will be facing, unleash some additional artillery on the town for good measure, but by this stage of the war, the Germans are extremely familiar with the Soviet tactics and they pull back or go into the air raid shelter prior to the bombardment. Once the shelling is over, the Germans move back in, taking advantage of the new and generous rubble and craters.

With the Soviets approaching from the east and south, the Germans set up their defenses on the western side of town. They deploy observers in the factory to track the Soviet movements and then they simply wait patiently to spring the trap...

Next Episode: Attack on Modellbaudorf - Part II : The Soviet Approach into Town

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The Plastic General - Toy Soldiers

2026-06-18T00:21:00.000-04:00

The Plastic General is a new line of WW2 toy soldiers launched in September of 2025. Its founder is Christian Aldo, based out of Toronto. I have had the pleasure of knowing Christian since 2014. He is a lifelong collector of WW2 plastic toy soldiers and vehicles and has one of the most complete collections I am aware of covering land, air and sea. This degree of completeness is not just because of the vast number of sets that he owns, but also because of how he applies his creativity towards figure conversions to address gaps in the hobby. His Plastic General brand has evolved nicely over the years. It started as the moniker that he used in toy soldier forums. In 2021 it became the central character and title of his YouTube channel in which he reviews WW2 plastic toy soldiers and vehicles. He does this in a very creative and entertaining format, reenacting fictitious battles and embedding himself in the shots (no pun intended) of the men fighting. In order to do so, he dresses in the corresponding uniforms and equips himself with a variety of hand-made weapons and props. If you are not familiar with his episodes you should definitely check them out. Most recently he decided to pursue his dream of launching his own line of toy soldiers. He's done so in collaboration with Toy Soldier Central which manufactured the figures using 3D printing. Christian is uniquely positioned to launch his own line of WW2 toy soldiers as he clearly understands the hobby from a collector's point of view. And not just any collector, but one who actually plays extensively with his armies. Christian knows very well what sets are missing or which ones need additional poses or weaponry. He also understands the types of poses that should be released in a first set, as well as subsequent expansion sets. He is well aware of the types of tradeoffs that exist when making figures with different types of materials and he holds strong opinions on matters such as what the ideal base for a toy soldier should be, what is real 1/32 scale and what is not, as well as many more important subtleties. I am very excited about the impact that he will have on the hobby and can't wait to get my hands on his future sets. For now he has kicked off his product line with German Waffen SS in winter uniforms. Let's take a look! or like the Plastic General says, "Let's go to war and long live 1:32 WW2 Plastic!"

The Plastic General German Waffen SS in winter uniforms

This is the first and long awaited set from the Plastic General. If you look closely, what is unique about this set is that they are wearing long coats and on top of them they are wearing cammo jackets and helmet covers. Previous manufacturers of winter German troops had given us one or the other, but not both. Given that these guys are late war guys -think Battle of the Bulge period- they are also equipped with weapons of the period, a couple MP40s, a couple Stg44s, and you also get a machine gunner and a rifle man with a panzerfaust on his back to round up the set. The poses address all the core poses that you want in combat unit. No odd poses or fancy weapons. A good, solid basic initial set. The sculpting is fairly nice, with good level of detail. Notice how these guys are wearing scarfs and anything else they can wrap themselves in for the tough winter campaigns. These figures are being manufactured by Toy Soldier Central in flexible resin, so they are very sturdy. If there's anything to improve, I would have liked to see the figures display a bit more dynamism. For example, the grenade man could have a bit more range of motion if he really wants to throw that potato masher farther than a few yards. But hey, let's not get nitpicky. I am super excited about The Plastic General throwing his hat in the ring and I am really looking forward to having him fill and complement the gaps in our hobby! If you want to see these figures in action, check out this episode of The Plastic General.

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The US Army Ordnance Museum

2026-03-01T20:56:00.010-05:00

The US Army Ordnance Museum is the former name of what is now known as the US Army Ordnance Training Support Facility. This is here many armored vehicles, anti-tank guns, artillery pieces and related ordnance have been brought together after several US Army bases were consolidated around 2010. The items in this facility are used to teach current US Army personnel about the history, evolution and capabilities of artillery and armor. The facility also functions as a museum that is open to the public the first Saturday of the month a few months each year. I believe they publish the dates at the start of each year. Access to the museum is free. The facility is located right next to Fort Gregg-Adams (formerly Fort Lee) in Virginia, but it is not inside the base. In other words, you do not have to go through a gate and a convoluted security process. You just drive up a service road next to the base, pull up to a parking lot, and walk right in. The facility contains items ranging from the revolutionary war through modern times, but the largest portion of its collection is about World War II, followed by World War I. The WWII materiel includes items from many of the participating countries, not just the US. During the war, whenever a tank or gun was captured in the field it was sent back to the States to be studied. Shells of different calibers would be fired against a tank from different angles and distances to understand how it could be defeated. And if it was a new gun, then they would also test its offensive capabilities. The collection is fairly complete and, as you will see from the pictures below, it includes some rare items that I had never seen before in person at any other museum, which made the visit totally worthwhile for me. I did not take pictures of every item as I mainly focused on WWII, but I did take a few pics of a few notable non-WWII items. One quick note on the nomenclature of some of the US items. Some of them start with the letter T. Any item which made it into production got a designation starting with the letter M. I was much more familiar with the M models than the T models, and because not all items had a sign, it was a git of a challenge identifying some of these guns and vehicles. Having said that, let's check out the collection!

The Museum is hosted by the US Army Ordnance Corps

Civil War 13 inch mortar

Gatling Machine Gun

US M1918 BAR

US M1917 Browning Machine Gun

US M1919 Browning Machine Guns

German Kubelwagen

German Kubelwagen - interior

German Schwimmwagen

German Schwimmwagen - interior

German Schwimmwagen - engine and propeller

German BMW motorcycle

German 10.5 cm Leichtgeschütz 40

German Nebelwerfers

From left to right we have the 15cm, 21 cm, and the dual 28/32 cm Nebelwerfers

US Jeep and its relative the Ford GPA amphibious vehicle in the back

US M3 37mm Anti Tank Gun

US M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun

US M5 3 inch Anti Tank Gun

US T8 105mm Anti Tank Gun

US T8 90mm Anti Tank Gun

US T10 105mm Howitzer

US M101 105mm Howitzer

US T88 105mm howitzer motor carriage

German Krupp K5 Leopold Gun

This is one of the most unique items in the collection. For sure the largest WWII gun I had ever seen! They were manufactured by Krupp and 25 of them were made.

German Krupp K5 Leopold Gun

This gun defended the Anzio beach against the Allied landings. It would slide in and out of a railway tunnel so it was hard to find and attack. It was captured once the Germans retreated.

German Krupp K5 Leopold Gun

It could fire a 243 kg shell at a rate of 15 rounds per hour at a range of up to 40 miles.

German Krupp K5 Leopold Gun

It measures almost 90 feet in length.

German Krupp K5 Leopold Gun

Apparently these guns were part of the German railway system and this one was based out of a railway station in Berlin.

US M1897AS 75mm Gun

British 6 pounder Anti Tank Gun

Italian Howitzer 65-17 Mod 13

Soviet M1927 76.2 mm Regimental Gun

Japanese Type 1 47mm Anti Tank Gun

German 7.5cm IG 18 light infantry howitzer

35-German 7.5cm IG 18 light infantry howitzer

German PAK 43 88mm Anti Tank Gun

German PAK 40 75mm Anti Tank Gun

German 105mm Light Field Howitzer

German 1 Ton Half Track Sd Kfz 10

US M16A1 Half Track

German 88mm FLAK Gun

German 88mm FLAK Gun side view

US M3A1 Stuart Tank

US M3 Stuart Tank

French R35 Light Tank

German Panzer I

Japanese Type 97 Medium Tank

German Panzer IV

US M2A1 Medium Tank

US M3 Lee Tank

US M10 Tank Destroyer

German Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Sd Kfz 184 aka Elefant

This was another big highlight for me. The curator of the museum explained to me that only two Elefants remain operational in the world - not many were manufactured to begin with. One of those Elefants is in a museum in Moscow. The other one is this one!

German Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Sd Kfz 184 aka Elefant

Note the shell impact marks. The front armor is so thick that they appear more like minor like dents. I don't know what caliber was used to fire at it, but they certainly needed something bigger and more powerful!

German Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Sd Kfz 184 aka Elefant

Is it coincidence that it is facing off a T-34 across from it?

Soviet T-34

Soviet T-34 - interior view from as seen from the driver's side

US M22 Locust

US M26 Pershing Tank

US T1 Heavy Tank

US M40 155mm Gun Motor Carriage

US M40 155mm Gun Motor Carriage - back view

At first I thought it had a plow in the back. Then I realized that's how it stays in place when it fires!

US M8 Scott Tank

Soviet KV-1

German Marder III Sd Kfz 139

German Marder III Sd Kfz 139 - back view

German Hetzer Tank Destroyer - Sd Kfz 138/2

German Hetzer Tank Destroyer - Sd Kfz 138/2 - interior view

German Goliath Tracked Mine

Japanese Remote Controlled Vehicle I-GO

French M1917 Light Tank

US WW1 Heavy Artillery

Gun Barrels

Gun Barrels - note the cut showing the rifled interior!

Shells of various calibers

Heavy Mortars section

View from the entrance - left side of the building

View from the entrance - right side of the building

View from the far end of the building towards the entrance

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Click here to see a post about the West Wall museum at Pirmasens

Click here to see a post about the British Airborne museum at Arnhem

Click here to see a post about the rocket museum at Peenemunde

Click here to see a post about the US Airborne museum at Fayetville
Click here to see a post about the Auto and Technik museum at Sinsheim
Click here to see a post about the Normandy Landing Beaches

Introducing the British Paratroops

2026-02-05T07:20:00.000-05:00

Latest edit: Added Mars British Paras Set 2 at the bottom of the post.

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The development of the British airborne forces began in 1940 following the successful German airborne operations that summer. The first British airborne raid, Operation Colossus, took place on Italian territory on Feb of '41 and by November of that year, the 1st Airborne division was officially formed. These troops were actually capable of being dropped by parachute or landing by glider, and once they were even landed from the sea, into the heel of Italy. A few other small operations followed during the mid-part of the war, such as a raid on a radar station on the French coast and a raid on a heavy water facility in Norway and some brigade size landings in North Africa. The 1st Division also took part in the invasion of Sicily and the Italian mainland. By 1943 a second division, the 6th was formed. This division went into action for the first time on D-Day, capturing the famous Pegasus Bridge among other objectives. It fought on in Normandy for 3 months. Around the time that the 6th was withdrawing from France, the 1st Division took part in Operation Market-Garden, perhaps the British Airborne's most dramatic engagement of the war. In a book aptly titled 'A Bridge too Far' Cornelius Ryan tells the story of how the 1st Division held out for 9 days in the town of Arnhem under intense pressure, waiting for the ground troops which were supposed to relieve them after only 2 or 3 days. Eight of the bridges leading up to Arnhem had eventually been secured, but the 9th one had not and out of approximately 10,000 men originally in the division, less than 2000 managed to get evacuated. The 6th Division went on to fight a couple more campaigns. At the end of the year, it was rushed to help stop the German's Ardennes offensive and in March of '45 they participated in Operation Varsity, a combined arms crossing of the Rhine. In terms of figure availability, there is actually a decent number of British Paratroops that have been released by several manufacturers. Let's take a look.

Airfix British Paratroops

A good mix of poses. Some of these guys look like they just landed and are moving on to their objective. Some others are already engaging the enemy. A good set from Airfix as usual.

Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part I

This is one of the rare Airfix Paras which Airfix made before they switched to the set which has become the standard one. I should say that in terms of the sculpting and poses, the second series is indeed superior to the first and it is easy to understand why Airfix decided to replace them. I once ran into the whole set at a soldier show, before I knew what they were. They were priced a bit on the expensive side, so I passed on them, Years later, when I realized what I had held in my hands, it became clear to me that I should have bought them and that they had actually been priced quite well given how rare they are... This one I got in a large set of mixed figures that someone did not bother to sort out and classify. A bit of a lucky break for me. Here you can see the rest of the poses courtesy of Toy Soldier HQ.

Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part II

Here is another guy from the set, firing off into the sky. Now the question is, what could he be firing at? In theory, his unit is the one doing the drop... The enemy would not drop on top of them, since after all, they are already behind enemy lines. I suppose he could be firing at a strafing fighter... In terms of the sculpting, I just wish they had given him a slightly more relaxed stance. Maybe the knees, slightly bent? At any rate, I am glad I ran into him. Only 5 more poses to go!

Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part III

OK, so I had a bit of a lucky break and found a batch of about a dozen paras in pretty good shape. Out of those, we have 3 more new poses. Out of these three, the kneeling, firing guy is my favorite. Now we are just missing the man walking holding his sub mg at his side.

Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part IV

Here's the prone bazooka man. These guys are not easy to find, but I was lucky to run into a batch of 10 or so. Unfortunately, I already had most of them, except for the bazooka man of which it had two. On to keep looking for that elusive last pose!

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops

The British Paras were released as two separate sets if you bought them separately from the Playsets. Each set had 8 new poses, so yes, we got 16 poses in all! That's a good thing because given their larger size, they were not easy to combine with the other British Paras which existed at the time. Since I bought them as part of the playset when I took these pictures I did not pay attention to the sets that they actually belonged to. Maybe when I have some time I will retake the pictures, but for now I will try to point them out in the pictures:

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops - Part I

From L to R they belong to set: 1-1-2-1

This picture shows 3 guys from Set 1 (charging guy on the left, and two firing guys on the right) and 1 pose from Set 2 (firing guy with beret). All 3 guys who are standing firing are all different based on the head gear or the weapon. Not sure why the charging guy and the guy on the right are a bit shorter than the other two. Were they trying to represent men of different heights, or did they change the scale slightly? All of them are nicely detailed and well sculpted in terms of body positioning.

If you are keeping score, this is the number of poses so far:

Set 1-3, Set 2-1

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops - Part II

From L to R they belong to set: 2-1-1-2

This picture shows 2 men from each set. The 2 guys in the middle belong to Set 1, and the 2 guys at each end are from Set 2. A good mixture of weapons, headgear, and poses. Not a big fan of the kneeling guy firing upwards, but I guess he could come in handy for urban combat, firing at some guy in an upper floor. The Bren gunner is very nicely done. The other two guys with fixed bayonets can be used for some nasty close quarter combat.

Set 1-5, Set 2-3

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops - Part III

From L to R they belong to set: 2-2-1-1

This shot has 2 men from Set 1 on the left and the other 2 on the right from Set 2.

The 2 guys in the middle are really good poses. The kneeling guy with the Sten gun is just perfect for a variety of situations. And the officer talking sideways while aiming his side arm conveys the intensity of the moment. I am not the biggest fan of the grenade man with his arm outstretched parallel to the ground, instead of leaning back, but otherwise he is OK. And the casualty figure is really dramatic. Since Set 1 also includes a wounded guy (see below), I don't think we needed another one in Set 2.

Set 1-7, Set 2-5

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops - Part IV

From L to R they belong to set: 2-1-2-2

In this picture we have the last guy (the standing casualty figure) from Set 1 and the last 3 guys from Set 2. The only guy that I find a bit stiff is the officer standing up firing his side arm. The kneeling officer is much better in comparison. He reminds me of Sam Elliot (Sgt. Major Basil Plumley from 'We were soldiers') when he tells his men 'gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves!'. And the two wounded guys are really well done. I should point out that the hand and sub MG of the wounded guy who is standing came as a separate piece that has to be glued on. Not a big deal.

Set 1-8, Set 2-8

Both Sets Complete!

Revell British Paratroops - Part 1

Revell made these guys in 1/35 scale, so you might not want to place them right next to the Conte guys. A nice set for the most part. The second guy from the left is the one guy that I don't find that great. And the guy pulling his parachute is a nice, unique pose, but of course, you can only use him in some limited scenes.

Revell British Paratroops - Part 2

Another interesting detail is the weapons canister. The picture does not show it clearly, but it is actually separate from the figures. I found these guys manufactured in two different plastic colors, as seen above, with green being the most common. BTW, I am not sure if they are still being produced as I have not seen them in a while.

ESCI British Paratroops - Part 1

Here is another unique set from ESCI. Also pretty hard to find. So much that I wasn't even aware that it existed until one of our readers pointed it out to me. The figures are actually pretty decent and in my opinion, better posed than the other ESCI sets. They are using a good range of small arms and even their helmets show a bit of variety, some having a cammo net and some without.

ESCI British Paratroops - Part 2

I particularly like the man charging forward with the Bren gun. One of the more dynamic ESCI poses that I have come across. I don't care that much for the guy standing guard. The guy on the right is one of those funny poses... he seems to be turning at the same time that he is running forward, but yet he is a bit too straight for that amount of movement taking place all at the same time. Anyhow, a good addition to the British paras. Maybe they can help hold Arnhem one more day...

21st Century Toys British Paratroops

I was not aware that 21C Toys had made this set until I ran into it by chance on eBay. They are actually quite nice. I bought 3 sets and the paint job varies from one set to the next, but overall they are nicely finished. The poses are the kind of action pose that I prefer and I also like the variety of weapons that they carry into action. A good addition to the collection!

Charbens British Paratroops - Part I

These seem to be recasts of figures made in the 60s or 70s. On the small side of 54mm. The most interesting guy is the one with the flamethrower. I don't know if this is historically accurate, but it still makes for a unique addition to the unit.

Charbens British Paratroops - Part II

Here is a sixth pose. For some reason the newer recasts do not come with it, but I ran into it in a large batch of mixed figures. Perhaps the mold got lost for this one. Note that it has the same base style and also the pose resembles very much the grenade thrower in the British 8th Army Charbens set.

Charbens British Paratroops - Part III

And here are the first five poses as they were originally released.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 1

These are two figures that I stumbled upon on eBay. They are standing a bit too straight for my taste, but they are also old, so we can give them a bit of a break. Anyhow, once they are painted they will be a good addition to the unit, providing their specialized services. I wonder what the guy on the right is supposed to be carrying on his back. Does not look like the usual field pack. Is it supposed to be his parachute? But if he is already operating the mortar, doesn't that mean that he already jumped?

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 2

Here are some more guys from this set. They are not in the best shape. A couple of them have broken weapons but they still give an idea of what the original poses looked like. The guy on the right is an interesting pose. I am not sure what he represents. Is he supposed to be pulling his parachute? or maybe he is supposed to be in the air, in the middle of a jump?

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 3

A couple more guys that I recently got in a mixed lot. The guy who is crawling is interesting. He seems more like he is doing some push ups. I would have made him with at least one knee on the ground. The man with the binoculars is fairly decent. Too bad it has lost all its paint.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 4

A few more guys in much better condition. The bazooka guy seems to be based off the same figure as the standing man aiming with the rifle, or most likely the other way around, which explains why the rifleman is holding the rifle that way. The flamethrower guy is just a better version of the one in the previous picture which has the flame missing.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 5

Three more figures from the set. Well actually the guy on the left showed up already in one of the earlier pictures, but the weapon was broken, so I included him again since I just got the same figure in better shape. The other two are nice additions. I like the guy who is crawling quite a bit. The MG is also a good addition to the unit, giving it a bit more firepower.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 6

And yet one more guy who I found by chance, without knowing that I was missing him, in a large batch that I bought, also without knowing what exactly was in it. I guess every unit needs a good grenade thrower, and here he is. He does not seem to be winding up much for the throw though... let's see how far he manages to throw that.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 7

This is one more guy I just ran into. He is just sitting down, as if he were riding on a plane waiting to jump. To setup such a scene, you would need several of them and they are not easy to find, so I doubt I'll ever get around to that. I should clarify that I did not see any manufacturer marks on him, so I am just assuming that he is a Lone Star figure because he really resembles the other ones.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 8

So I think I found the set that the sitting para belong to, or at least one where they can be used more appropriately. This is a Willys Jeep made by Lone Star. Presumably issued to the British Paras through Lend Lease :-)

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 9

Here is one more British Para. This guy happens to be the machine gunner for this Bren gun carrier, although his MG does not really look like a Bren gun. If he's not the actual gunner, then it's a big coincidence that he fits so well on the seat that has the MG opening...

Lone Star British Modern Paratroopers

This guy came with some of the WWII paras. At first I did not notice that he was from a more modern set. As you can see, the only thing that stands out is the weapon. So if you are not too selective, you can include him in your WWII unit. I probably will.

Lone Star British Red Berets - Part 1

These guys are post WWII figures, but if you overlook the automatic weapons, they could fit well with the rest of the guys. The flamethrower is a good complement to the other sets. I don't know exactly how many poses were produced. First I found these four and later on I found two more (see below).

Lone Star British Red Berets - Part 2

I just received these two other poses. The plastic is a bit brittle as they arrived in multiple pieces. Note how the arm holding the grenade is reattached as well as the head of the other guy. Too bad because there aren't that many of these figures left around.

Lone Star British Red Berets - Part 3

And here is one more guy that I was missing from the set. The guy firing from a kneeling position. A classic post in most sets. Fairly well executed in this case.

Lone Star British Red Berets - Part 4
Here is one more guy who I was missing. Also, one of those that I was not aware of and who came in a larger batch of figures, so I guess I got lucky. He is displaying a good degree of movement, which is how I like them. BTW, this is almost the same pose as the modern para a few pictures earlier. Initially I thought all they had done was change the helmet. I think I'll let you find the rest of the differences!

Cherilea 60mm British Red Berets

I recently found these guys on eBay. There are supposed to be 6 of them, but I have only found 5. Based on the weapon of the guy on the right they seem to be modern figures, but I think that once you paint them to match the WWII guys they will fit right in.

Cherilea 60mm British Red Berets - Continued

Here is the last guy that was missing from the set. I got him after I made the initial post. Not the most exciting pose, but it rounds up the set of six nicely.

Crescent 60mm British Paratroops

These are original figures from about 40 years ago. They are 60mm. I am unable to fully establish if they are paratroops or commandos. I'll probably just end up painting them as both. Note that they come with a mortar which is lacking in the other sets.

Britains Deetail British Paratroops - Set 1

These guys are actually modern Paratroops, but I like the poses quite a bit and the antitank weapon could come in handy so I've decided to recruit them into the unit.

Britains Super Deetail British Paratroops - Set 2 - Part I

This is one of the other four super rare poses that collectors refer to as the 'Holy Grail' set. Unfortunately, I was only able to get my hands on one of them, even though all four of them were up for auction. But as expected, they were highly sought after. In terms of the figure, I really liked the pose and sculpting of the figure. The manufacturing left a bit of a defect on the neck. My understanding is that the Super deetail figures were made by casting the parts separately and then putting them together with heat, which might explain the neck. Anyhow, it is still a great piece and I am glad I have at least one of them. Maybe I get lucky again and manage to find the rest of his unit at some point.

Britains Super Deetail British Paratroops - Set 2 - Part II

Another angle, in which you can appreciate his movement a bit better.

Timpo Swoppets British Paratroops

These guys are wearing the distinctive red beret. They come with the typical webbing used by British Army units as well as a backpack. They also have a good range of weapons. I particularly like the Sten gun. The poses as obviously influenced by how you combine the torsos with the legs, but I should say that some of the leg stances are not the best. It also looks like the legs might have come from another set, or they made the Paras in a couple of color schemes.

Airfix Modern British Infantry

Lastly, these guys are also modern British Infantry, however, the camouflage that they are wearing on their helmets makes them look similar to the paratroops, and their poses are also quite nice, so I am thinking that once they are painted as paras, they'll fit just fine.

Airfix Modern German Infantry - Part I

Same with these guys. But they are so well sculpted that I could not resist getting a batch of them and incorporating them into my ranks. Even though they are German, I think I could use them as British paras.

Airfix Modern German Infantry - Part II

In typical Airfix fashion, the poses are full or action and include plenty of realistic detail. Even the folds on their clothes are all in the right places. Out of this batch, I really like the guy firing his sub MG from the waist and how he leans into it.

Rocco (Royce & Co) British Paratrooper

This guy who came with a mixed set of figures. He is closer to 50mm than he is to 54mm, and appears to have come factory painted. Unfortunately, there are no marks on him to give us a hint about who manufactured him. If you happen to know, please leave a comment so that we might be able to find him some other guys from his unit. Update: one of our readers has identified him as one of the figures made by Rocco (Royce & Co.).

WW23D British Paratroops - Part 1

These men look ready to join their comrades in Arnhem. There are 9 of them so I decided to split them into two groups for the pictures so that you can see them better. From this first group, my favorite one is the one on the left, kneeling on one leg and leaning forward while firing his sub MG. The one on the right reminds me of the pose from one of the Conte British paras. And the other 3 just seem to be walking on patrol on their way to liberate some Dutch town before the Germans turned on the heat on them.

WW23D British Paratroops - Part 2

These guys are a bit more adequate for a battle scene. The two guys in the middle are very similar to each other, except that they have the opposite foot forward and one of them is flexing his back knee a bit. The other difference is the type of sub MG. One of them has a Sten gun with the magazine on the side, while the other one doesn't. The guy on the left is a pretty standard pose, and the one on the right reminds me of a pose I have seen in another set, but I can't quite place him. Let me know in the comments if he also rings a bell.

Kozak Miniatures British Paratroops Set 2 by Speira

This is their second set of British Paras. I did not get the first one because they are very similar to the 3D printed guys I already bought from WW23D.com. But even this set does have a couple duplicates relative to the one from WW23D. Given the amount of 3D printed figures I've decided that I will have to be a bit selective in terms of which ones I get. Anyhow, I got set 2 because of its special weapons. The heavy MG and the PIAT can always come in handy for an airborne unit which is usually light in heavier weapons. The other 5 guys are OK. I also liked that I could order them wearing helmets instead of berets (you can also order them with those). In terms of detail, I like that you can even see mustaches on a couple of guys. It probably helps that I also ordered them in Big 1/32 scale.

Mars British Paratroops

It's nice to see Mars produce its second set of British troops and that it is representing the Airborne guys as we don't have many of those, at least not released recently. In this set we get a good variety of weapons in use - Sten guns, Bren gun, mortar, side arm, rifles, some variation in the head gear - helmets with netting and cammo foliage, plain helmet, helmet with netting only, as well as a beret. The poses are fairly decent with all men in useful combat poses. The most interesting poses for me are the two guys in the mortar team who is operating in a prone position. The only thing I noticed on the second man from the left is that its sub mg strap is missing a segment and yet it retains its curvature. This defect is present on both figures that came in the box of 15 men. These guys will go well with the British Airfix paras. Less so with the Conte guys who are a bit taller.

British Paras with 6-Pounder Anti Tank Gun by TS Central

This is a nice set from Kozak. It gets two thumbs up from me for its uniqueness as well as the execution. The gun and the figures are both nicely sculpted. Good poses and good level of detail. The crew includes a kneeling loader, a standing ammo handler, the gun operator, the commander observing and directing the fire, and an additional guy plugging his ears :-) I am not sure what his job was meant to be, but he adds some realism to the scene. I got these figures from TS Central which has developed a flexible, softer resin for 3D printing. The figures are now so flexible that I had to use the hot/cold water trick to straighten out the gun's barrel!

British Paras with 75mm Pack Howitzer by TS Central

These are the same five poses that come with the 6-Pounder AT Gun. Besides the fact this crew is operating a different artillery piece -the 75mm Pack Howitzer- the other difference is that these paras come equipped with helmets, most of them with a bit of cammo attached to them. After I took the pictures I realized that I swapped the crews and the guns. The guys with the berets are the ones who originally came with the howitzer. But I think I like them better this way. I like to think that the guys with the berets are probably a bit more settled after their jump and have adopted a defensive position with the AT Gun, whereas the crew with the helmet just landed, assembled their howitzer, and started a fire support mission, without time to change their head gear. Both pieces and crews are great additions to my British Airborne troops!

Plastic Platoon British Paratroops Set 1

Plastic Platoon British Paratroops Set 2 - Heavy Weapons

Mars British Paras Set 2

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Introducing the US Marines

2026-02-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

Latest edit: Added Expeditionary Force US Marines Defense, Assault and MG Sections at the bottom of this post.

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The war in the Pacific was a brutal business. Not only were men fighting each other, but they were also fighting against nature. The jungle, constant rain, mud, tropical diseases, jungle rot -dying of the skin and flesh-, even starvation -or at least having to eat half-rotten food-, when supplies could not reach them. The fighting was also a lot more primal. Tanks were hard to maneuver in the jungle, so infantry did the bulk of the fighting, often in close quarters fighting or hand-to-hand combat, which was made highly treacherous by the large amount of vegetation that allowed combatants to sneak upon each other. Every night the danger of enemy infiltration and being killed in your foxhole was a very real and nerve-racking possibility. The stiff resistance of the Japanese, often fighting to the last man, meant that sometimes they had to be burnt alive or sealed to die in their caves, and virtually no quarter was given by either side. The weather conditions also meant that the dead decomposed very quickly and the men often found themselves fighting next to or on top of rotting corpses filled with maggots, enduring a terrible stench and macabre conditions. This is the world that the leathernecks inhabited in this theater of operations. Yet, perhaps because relatively fewer men were involved in the Pacific campaigns, or perhaps because of its remoteness, or the fact that the fighting happened in places that westerners have difficulties locating on a map, the war on the Pacific has received less attention, and this is also the case in the manufacturing of figure sets representing US Marines. It was not until a few years back that the situation started to improve, as you will see from the pictures below.

Atlantic US Marine Corps - Part I

This is one of my favorite sets from Atlantic. The figures are posed with enough movement in them and they are well proportioned. The kneeling guy's bazooka is a separate piece, so unless you glue it, you have to put it in place every time you handle him.

Atlantic US Marine Corps - Part II

Here are another 6 figures. If you are counting that makes 11, which is 1 more than the usual in the typical Atlantic set. The highlight of this batch are the flag-raising guys. Again, the flag comes separately and it requires a few tries to assemble the three pieces right, but the effort is well worth it. A mini tribute to the Iwo Jima flag-raising marines.

BMC US Marines - Part 1

BMC released these marines as part of their Iwo Jima set, along with Japanese figures. They were made aroud the time of the movie Flag of our Fathers, when some interest in the Pacific war started to take place. Personally, I find these figures to be very well made, and quite affordable. They are a bit on the larger side for 54mm, but they are very well made.

BMC US Marines - Part 2

As you can see, the men are depicted in nice action/fighting poses which look quite realistic. One thing to point out is that the left most man's bazooka can be removed and it requires a couple tries to set it back in place properly. Not a big deal, but something to be aware of.

BMC US Marines - Part 3

These guys are already primed as I will be painting them soon. Their original color is a light, creamy green. Also with this set you get a flag raising team modeled after the famous photograph, and also a Higgins boat coxswain. The flag raising team is made in a smaller scale as the rest of the figures, and the coxswain has an unusual base that makes him stand about 1 inch taller than the other guys, hence I am not including them in the figures I'll be painting.

Glencoe / Marx US Marines - Part 1

The Marx Marines were released in the 60s I believe, and for many years, they were the only figures of their kind that you could find. They produced 12 poses, and they seem to be meant for a beach landing scene. There are a couple poses in the set that seem a bit awkward, but they are actually a very nice set if you compare them to other figures released at the time.

Glencoe / Marx US Marines - Part 2

I painted these guys about 10 years back, before I had any of the more recent sets. Going back to the point about the poses, the two guys on the right are slightly odd. Maybe it's the way they are leaning, or maybe how the flamethrower guy is bending his knees. On the other hand, the two guys on the left seem just right.

Glencoe / Marx US Marines - Part 3

Remember what I was saying about a beach landing? The running poses and the Mae West would be well suited for it. Even the prone guy trying to determine the best route to get off the beach. Although I really wonder how many Marines actually wore life jackets during landing operations. Maybe this is a rear echelon officer coming ashore once the beach has been secured?

TSSD US Marines - Part 1

Another recent set courtesy of Toy Soldiers of San Diego. These guys are also a nice dynamic bunch which captures well the nature of the fighting in the Pacific. Close quarters combat with bayonets, the wounded having to defend themselves. Their original color is very similar to the BMC guys, so even unpainted they blend well together.

TSSD US Marines - Part 2

Some more nice poses by Toy Soldiers of San Diego. The guy fighting with the shovel is quite dramatic. The other men showing a representative variety of weapons: sub machine gun, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) & Garand rifle.

Classic Toy Soldiers US Infantry (as Marines) - Part 1

These guys are not really Marines. They are recently released US Infantry troops by CTS, but I thought I would add them to the Marines to get a few more poses, plus the fact that they come with a flamethrower guy and a guy having to fight with both hands, makes them good candidates to fight on places like Peleliu or Iwo Jima.

Classic Toy Soldiers US Infantry (as Marines) - Part 2

I like the guy standing with the bazooka. Most of the times they are depicted kneeling. The BAR guy could be firing through the dense jungle foliage at some unseen enemy in the distance while on patrol.

TSSD US Infantry (as Marine)

This guy is also a regular Army guy, but since the Marines don't have any heavy MGs of their own (OK, the Marx/Glencoe guys have one guy running carrying a MG, but it is not mounted) I've decided to reinforce them with this TSSD guy. He could be gunny Sergeant Basilone fighting on Guadalcanal, earning his Congressional Medal of Honor.

Austin Miniatures Marines

This is a fairly recent release from a new US firm. They are made in the style and size of CTS and Conte figures. A nice level of detail and good sculpting. The poses also depict a good degree of action and intensity. And they are all good basic fighting poses. They will certainly blend in well with the rest of the unit. And if you want you can probably paint them as regular GIs, and they will fit right in as well.

Plastic Platoon US Marines

Plastic Platoon US Paramarines

Plastic Platoon US Marines Heavy Weapons

Mars US Marines

Austin Miniatures Marines Set 2

It only took me about 10 years to get my hands on Set 2, but I finally did it! This set gives us a few more poses, but I have to say that most of them feel very similar to each other. Maybe it is because of their stance - they are all standing with legs apart and bent knees. Their weaponry is good. Besides 3 rifle men, we also get a BAR man, one Tommy gun and most interestingly, we also get a man firing a pump action shotgun (the Winchester M1897 Trench Gun - thanks to the fellow collector who pointed that out!). Another interesting feature in this set is the fact that two of the men give us the option to insert either a backpack or a radio set. You get two of each in the bag in case you want to have two radio men or all backpacks. I recommend you glue them so that they stay in place. In terms of detail, that's also OK, although some of the faces and hands could have used a bit more love and care. Overall, this is a set I value more in terms of filling a hole in the collection than because of the figures themselves.

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part I

This Marine set contains a generous 16 poses. I like that many of them are wearing cammo cover on their helmets and most are wearing their trousers untucked and have rolled up their sleeves as they'd do in the jungle weather of the pacific. In this first picture I included the shooters. I find 4 out of the 5 guys pretty good. Can you guess which one I am less excited about? Yes, the second man from the left. For some odd reason he is standing with his feet parallel to each other and facing the same direction as his rifle. I prefer firing poses that look more like the guy in the middle.

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part II

These next 5 guys are the ones standing or advancing quite cautiously. Again, I find 4 out of these 5 guys fairly acceptable. The one who feels a bit odd is the man on the right. He seems about to hug his rifle. Not the most useful pose. The other 4 guys would be very useful when placed around a Japanese bunker, or cave, waiting for anyone to come out while another one of their buddies throws a grenade into it. The guy with the BAR certainly could do some damage.

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part III

And in this batch we have what may be the most interesting poses. One of them is the grenade thrower that we were just talking about. And we also have the 2 most dynamic poses in the set rushing forward with intense facial expressions. One guy even has to hold his helmet! We also have a couple other poses that every squad needs: an officer and a radio man. The officer feels a bit stiff. Less of a combat pose and more like the stance that he would have if he were threatening someone. Maybe keeping a prisoner in check? The radio man is a nice solid pose, although I wonder why he is carrying that equipment in the back if he is speaking into a walkie-talkie. And to round off the set we also have a prone shooter. Not much special about him. Just a nice useful combat pose.

Expeditionary Force US Marines - Defense Section

This is a new range of figures from Expeditionary Force to give the Japanese figures another worthy opponent. This, the Defense Section, is the first of six planned sets. I suppose what makes these guys more of a defense section is that given the fact that they are all standing or kneeling -as opposed to walking, running, or charging- they could be placed in fox holes and other type of static position where they could fire with some degree of protection. In reality I do not deploy my figures in such prescribed roles, but instead I will use whatever pose I need for the scene I am trying to create. So some of these guys may need to go on offense some times! Most of the men are rifle men, but we do have a couple of sub MGs, and a man using his rifle as a grenade launcher. These guys are dressed in typical jungle manner with rolled up sleeves and the legs of their pants untucked.

Expeditionary Force US Marines - Assault Section

This is labeled the Assault Section, but I don't get the feeling that these guys are attacking as much as scouting. They feel more like a patrol moving through the jungle, don't you think? One thing that is interesting is that there are three guys who seem to be giving directions to the group. That seems a bit too many for the size of this unit. But at least that gives them a bit more firepower as they are all carrying a sub MG. Another unique thing about this section is that several of them have already fixed bayonets, which suggests an imminent clash with the enemy!

Expeditionary Force US Marines - Machine Gun Section

Now these guys do bring some firepower to the fight. With two Browning 30 cal MGs and several sub MGs, these guys could probably stop a banzai charge on its tracks, or at least trim it down substantially! In addition to the MGs, you get a couple other figures to round up a three person team for each MG. One team will have an observer and a radio man, while the other will have an observer and a man directing the fire. The other three are there to provide protection most likely against a flanking move. I say that because wherever those Brownings are pointing is probably pretty well covered!

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Introducing the Japanese Naval Infantry

2026-02-03T11:16:00.000-05:00

Latest edit: Added a second picture of Expeditionary Force Japanese Naval Infantry at the bottom of the post.
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The Japanese Naval Infantry, also known as the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF) were a unit within the Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces. They were landing units raised from ships crews which received special infantry training. They were deployed in battalion strength, ranging from a couple companies to a few thousand men. In 1941, some of these units were converted into parachute units and were successfully used against the Dutch in the operation to capture the Celebes Island. SNLF Troops were also deployed to capture Milne Bay in New Guinea. In this case they were defeated by well reinforced and determined Australian troops and from that point on they were mostly used in defensive actions. SNLF units were also used in the summer of 1942 to capture unopposed Kiska Island in Alaska, part of the Aleutian Islands, which they occupied for about a year, withdrawing before the US troops showed up. Another renowned action was the defense of Tarawa, where they fought to the end. SNLF operations often suffered heavy casualties. This was in part due to the isolated nature of their operations which made resupply challenging, but also in part due to the fact that they were not as skilled in infantry warfare tactics. They were however determined to fight, often resorting to their swords and bayonets when running out of ammunition. This is not to say that they were poorly equipped. SNLF had access to heavy weapons, artillery, and even tanks and armored vehicles. In terms of plastic toy soldiers, this is a subject that had been largely ignored by manufacturers until recently, when a couple of companies decided to cover it with some nice new production figures. Let's check them out!

Plastic Platoon Japanese Naval Infantry

Expeditionary Force Japanese Naval Infantry

This is such a timely set. Just as Plastic Platoon released its set of Japanese Naval Infantry, we now have 9 additional poses to assemble a full squad, or an understrength platoon. The two poses that stand out from this set are the flag bearer/bugle player and the flamethrower. Very nicely done. The other figures are pretty standard charging/firing poses, not unlike the ones that were released as part of the Japanese infantry sets. What makes these uniforms stand out is that all have the naval infantry insignia prominently displayed on their shoulders and on the front of their helmets. A nice detail that will stand out well if you paint the figures. One thing I do have to say is that when placed next tot he Plastic Platoon guys, these marines do feel a bit bulkier -or the other guys seem a bit slimmer- which one is it? Anyhow, now need to plan a landing operation for these guys!

Expeditionary Force Japanese Naval Infantry - Part II

This is the same set as the figures above, just assembled differently. Since I already had a flag bearer/bugle player, I gave the unit another junior officer. I know, that makes 3 of them across both sets. I also tried to assign different weapons to different men, and in the cases in which I had to assign the same weapon to the man, I at least tried to turn the head in a different direction, or pose the arms differently. In the end, across the eighteen men, there aren't any two which are exactly the same. Which is the nice thing about the Expeditionary Force figures, and why I included this second picture of the same set.

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Introducing the British Infantry

2026-02-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

Latest edit: Added Kozak Miniatures British Artillery Sets towards the bottom of this post.

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The British infantry of World War II formed a crucial component of the British Army, seeing action in diverse theaters ranging from the beaches of Dunkirk to the sands of North Africa and the jungles of Burma and back to the beaches of Normandy and the plains of Northwest Europe. At the outset of the war in September 1939, the British Army was comparatively small, a professional force with a core of regular infantry divisions and the expanding Territorial Army divisions, numbering around 880,000 men, including reserves. As the war progressed, the number of infantry divisions fluctuated, with new formations raised and others disbanded or converted. The army reached its peak strength in 1945 with approximately 2.9 million personnel. Over the course of the entire war, more than 3.5 million men and women served in the British Army, with the infantry remaining the cornerstone of its fighting strength.

The standard uniform of the British infantryman consisted of a battledress jacket and trousers in khaki serge fabric, ankle boots with gaiters, and a steel helmet. Personal equipment included a webbing belt with ammunition pouches, a water bottle, a mess tin, and a gas mask. Early in the war, the iconic Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk III rifle was the standard infantry weapon, later supplemented and largely replaced by the more modern Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk I. The Bren light machine gun provided squad-level firepower, while submachine guns like the Thompson and later the Sten were issued to officers, NCOs, and specialist troops. Support weapons included mortars and anti-tank rifles, which were gradually superseded by more effective anti-tank projectors like the PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank).

Training for the British infantry emphasized marksmanship, fieldcraft, and teamwork. British infantry doctrine stressed fire and movement, relying on well-aimed rifle fire and the mobile firepower of the Bren gun. Leadership at the section and platoon level was crucial, encouraging initiative within the given objectives. The character of the British infantryman was often marked by a stoic resilience, a strong sense of duty, and a dry sense of humor, qualities that sustained them through prolonged periods of hardship and intense combat. They developed a reputation for stubborn defense and a methodical approach to offensive operations, often relying on careful planning and artillery support.

The British Army suffered significant casualties throughout World War II, with infantry units bearing a substantial portion of these losses due to their frontline role. While precise figures for infantry-specific casualties are difficult to isolate, the total number of British infantry personnel killed, wounded, and missing may have reached approximately 350k to 420k by the end of the war. In terms of toy soldiers, this is a country and service branch which has been covered quite generously through the years. Let's take a look.

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This post is a consolidation of several British Infantry posts I had previously made. It started out as a post about the British troops I painted. Then I added more recent production figures, as well as other less common or 'vintage' figures, which I'd like to be able to paint some day.

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Matchbox British Infantry - Part I

This is a really nice set. A total of 11 poses and all of them useful action poses and with a good variety of weapons, including some heavier armament like the bazooka and the MG in this picture and the flamethrower in the next. Perhaps my favorite pose in this set is the prone Bren gunner. A nice touch is the officer with the sheepskin coat. These are the British infantry guys that I had growing up, so that maybe that's also why I like them.

Matchbox British Infantry - Part II

The standing Bren gunner is also pretty cool and the flamethrower is a rare heavy weapon among British infantry figures. The crawling guy apparently came in two slight variations, with and without a fixed bayonet, but I never really noticed the difference. Rounding up the set are the charging man and the firing rifleman who are also good solid poses.

Airfix British Infantry

One of my favorite sets due to the level of action that they convey. Except for the guy who is standing firing, these poses are very dynamic. Take the men firing the Bren gun and the Sten gun from the waist, or the officer really leaning in while firing his side arm, probably trying to dodge some bullets flying at him. The grenade thrower is also quite good. I also like that the mortar man does not need a second guy to operate it, as that allowed the sculptor to give us an additional pose. All in all, a very nice set which is why it remains one of the classic ones for British infantry.

Airfix British Infantry Support Group - Part I

Airfix gave us 10 poses of heavy weapons guys to complement the first set of regular infantry. They are good, but I find the sculpting a bit thicker and less dynamic compared to their earlier peers. In this first picture we see an officer, and observer, a bazooka man, and a Vickers machine gunner. One thing I like about a few of the poses in this set is that you can combine them in many ways. For instance, the observer or the officer could be place next to any of the other guys operating a heavy weapon. Speaking of weapons, the set also comes with all sorts of accessories, including mortars, the Vickers guns, shovels, pick axes, jerry cans, etc.

Airfix British Infantry Support Group - Part II

Here are the other 6 guys. The radio man on the left looks very similar to the one that comes with the paratroopers, but if you pay close attention there are a few subtle differences in the radio, the antenna, and the beret for example. The right-most guy could be used next to a mortar or as a ammo loader for a field gun. The prone guy is supposed to be feeding ammo to the Vickers MG above. The second guy from the left is truly a support group guy, who can place his hand on the shoulder of one of his mates. The last two poses are a bit underwhelming. A guy carrying an ammo case with PIAT shells (but there's no PIAT man!), and a guy standing around just watching the action. A missed opportunity in my opinion as one of those could easily have been made into a PIAT man.

Atlantic British Infantry - Part I

Atlantic gets points for their range of figures, but frankly, these are not the best sculpted figures around. They are all standing too upright and their arms and legs are in odd positions. Most Atlantic sets have 10 figures, but we got 11 poses in this set. These first 4 are some of the basic ones in any squad.

Atlantic British Infantry - Part II

I have very mixed feelings about these guys. The man carrying his mate is a very good pose. Similar to a Marx 'Battleground' GI. But the other two really miss the mark. The one on the right seems to be picking an apple from a tree, when in reality he is supposed to be throwing a grenade - if you can believe that. The one on the left seems to be waving at his friends... not a battlefield pose. BTW, about the man carrying the wounded guy, if you count these two as a single pose, then this set has the usual 10 poses as other Atlantic sets.

Atlantic British Infantry - Part III

Again, a mixed lot. The commander is actually pretty good. Maybe the best pose in the set. The other two prone guys miss the mark. The one on the left seems to be doing push ups, and the other one comes with a detached Bren gun which you would actually expect him to be holding with both hands.

BMC British Infantry - Part I

These guys look more like British 8th Army Infantry, but I think that they can pass as regular British infantry. The set contains 8 poses. Their sculpting is not the best, although this set may be slightly better than that of the other BMC sets. The kneeling man is probably the best guy from the set. The guy next to him with the Bren gun could have been better but there's something very odd about how far forward the the butt stock sits relative to his right arm.

BMC British Infantry - Part II

These other 6 poses are a notch below the first 2. The prone man could be OK if they had just given him a rifle that is the right size. The running guy on the right is also carrying an undersized gun. The other 2 running poses have properly sized weapons, although the shovel that one of them is carrying looks more like a big spoon and the guy with the pick axe, why does he have such a skinny right leg? Then we have the guy in the middle who is standing with his arms wide open as if he is trying to herd cats, or calm someone down. Not the most useful battle pose. The bag piper is probably the best pose out of these 6, but I would rather have combat poses.

Marx British Infantry

A classic set, although on the smaller side with only 6 poses. These guys are a bit slim and stylized for my taste. What do I mean by stylized? For instance, take a look at the grenade thrower. He looks more as if he were posing for a picture (please ignore the fact that he actually is!). But the firing rifleman, the radio man for instance are really solid guys. Another small thing to criticize is that they are also fairly light on equipment. But otherwise a decent set of action poses.

Steve Weston British Infantry

This is this firm's first WWII set. Overall a decently sculpted set with useful poses for combat scenes. I like how the figures are standing with their weight shifted off-center as the poses look more realistic that way. They also come with a good amount of equipment on them, which shows that they pay attention to detail. Note that some of the men are wearing the Brodie style helmet while others are wearing the Turtle helmet (first used in combat on D-Day). The main thing to criticize is how wide the turtle helmets are. They remind me of the helmets worn by some of the Empire troops in Star Wars. Another slight criticism is that two of the poses -the guys walking with the subMG held at the waist- are very similar. With only 6 poses in the set, they could have easily come up with some other useful pose.

Britains Herald British Infantry - Part I

Based on the weapons they are carrying these guys seem to be post-WWII figures, but their poses are nice enough that I couldn't resist drafting them into my WWII Army. The poses are nicely detailed and with lots of fluid movement as you can see in the grenade thrower and the charging man for example.

Britains Herald British Infantry - Part II

The officer and the charging man are also very dynamic and the casualty guy is quite dramatic. I am not a big fan of casualty figures, but this one is well done and given the number of poses in the set, I suppose they could afford to dedicate one to this subject. The radio man and the man firing while kneeling are also pretty solid.

Britains Herald British Infantry - Part III

Here are a couple more poses that I got later. A mine sweeper and a marching guy. The marching guy looks slightly different so I am not sure if it was part of the same set. Britain's Herald figures were produced from the 1950's to the 1980's, some of the later ones made in Hong Kong. You can tell some of the newer ones from the base which is not part of the figure but attached to it.

Britains Herald British Infantry - Part IV

This guy is more like a 50mm figure than 1/32. From what I understand he was designed and manufactured as a test product -and just this single pose- when Britains was evaluating getting into the plastic market. In case of a failed experiment, they were going to be sold to the tourist market, hence the ceremonial stance.

Britains Deetail British Infantry

These are vintage figures from the 70's and 80's. A nice set all around. All small arms are represented. It's nice how they all have bits of cammo attached to their helmets.

First Gear British Infantry

These are recasts of the original Britains Deetail figures produced in the last few years. I find the color scheme better than the original, but I don't like how they paint the eyes that much. Note also that the bases have rounded corners, not that it makes a big difference.

Britains Deetail British Mortar Set

A really nice heavy mortar team. The mortar can actually fire shells enabled by a spring mechanism inside the tube. There is a small lever in the back of the mortar which can be pulled and released to eject the shells. A pretty fun set.

Britains Deetail British Assault Boat

An officer and a Bren gunner on a raft. A tricky set to find a realistic setting for, but like the saying goes, 'that's a good problem to have' when it comes to the coolness factor of this set.

Britains Deetail British Land Rover

This is a nice little set from Britains Deetail. The Rover comes with a driver and a Bren gunner in the back. I would have rather had it in a tan color scheme to use it for some long range patrols in the desert, but hey, we can still send this guy to scout the French countryside.

Britains Deetail British Land Rover - other side

From this angle you can see the Bren gunner better. Notice how his knee is resting on a little ledge behind the cabin so that he can lean forward and rest the gun on the top of the vehicle while he fires away. I find that a nice touch of realism.

Crescent British Infantry

Based on the weapons, these guys seem to be modern British Infantry. They are a bit on the smaller side of the scale, but I think that once they are painted they will fight just fin. I particularly like the two guys on the right. Their forward lean makes them good action poses.

Crescent 60mm British Infantry - Part I

Crescent also produced 60mm British Infantry figures. Naturally they look a bit large next to the rest of the guys, but if you spread them out, they could just be a big guy among the rest of the normal size crowd.

Crescent 60 mm British Infantry - Part II

The officer. A nice action pose. Running into the heat of battle.

Britains Swoppets British Infantry

I only have a handful of these guys, but this sample is quite nice. The mortar team is very well put together. Unfortunately the man dropping the shell into the tube is missing the shell, but if you assume that he just dropped it, then it works just fine. The stretcher guys unfortunately are also missing the stretcher, so I had to place the wounded man on the ground. I guess that's the downside of the swoppet approach. Those detachable pieces go missing. Note that the wounded guy comes with a blanket, which gives it an additional nice touch.

Britains Swoppets British Infantry - Part II

A couple more guys. The marching guy is nothing out of the ordinary. The other guy is showing quite a bit more action. Definitely more into the heat of the moment.

Britains Swoppets British Infantry - Part III

This guy came to me already in a pretty beaten up shape. Looks like the previous owner wanted some casualties in his army and even painted some blood stains on this poor fellow. I wish they had kept him in his original shape...

Britains Swoppets British Infantry - Part IV

This guy seems to have the same lower body as the previous guy. although he seems to have lost his base, but that's OK. He does not really need it. The upper body is very much to my liking and his weapon is in great shape. I think he is one of my favorite swoppet figures across all swoppet manufacturers.

Timpo Swoppets British Infantry - Part I

Here are a couple of the figures in the regular British infantry set. They seem more dynamic and better posed than their German or US counterparts. I particularly like the man charging with the bayonet. The officer is also nicely done, including his revolver. Hopefully I can get my hands on the rest of the set at some point.

Timpo Swoppets British Infantry - Part II

Here is another guy from the Timpo Swoppets set. The top combines nicely with the legs giving it a very dynamic stance. He is holding a revolver on one hand and a grenade on the other. Note also that the base if a different color than the two in the previous picture.

Timpo Swoppets British Infantry with raft

Here is a rather nice and interesting set from Timpo. It is a set of British Infantry advancing on a raft. Sometimes such rafts feel quite a bit undersized, but in this case, both the figures and the raft are well proportioned. Two of the poses seem to be repeated, and I don't know if that was the case with the original set, but I am still quite happy having found it in this good condition.

Hilco British (or US?) Infantry - Part I

These are only three poses from the set. I've seen another 4 or 5 guys. I am not sure how many there are in all. The figures are a bit on the slim side, and the sculpting is OK, but not extraordinary. Even so, they seem to be a bit hard to get. And for some reason, that piece behind them with the tree stumps seems to be something special as I saw it go for 20+ dollars on eBay. Also, The shape of the helmets makes me doubt whether they are really British Infantry.

Hilco British (or US?) Infantry - Part II

Here are a few more Hilco guys that I recently found. As you can see they are mostly recasts of Britains Herald (grenade thrower, officer), Timpo (minesweeper, radio man), and Crescent (flamethrower) figures. The one sure thing that confirms that they are Hilco figures is that the base is stamped as such. About the country that they represent, I am now wondering if they actually come from two different sets: American and British.

Hilco British (or US?) Infantry - Part III

Another guys based on the Timpo figures. Note how the plastic that this guy is made of also shows those unusual color variations.

Hilco British Infantry - Part IV

And here is one more guy. This one also seems to be a copy of the Herald British Infantry. The plastic and original paint scheme are different from the figures in the previous pictures, so there must have been several releases of these figures.

Hilco British Infantry - Part V

And they keep coming in one at a time. From a large lot of mixed figures... Although similar to the Timpo guy, I know it is Hilco due to the stamp on the bottom of the base, and also due to the strange and unique plastic that many of them are cast in. The other sign that this is a Hilco guy is the fact that the base is split into two sections, just as it is for the kneeling radio man. A good heavy weapon to add to the team.

UNA British Infantry

This is a figure from new company that I just discovered. I purchased a lot of mixed soldiers and this one came with it. At first glance it looks like a Lone Star kind of guy, but the bottom part of the base is marked 'UNA' and a few google searches revealed that is an actual toy soldier company. His uniform and Vickers MG lead me to believe that he is a British guy, but I have not confirmed it or found any other UNA Tommies yet. Based on the helmet he might also be a GI as UNA did make a GI set.

Brenbros British Infantry

These are reproductions of the Herald British Infantry. Not much special about them, since they don't even come factory painted as the Herald guys did.

Blue Box Elite Command British Infantry

This is a set of 4 metal figures representing General Bernard Montgomery and some of his infantrymen. Compared to other metal figures, like King and Country and so on, they are not as nice. In fact, I bought them thinking that they were plastic figures as that is the focus of my collection. As far as the resemblance with Monty, I think it requires a bit of imagination to get there.

Cherilea Modern British Infantry

I really like the level of action and intensity depicted by these guys. And by that, I don't just mean that they have for instance, a guy who is charging, because some other manufacturers also have such a pose, but still, the movements of those other figures are sometimes not as fluid. They really captured well all the subtle angles of the joints and leaning of the body to give them a very genuine look. There is at least one more guy in the set, as I've seen a picture with 4 poses (a grenade thrower is missing).

Plastic Platoon British Infantry

This set is meant to represent the British defenders of Crete who fought against the German Paras. Again, characteristically well made by Plastic Platoon, with lots of action and intensity. You can tell that these guys were involved in close quarters fighting. Worth highlighting is who I think might the Sarge, holding a pistol on one hand, and brass knuckles on the other. A feisty bunch to come up against, although as we know, they were eventually subdued, although at no small cost, which is one of the reasons why German Fallschirmjaeger were no longer used in drops after that.

Expeditionary Force British Assault Section - Pacific War

This is the first of what will be 5 sets of British Infantry for the Pacific War. They are mostly wearing MKIII helmets, aka 'turtle helmets' -although one of them is also wearing a beret- and are equipped with a variety of weapons, including their beloved Bren gun, a Sten gun and a couple of Thompson submachineguns. All the figures also come with a standard backpack. Being an assault section, they are all on the move or firing, and as an acknowledgement to the tropical weather, they have all rolled up their sleeves. In fact I am a bit surprised that none of them are wearing short pants, but maybe it was better this way to fend of the mosquitos.

Expeditionary Force British Defense Section - Pacific War

These guys represent a defense section, and therefore, their poses are better suited for a static position, with a nice mix of kneeling and standing men. You even get a grenade thrower. They are equipped with MkII 'Brodie' Helmets with netting added to them, which smooths their shape a bit. As with the previous set, you also get a man with a beret, and another one with an officer cap. The standout figure of the lot is the kneeling Bren gunner firing behind the tree stump. One thing to be aware of with this set is that they all come with backpacks as well, except for the officer. This means however that you want to make sure that you glue the officer's head on the body without the hole in the back. Just in case you were contemplating gluing the officer's head on a different pose. I suppose you could always fill the hole in the back with putty if you really wanted to mix and match the heads and bodies.

Expeditionary Force British Machine Gun Section - Pacific War

This is the third set of British Infantry for the Pacific Theater of Operations. They are wearing the Bridie style helmet, but as opposed to the Defense Section, they are doing so without the netting, which gives these helmets a flatter appearance. The set consists to 2 MG teams firing a water cooled Vickers heavy Machine Gun. Each team consists of a gunner, an ammo loader and a third man directing fire. Additionally, there are three support troops. As is the case with all Expeditionary Force sets, you can swap bodies and arms, so if you wanted to, every man on the MG teams could be kneeling, and all the support troops can be made to stand. I chose to mix it up a bit.

Expeditionary Force British HQ Section - Pacific War - Part I

These British HQ guys came with berets as headgear. I am thinking that this allows them to be painted as commandos or even Paras. In terms of their weaponry, this set also came with a heavy MG, which I assume was meant as an alternative for the PIAT pose, but I decided to give it to one of the standing guys. This means that I will need to find some wall or something else to lean him against, but I really like how it turned out. Note also that I have him a head without any cover and I glued a helmet at his base. He must have lost it in the heat of the moment!

Expeditionary Force British HQ Section - Pacific War - Part II

The rest of the HQ section, with the 3 standard poses (mortar, radio, and piat) and a couple of supporting guys. Note that here I have turned one of the kneeling guys into the NCO which is directing the movement of the guys behind him. In the case of the Australians, I glued those arms to a standing figure.

Expeditionary Force British Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

The British mortar crews come with two options for headgear. You can give them turtle helmets as I did for this first crew, or berets as you will see below - and with the NCO coordinating fire in this picture. Again, I have tried to mix up the loaders and ammo handlers so that there's some variety on who is standing vs crouching and which side of the mortar they are standing on.

Expeditionary Force British Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

Here I have made the loader kneel, and instead of dropping the shell into the mortar he is performing some adjustments before firing the shell. This crew also got the officer to direct the operation.

Expeditionary Force British Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

This last crew got issued berets, which means that I could use them as a crew for Paras, who don't have a lot of heavy weapons options. I also assigned them the radio man, who happens to be a bit distracted and reaching for his rifle, perhaps because he saw something threatening on his flank?

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

This set is a bit different because while they are part of the Pacific series, the fact that they are Scottish troops opens up the possibility of using them as B8A guys in North Africa or the ETO. Which is a good option given the few heavy weapons available from other vendors for that service branch.

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

It is quite nice how just the bonnet makes these guys look significantly different from the other mortar crews in the series. BTW, one small mistake I made was to place the container for the PIAT's rounds next to the mortar, thinking that it was meant to contain mortar shells.

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

In this set I decided to give turn the NCO into more of a fighting figure. Not only did he get a Sten gun which he is using to cover his men, but he also got a highlander's cap instead of the bonnet, which by the way, includes some pretty cool ribbons hanging from the back. Just a little extra touch to make him stand out.

Mars British Commonwealth Troops

Speira Miniatures British Support Troops - Part I

A good set to have to enhance the Airfix British Support Troops, or to use instead of them if you don't like to mix scales, as I got these in Big 1/32. I particularly like the flamethrower guy with its round fuel tank. I don't know if I have seen this pose before among British troops. An interesting detail about the MG figures is that one you add the base to the ammo handler, his hands no longer line up with the ammo belt (not visible in the picture). And if you place the ammo box on top of the base, then the ammo belt no longer lines up with the MG. I suppose one way to fix this is to add a base to the MG figure.

Speira Miniatures British Support Troops - Part II

The rest of the set includes a mortar team with a spotter as well as a prone sniper. In terms of the detail, I like that some of the helmets have webbing and some don't, but I still feel that the uniforms are very 'clean'. They have a few folds, but they still appear too smooth for my taste. One more thing to note about 3D printed figures is that sometimes they design the weapons to be a bit thicker to account for the brittleness of the resin used for printing. You can see that here with the mortar. That would be a heavy one to carry! These figures were also designed by Kozak Miniatures.

Kozak Miniatures British Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central

These are the same five poses as the British Paras and British 8A gun crews, now dressed in full British infantry uniform. It would be nice to have more variety in the poses across sets, but I guess they will never be displayed side by side. Most of the kneeling guys are quite stable without a base, except for the man with the binoculars. I had a tricky time stabilizing him. Then I realized that he has some excess resin on the sole of his front foot. I removed some of it and that helped. I will probably sand off the rest to make it even and that will stabilize him for good.

Kozak Miniatures British Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central

This is a second artillery crew for the British guys. I labeled them heavy artillery because they are holding larger ammo shells. Maybe for a 17 pounder gun? It comes with seven poses, of which five are new compared to the other gun crew set. The loader and the ammo handler are the two repeated poses. the only minor difference is the size of the shell they are holding. This time the operator, the observer(s) and the man covering his ears are all standing. There is an additional guy sitting on the gun carriage or the wheel. I don't think I will have much use for him as that would be a very odd thing to do while the gun is being fired. In terms of the observers, I would have preferred to get a different pose instead of having two that are almost identical. The main difference is the head gear. I suppose they could be used as the officer and his second in command who are discussing what to do based on their observations. But most likely I will set up the crew using one or the other. The other guy can be assigned to a mortar or MG team!

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Introducing the US Paratroops

2026-02-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

Latest Update: Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3

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The United States raised 5 airborne divisions during WWII. The two most famous ones are the 82nd and the 101st -a.k.a. 'The Screaming Eagles'. Three lesser known airborne divisions were the 11th, 13th and 17th. The 82nd and the 101st were both activated in August of '42, and by July of '43 they conducted the first combat drop in the history of the US, parachuting one regiment into Sicily. A couple months later, they participated in the Salerno campaign, although they were brought ashore by landing craft. By January of '44 one of its regiments was detached to help with the fighting at Anzio. By the the time Operation Overlord came by, the 82nd, the only US airborne division to have seen combat, was joined by the 101st and the 6th British Airborne Division for what was up to that point the largest airborne operation in history, involving both glider and parachute landings. The 82nd remained in combat for 33 days, suffering over 5000 casualties of all kinds during that time. After a couple months of rest and refit, the 82nd and the 101st next saw action as part of Operation Market Garden, which was even larger than the Normandy landings in scale and complexity. The 82nd fought around Nijmegen and the 101st around Eindhoven. The 82nd had a challenging time capturing the bridge at Nijmegen and distinguished itself performing a battalion-size river crossing under fire using canvas boats. The 101st was also unable to capture a couple of bridges before they were demolished. All this caused serious delays for the ground troops moving up what came to be known as 'Hell's Highway', eventually leading up to the destruction or capture of most of the 1st British Airborne Division at Arnhem. It should be pointed out that this had a lot more to do with inadequate and far too optimistic planning and less with the paratroopers' execution. In the meantime, the 11th Division, which had been activated in February of '43, was now ready for its baptism of fire, which began in the Philippines in the form of a ground attack on Leyte in November of '44. Then suddenly, while the 101st and the 82nd were recovering from Market Garden, the Germans broke through the Ardennes and both divisions along with the 17th which had been activated in April of '43 and had not yet seen combat, were thrown into the fray. The 101st's fame increased during this time, when they defended a surrounded town of Bastogne against far superior forces for 6 weeks, and when the Germans asked for their surrender their reply was 'NUTS!', and even after Patton's troops broke the encirclement, they never acknowledged that they needed rescuing. The 17th Division fought in the Battle of the Bulge for about a month, and in just a 3 day period suffered close to 1000 casualties trying to hold 'Dead Man's Ridge' northwest of Bastogne. The 82nd and the 101st saw no further significant action. Both divisions lost approximately 2000 killed and 6500 wounded during the course of the war. The 11th took part in a couple more operations in the Philippines in January and February of '45: a regiment-size action, landing from the sea at Luzon, and a company-size drop with a battalion providing ground support to liberate a POW camp at Los Baños. The 17th Division saw its last action as part of Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine in March of '45, arguably an operation that could have been carried out without airborne troops and which cost them an additional 1346 casualties in 6 days of fighting. Lastly, the 13th Division, which was raised in august of '43 never got to see combat. Lack of supplies and transport, or the fast pace of the ground troops, often sidelined it or canceled the operations in which it was supposed to participate. As far as toy soldiers go, for many years there was only one set of figures available, but in recent years the situation has improved. Let's see what we have now.

Airfix US Paratroops - Part 1

Usually I have nothing but good things to say about the Airfix figures, however with the US paratroopers I do have mixed feelings. It's great that they produced 13 poses -almost twice as for most other WWII sets, and for the most part, the figures are OK.

Airfix US Paratroops - Part 2

There are however a couple of things that could have been better. One is the scale. These guys are really closer to 1/35. The other is the posing of some of the figures which in some cases feels a bit unnatural.

Airfix US Paratroops - Part 3

Maybe it's just that I've come to expect a certain standard from Airfix, but for instance, the guy on the far right, throwing the grenade really looks strange to me. But don't get me wrong, for a good 30 years, these were the only US paratroopers around and I am quite glad they made them.

Conte Collectibles US Paratroops

Conte released their US paratroopers as part of their D-Day set that represented the Normandy drop and the fighting at Sainte-Mère-Église. As was the case with all his other figures, he gave us quite a treat. I like these guys even more than the Red Devils. We have a total of 16 figures, all in nice action poses. A couple of the guys have detachable arms which made their manufacturing possible without that awkward plastic filler that earlier methods would leave between the arms and the body. Since I bought them as part of the playset when I took these pictures I did not pay attention to the sets that they actually belonged to. Maybe when I have some time I will retake the pictures, but for now I will try to point them out in the pictures:

Conte Collectibles US Paratroops - Part I

From L to R they belong to set: 1-1-2-1-2

In this first pic we see 3 guys from Set 1 (wounded, firing SubMG from waist, and firing from standing position) and 2 men from Set 2 (officer and kneeling man). Out of these batch, my favorites are the guy firing sub MG from waist, and the kneeling man. The officer is good, but I think that he came out of the mold bending forward more than intended. Probably a manufacturing issue. About the wounded guy, I think you know my thoughts on them. He is OK, and considering that we have 16 poses, it's acceptable to burn a pose on him.

Set 1-3, Set 2-2

Conte Collectibles US Paratroops - Part II

From L to R they belong to set: 2-2-1-1-1

Here we see 3 guys from Set 1 on the left and 2 from Set 2 on the right. It's nice how some men are moving forward while others can lay down suppressing fire. Speaking of manufacturing issues, the material used for these guys was a bit different than before and some of the men had a hard time standing up. They required some straightening up with hot/cold water and even then a few still lean sideways. Also note the back of the second guy from the left. He seems bent backwards a bit unnaturally.

Set 1-6, Set 2-4

Conte Collectibles US Paratroops - Part III

From L to R they belong to set: 1-2-2-1-2

This pic shows 2 men from Set 1 (leftmost and BAR guy) and 3 from Set 2 (the two running guys and bazooka). Most bazooka guys depicted in the past had been kneeling, so it was nice to see these US paras come out with a standing one. The guy running with his sub MG at the ready is one of my favorite poses in the set. I like to have a few more running/charging poses as it allows to use these guys in more offensive scenarios. And I suppose that you could also use them running in the opposite way!

Set 1-8, Set 2-7

Set 1 Complete.

Conte Collectibles US Paratroops - Part IV

Lastly, there is one more pose belonging to Set 2. A dead casualty figure. Because of his backpack he can't lie flat on his back, so it was good to find a step to set his head and hands on for the picture.

Set 1-8, Set 2-8

Both Sets Complete!

ESCI 1/35 US Paratroops

These are some hard to find guys. I actually had to order them from a hobby shop in Greece. For being 1/35 they are actually really close in size to the 1/32 guys. The poses are a bit too straight in my opinion, but the level of detail is nice. The commander reminds me of the one in the Airfix set.

Forces of Valor US 82nd Airborne Division - Part 1

Forces of Valor released these over the past few years in two or three different series, each with 4 or 5 guys, with some poses being repeated across sets. Similar to their other figures, their hands and facial features are a bit thick.

Forces of Valor US 82nd Airborne Division - Part 2

If I remember correctly, the guy on the right was the guard who came in a set with the three German prisoners. That would explain why his uniform and sculpting look a bit different. The other thing about the FOV figures, is that they come with these detachable bases, which are a bit tricky to keep on them, particularly when you store them.

Marx US Paratroops

These are some old production US paras. They might be among the first ever made to represent this service branch. Unfortunately I do not have the canopies that came with them originally. They were hollow semi-spheres made out of hard plastic. I'd say the fully extended parachute would be more appropriate for the man on the right who is still floating down, than for the one on the left who already landed and you'd expect his parachute to be mostly crumpled up. Anyhow, It's probably not too hard to make some cloth parachutes for them and they would probably look more realistic. A couple of good guys to add to the unit in case you want to represent a drop/landing scene.

Unknown US Paratrooper - Part I

This guy came in a large batch of mixed figures. The detail and quality are not the best, but he gets points for being so unusual that I can't figure out who made it. The sculpting style reminds me of the FOV figures. Not the ones that come with the vehicles, but the 4 or 5 figure sets. The hands and upper body are large and the waist and lower body seem a bit smaller, but I already checked and he is not a clone of those. If you happen to know, please leave a comment!

Unknown US Paratroopers - Part II

I found a few more of his buddies. They are clearly not WWII figures as their weapons are more modern. But I think that painted the right way, they might still pass as WWI guys. The medical kit on the helmet will tie them together with the WWII style figures. And I still don't know who makes them...

Mars US Paratroops - Set 1

WW23D US Paratroops

The uniforms on these guys are probably the most detailed across all the sets I got from this vendor. They did a good job with all the pockets, the equipment straps, the bandages on the helmets, etc. The only detail missing is that on the faces, but that is true for all their sets. They will go quite well with the Airfix guys. My only wish is that they hadn't made the two poses on the left so similar to each other. With only six figures in the set, it would be good to try something different.

Plastic Platoon US Paratroopers 82nd Division, Operation Overlord

Plastic Platoon US Paratroopers 101st Division, Operation Overlord

Plastic Platoon US Paratroopers Heavy Weapons 101st Division, Operation Overlord

Mars US Paratroops - Set 2

Here we have some reinforcements for Mars' prior set of US paras. A good set of fighting poses. Something interesting about this guys is that several of them have their first aid kit on the side of their helmets. I am used to seeing them on the front. In terms of the poses, the most interesting guy is the one who is lying on the ground shooting at something likely coming at him after he fell backwards. I know... I am imagining a whole scene here. Another interesting guy is the one with the flamethrower. Other than the Lone Star British para (thanks RoberTB for pointing him out!) I don't recall seeing any other paras equipped with one. I even wonder if it's possible to safely jump off a plane with one. Or maybe he just found it on the ground. The mortar team is also nice as is the guy firing the 30 cal mg off the hip. One thing that was not so great about this set is that the bottom of the bases is a bit warped and has extra bits of plastic that have to be cut off or sanded off to get them to stand straight and without wobbling. It's doable, but it can take an extra 30-60 mins to do so.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops TS Central - Part I

A nice set of 14 US paras to expand my ranks even if 5 of them seem to be repeated from the WW23D set. The scale is pretty much spot on 1/32 so they will complement the previous set and the Airfix guys quite well. In addition to the figures, you also get a couple of steel obstacles (Czech Hedgehogs) and a sandbag position to protect your guys. The detail on the poses is crisp and the uniforms have a good amount of gear. My only wish is that the poses were a bit more dynamic. I still feel that most of the poses are too 'vertical' even though they are firing, allegedly under enemy fire, but they are either standing or walking. I suspect that this is a design choice because the figures are not guaranteed to be printed with a base, so this makes it easier to get them to stand, but I would prefer if they were to impose a base on their figures if that allowed them to be more fluid in their movements. Of the seven guys in this first picture, the kneeling guy is my favorite, precisely because he is not standing. The prone guy is second.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops TS Central - Part II

These guys are a bit better. Most of them are marching and their stance seems adequate for it. The guy on the far left who is about to throw a grenade is the exception. He seems too relaxed to be holding something about to blow up in his hand. But at least we have one guy running in this batch. That's progress. As far as the material in which they are printed, I found it pretty good. Better than some of the other more brittle resins. Speaking of breaking, an unfortunate thing that happened is that the sandbags appear to have been broken and glued back together. That left a white line of glue residue. Of course, that is something to do with the vendor and not Kozak and once I paint them it won't be noticeable.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part I

When I saw that there was a second set of Kozak US Paras for sale, I assumed that many of the poses would be duplicates from Set 1, as both sets contain 14 poses. After careful examination I realized that all the figures in set 2 are new poses, so I went ahead and got them. As you can tell in this first pic, this set has a few more men in more dynamic poses. In fact, perhaps my two favorite poses in the set are the second and third guys from the right. They remind me of a scene in Band of Brothers in which Lt Speirs runs through the German-occupied town of Foy in the midst of a battle to relay an order to one of Easy company's platoons - and then runs back! The two other guys firing on the go are also good additions.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part II

Here we have a few less dynamic poses. The two men on the left are almost identical, except for their sub machinegun. I placed them next to each other so that you can compare them. And then you also have the most officer-looking figure, assessing the situation through his binoculars. This set comes with two small sandbag walls. If you already have other sandbag walls, like the ones that came with the FOV figures, or some 21C toys sets, let's just say that these sandbags are not the reason to buy this set.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part III

Here we have 5 other poses in various firing poses. Most interesting to me are the bazooka man, and the machine gunner, although I am having a hard time determining what exact model of MG that is. As far as I know, the only belt-fed MG that the US Paras used was the M1919 Browning MG, but the barrel is lacking the cooling perforations. Perhaps that was a simplification required in order to make them via 3D printing? Another interesting bit about this picture is that for some reason, the second guy from the right is about a head taller than the guy next to him. In the end I actually prefer this as it represents better what happens in real life. In terms of dynamism, the guy on the far right takes the prize. He just needs a log or a small wall to scoot around to fire.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part I

This is to date the best set from Kozak Miniatures/Toy Soldier Central. Not just the best set of US Paras -the third one so far- but across all their WW2 sets. They finally gave us poses that are a lot more dynamic and not just standing/walking/kneeling. I really like how the men now show wider stances, more bending of the knees, rotation at the waist and arm movement. All that makes a big difference. Besides the poses, the detail is good, the proportions are good. The weapons for example are slightly thick, which should further prevent breakage (beyond the fact that they are made out of that nice flexible resin). The set contains 17 men, although a couple of poses are just small variations of others. For example, the two men on the left with the mohawk hair cut. The only difference is the weapon they are firing. The one on the far left seems to be holding a Thompson Sub MG and the other one a Garand Rifle. Out of this first batch, the four on the right are certainly my favorites.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part II

These next five are also good action poses. The two on the right definitely convey a sense of urgency, as one man is dragging the other wounded guy to safety. One thing to note about these two is that when you order them, you can choose to get them with a base. If you do that, the man doing the dragging will be a bit taller than when it was originally sculpted, which means that his hand now does not line up as well with the backpack strap of the man he is trying to help. I think this could be solved if the man being dragged also had a narrow base to even out the height. The man jumping over the wall is definitely a cool piece. It takes a little playing around to get him to find his balance, but it is a fun guy to have in the unit. The last two guys are again just a small variation of each other. This time it is just the head gear that sets them apart.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part III

The remaining figures are all dead or wounded guys. I prefer the two who just got hit as they are a bit more versatile when setting up scenes since they are still 'in action'. My favorite guy here is the one in the middle. He reminds me a lot of one of the Conte British Paratroopers. If that's meant to be the case, excellent choice drawing inspiration from them! The guy who is supposed to be hanging from a tree or a building is OK, but he presents a challenge in terms of how to display him realistically. So for now, I just propped him upright against the wall. Lastly, the guys on the ground are OK. I prefer the one who has his mouth closed. The other two appear to be screaming, even though their body language suggests they are dead. But I know I am nitpicking a bit. Overall, this is a great set. Seventeen nice action poses for 35 bucks. What's not to like about that!

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British Artillery

2026-01-30T09:06:00.000-05:00

Latest edit: Added Kozak Artillery crews at the bottom of the post.
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Crescent 25 pounder Field Gun

Also known as Ordnance QF 25 pounder, this was a 87.6mm caliber gun. Introduced shortly before the war, it was the main howitzer in the British Army during the War and many years thereafter. Its maximum range was 13,400 yards with a HE shell of 25 pounds (hence the name). This is another nice model by Crescent. The rivets on the gun shield make it look very real. Like the 5.5 gun, it also has a lever that allows it to shoot rounds.

Crescent 25 pounder Field Gun - from above

This picture shows the circular platform that these guns used to have which enabled them to be rotated to point in the right direction more easily. When the gun was deployed, the platform would be placed underneath the wheels of the gun. Unfortunately, most of the models that you find today are missing this part, as it is relatively easy to detach it.

Crescent 5.5 inch Medium Gun

The 5.5 inch (or 140mm) gun went into service in 1941 and first saw action in North Africa. It was operated by a crew of 10. Its firing range was between 16,000 to 18,000 yards. Each shell weighed 100lbs. The firing angle went from -5 to 45 degrees. This model by Crescent has a wheel on the side that can be loosened/tightened to adjust the firing angle. It also comes with a lever on top that controls a spring and it allows it to shoot actual rounds. Unfortunately none came with the gun, so I will need to improvise some ammo.

Lone Star Anti Tank Gun

This is an under-scale gun by Lone Star. Rather than 1/32 it seems to be 1/40 or 1/43. Based on its size it can probably be used as a 6 pounder or even the 2 pounder anti-tank guns. Like the Crescent guns, it also comes with a lever-controlled spring that allows you to shoot rounds with it.

Lone Star Anti Tank Gun - Desert Version

This is the same gun as the previous one. I don't know if Lone Star released it in this color scheme, or if a prior owner spray painted it this color. In any case, I just got three of them in this style and they provide much needed artillery support for the B8A guys.

Lone Star 25 Pounder - Front

Here is another under-scale model by Lone Star. Given their 1/32 figure range, I just wish they had manufactured these sets to match those figures. BTW, this one also lets you shoot with it.

Lone Star 25 Pounder - Back

Here you get a good idea of the size of the gun relative to some actual 54mm figures. I guess it could be used to represent a smaller caliber gun. But definitely, if you are undecided between the Crescent 25 pounder and this one, the Crescent one is head and shoulders a much better choice.

Crescent 18 Pounder

As you might suspect, perhaps from the wooden wheels, this is a WWI gun. At the beginning of WWII some British units were still equipped with them. Anecdotally, I have also heard -although I have not verified- that they were also used at the outset of the war by the Soviet Army, hence I staffed the gun with a Soviet crew for this picture. This model comes in metal and as other Crescent guns, has a spring-based firing mechanism. The only thing to criticize is that it is a bit undersized. This particular model is well used, so the gun barrel drops below horizontal, which is why I had to place a small twig to support it.

Britains Deetail L6 'Wombat' 120mm recoilless Antitank gun

The Wombat is actually a weapon developed in the1950's. I suppose this is why it looks so much like a WWII artillery piece. At any rate, since I don't have many other British anti tank guns, I have decided to accept it in my WWII collection. Plus it has a nice, heavy caliber!

Britains Deetail British Heavy Mortar Set

British Paras with 6-Pounder Anti Tank Gun by TS Central

British Paras with 75mm Pack Howitzer by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central

These are the same five poses as the British Para Artillery crews above. They are just dressed in desert uniforms with short sleeves and short trousers. A couple of them are wearing netting on their helmets. In terms of poses you get a loader, an ammo handler, the guy operating/firing the gun, an observer and a guy just trying to preserve his hearing. I labeled them 'light' artillery because they are holding smaller shells as compared to another B8A crew shown a couple of pictures below.

Kozak Miniatures British Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central

Again, these are the same five poses as the British Paras and British 8A gun crews above, now dressed in full British infantry uniform. It would be nice to have more variety in the poses across sets, but I guess they will never be displayed side by side. Most of the kneeling guys are quite stable without a base, except for the man with the binoculars. I had a tricky time stabilizing him. Then I realized that he has some excess resin on the sole of his front foot. I removed some of it and that helped. I will probably sand off the rest to make it even and that will stabilize him for good.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central

This is a second artillery crew for the B8A guys. I labeled them heavy artillery because they are holding larger ammo shells. Maybe for a 17 pounder gun? It comes with seven poses, of which five are new compared to the other gun crew set. The loader and the ammo handler are the two repeated poses. the only minor difference is the size of the shell they are holding. This time the operator, the observer(s) and the man covering his ears are all standing. There is an additional guy sitting on the gun carriage or the wheel. I don't think I will have much use for him as that would be a very odd thing to do while the gun is being fired. In terms of the observers, I would have preferred to get a different pose instead of having two that are almost identical. The main difference is the head gear. I suppose they could be used as the officer and his second in command who are discussing what to do based on their observations. But most likely I will set up the crew using one or the other. The other guy can be assigned to a mortar or MG team!

Kozak Miniatures British Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central

And these are the same seven guys as above, just dressed in regular British infantry uniforms. Since they are all the same poses as the previous picture, I am not going to repeat my observations. One thing to comment though is that I initially meant to photograph these crews with the 6 pounder anti tank gun that I also got from TSC. Unfortunately one of the trails was a bent about half an inch off the ground and when I tried to straighten it for the picture, I broke it. And that's despite the fact that it is printed with a very nice, flexible resin. I think the problem is that I stored my figures in a room in the basement that is not well insulated and with the cold weather the resin got a bit stiff and was not ready to be bent. So a word of caution. The material of these items is the best resin I have seen so far in terms of flexibility but even so, at cold temperatures, it might break if you are not careful about warming it up first.

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Expeditionary Force - Toy Soldiers

2026-01-28T08:15:00.000-05:00

Latest edit, at the bottom: US Marines - Defense, Assault and Machine Gun Sections

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Expeditionary Force is a firm based out of Singapore. They seem to have been making figures through the 2010's. They manufacture figures in a wide range of historic periods, from ancients like Greeks and Persians, to American Civil War and most recently World War II, GIs and Germans. They figures are very well detailed, and their manufacturing method involves making bodies and arms separately, so that you can attach different arms to the same body and create a very different figure. They also manufacture the head gear separately, so for instance, the WWII GIs can be given regular GI helmets, or they can also wear Adrian helmets so that you can make Free French out of them. Similarly, the Germans can wear steel helmets or soft caps. All this does require quite a bit of gluing, but it also allows you to create variations of the figures if you don't want the poses exactly as they present them in their pictures. Their figures are very well detailed and the poses show a nice degree of action. They are meant to be 54mm, but at least the first sets of WW figures, were more along the lines of 60 mm. I know that some folks, like my good friend the Plastic General, have found this problematic. In my case, I find the number of poses released to be sufficient that I don't have to mix them with other figures if I don't want to. For instance, the recent WWII GIs, come in 5 sets, with most poses being unique. Their more recent figures are smaller. The late war Germans are somewhere between 54mm and 60mm and the Japanese fit right in with big 1/32 scale. OK, so let's take a look at them.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Assault Section - Part I

I intentionally placed similar poses next to each other for ease of comparison. Subtle differences in the positioning of the legs and arms, and the weapons they carry. Note how the first and fourth men from the left, are based off the same body, and the arms make all the difference. The helmets also make a big difference from how they look as GIs, particularly the officer who is wearing a kepi in this case.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Assault Section - Part II

Three out of the four bodies are repeats, just with different arms. The new body is the one holding the bar, and smoking a cigar. Again, the arms make a substantial difference. Overall, they have managed to create a good range of figures using this interchangeable system of bodies and arms, without sacrificing much in terms of movement or creating awkward poses.

Expeditionary Force Free French - HQ Company - Part I

This set has the most diverse poses. They call it the HQ Company, but it also has a few heavy weapons. Note how the officer is holding a set of binoculars. You will see that this is a theme that repeats itself quite a bit. Perhaps a bit too much. The bazooka team turned out pretty good. The sniper seems a little too exposed in my opinion.

Expeditionary Force Free French - HQ Company - Part II

Out of these guys, I really like the flame thrower and the radio man. The rest are good role players to fill the ranks. The bar man is a repeat of the earlier set.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Defense Section - Part I

This set has a few more kneeling guys with the same base body. I also put them next to each other for ease of comparison. The arms are some of the ones that we have already seen on the standing figures. The officer is similar to one of the earlier ones, but they have given him a pistol this time.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Defense Section - Part II

And we got a third bar man in this set. I could have used a few more sub MGs and fewer men walking with the rifle across their chest.

Expeditionary Force Free French - MG Section - Part I

A nice set of figures. The arms of the machine gun team attach in such a way that you can only put them in one position, which helps to make everything line up well. Other poses allow you to rotate the arms as much as you want.

Expeditionary Force Free French - MG Section - Part II

These are very similar to the previous ones, except for the officer and the rifleman.

The man standing with the rifle across his chest was supposed to be kneeling. The standing man was supposed to be another officer, but I swapped them so I could have a kneeling officer, as seen in the next picture.

Expeditionary Force Free French - MG Section - Part III

The only thing I don't like about the kneeling officer is that he seems to be pointing his binoculars downwards. So I guess I need to put him on high ground to make it look adequate.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Mortar Section - Part I

These three mortar teams are almost all the same. the only thing that varies is the officer.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Mortar Section - Part II

This one has a kepi and is holding a sub MG.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Mortar Section - Part III

This one is similar to the first one, but I raised the left arm to give it some variety.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Assault Section - Part I

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Assault Section - Part II

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Defense Section - Part I

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Defense Section - Part II

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - HQ Section - Part I

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - HQ Section - Part II

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - MG Section - Part I

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - MG Section - Part II

Then there are also two other officers (NCOs?) wearing helmets and also holding binoculars.

I posed one with the binoculars at eye level.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - MG Section - Part III

The other one I posed with lowered arms. He could be tapping the shoulder of one of the machine gunners or simply signaling to cease fire.

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Mortar Section - Part I

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Mortar Section - Part II

This set also comes with three different officers/NCOs and just as I did with the MG section, I've posed them slightly differently yo create some variety,

Expeditionary Force German Infantry - Mortar Section - Part III

A frontal view of the mortar, as well as the last officer with binoculars at eye level.

Expeditionary Force Late War German Infantry - Part I

These guys are smaller than the first set of Germans, but they are still larger than 'big 1/32' scale.

Expeditionary Force Late War German Infantry - Part II

Expeditionary Force Late War German Infantry - Part III

Expeditionary Force Japanese Infantry - Part I

A nice set from Expeditionary Force in what nowadays is being referred to as Big 1/32 scale. Meaning, more compatible with TSSD than Airfix. As is EF style, their figures are produced as a set of bodies to which you can attach different heads and arms/weapons. Each set comes with 9 figures and 6 base body types. In this post, I have created 18 different figures from 2 sets, but you can certainly create more/different poses. The level of detail is very nice, and the quality of the plastic is also good. Robust so that you don't have a lot of bent tips, but not hard. And it is also easy to glue. In this first picture I have 3 different bodies. Unfortunately, some of the bodies have very similar stances, you have to watch the feet very carefully to tell them apart, which makes me wish they had made them more different so that we could see the variety more easily.

Expeditionary Force Japanese Infantry - Part II

The next body type is a man advancing with his right foot forward. Note that by giving them different weapons they already look quite different. On top of that you can attach a head with or without the flaps hanging on the back of the helmet, and you can also tilt them slightly to give the body language a different expression.

Expeditionary Force Japanese Infantry - Part III

This next base body is stepping forward with the left foot, and leaning forward slightly more than the men in the next picture. And not seen here, there's also some differences in the pouches attached to the back of the belt. One thing to note about the figure with the flag is that the flag does not come attached to the rifle. Therefore, you need to attach the flag to a man who is holding the rifle horizontally. I almost glued it to a man who was carrying the rifle across his chest, but then realized that gravity would make the flag hang differently. Same thing with the tassel on the officer's sword from the first picture. You need to watch how it hangs, or else be ready to cut it off and reattach it at the right angle.

Expeditionary Force Japanese Infantry - Part IV

Another base body stepping forward with the left foot, but these guys also have the back foot pointed forward, more than the men in the previous picture. So as you can see, some of these base bodies are pretty hard to tell apart. It would have been better to make one less base body stepping forward with the left foot, and add a crouching or kneeling pose. But even with so many similar base bodies, the variety of arms and weapons, makes it possible to avoid having two figures turn out exactly the same. You just have to plan things out well before you start gluing them so that you don't end up making a clone by mistake.

Expeditionary Force Japanese Infantry Machine Gun section - Part I

This MG set can be purchased with one or two MGs. You still get 9 figures, which means that if you only ask for 1 MG, then you will get 7 additional infantry men. Since I already had 2 sets of regular infantry, I opted for the two MGs. What's interesting in this set, aside from the obvious nice addition of the MG teams, is that the officer comes with the option of looking through binoculars. You also get a new head type, wearing a bandana around the head with the rising sun design on it, like the one that the kamikaze pilots used to wear. I gave it to one of the MG men who is likely making a final stand at his position. And you also get a couple of ammo boxes to round up the scene.

Expeditionary Force Japanese Infantry Machine Gun section - Part II

What was a pleasant surprise with this set is that it also comes with a couple of extra options for the arms/weapons. Apparently these had been intended for the original set, but ended up being a bit late and got released with this set instead. So with this set you can look forward to being able to assemble a grenade thrower, and also a man firing a submachine gun. As you can see I opted to 'sacrifice' the second MG ammo handler and instead armed him with the submachine gun, which turned out nicely. Lastly, note that in this set, we also got a new body type: the kneeling guy on the background. I chose to arm him with a rifle in the aiming position. All in all a nice add on to the original set.

Expeditionary Force Japanese Infantry Mortar Team

This set forces you to make some interesting choices. You have the option of assembling 3 mortar teams. 2 of the figures -the kneeling ammo handler, and the standing ammo handler- could be assembled in the same position, but that would make the set a bit dull. In order to introduce some variety I assembled one set the intended way. For the second team, I gave the standing ammo handler, the arms of the kneeling ammo handler, which requires him to stand on the opposite side of the mortar, and I also turned the kneeling handler into a sub machine gunner. For the third team, I gave the kneeling handler the arms of the standing handler, and also turned the standing ammo handler into a grenade thrower. On top of that you get a commander, and two other standing figures that you can give a variety of weapons, from the ones included in the set, or from any extras that you might have from the previous sets. You also get a few options of headgear in the set which provide some additional variety. This set also came with a wall section, but I used it for the picture below.

Expeditionary Force Japanese Infantry - Jungle Defense Set

What makes this a jungle set is the helmets and cammo worn by the sniper figure, all covered in leaves. I am pretty sure the sniper is going to look really cool once it is painted. The highlight of this set is the 20mm anti-tank rifle team -note that there's also an ammo handler/loader. This 2-man team can be nicely emplaced behind the wall, which BTW is made of dirt on the outside, and lined with wooden planks on the inside. There is also a light mortar in the set, which offer a good contrast with the heavier mortars in the previous set. The rest of the figures are average poses. You will need to get a bit creative to find ways of making them look sufficiently different, given the similarity in the base bodies -I wasn't too thrilled that all of them are kneeling, but I guess that's why they are a 'defense' set. Once they are mixed together with the figures from the previous sets, this will all be less noticeable.

Expeditionary Force Japanese Naval Infantry - Part I

Expeditionary Force Japanese Naval Infantry - Part II

Expeditionary Force British Assault Section - Pacific War

Expeditionary Force British Defense Section - Pacific War

Expeditionary Force Australian Assault Section - Pacific War

It's nice to see a new set of Australian figures being released. It's been decades since we've had a new set of Australian troops. At first I was a bit skeptical about the extent that different headgear could make them feel really like their own set, and I must say that they do pass the test. In addition to the hats, the set also comes with a couple of machete knives and an ammo bandolier for one of the shooting figures that also make them look more authentic. And I am sure that once they are painted, it will be even better. In terms of the poses, you do have to try to make them a bit different by gluing the arms at slightly different angles, and making the heads face different directions. All in all, very exciting to see a new set of ANZAC troops arrive on the jungle scene!

Expeditionary Force Indian Assault Section - Pacific War

This is another very welcome set, as there haven't been any recent WW2 Indian Army sets. I had similar concerns about the ability to make them look like their own set just by giving them a different head, but once they are assembled, they look just fine. I only have two bits of criticism. The first one is that you only get two different types of heads, and they are very similar to each other. The only difference is that one of them has the mouth slightly open. The end result is that all your men look like clones of each other. The second observation is that the body build of these guys is a bit robust and Indian men tend to be slimmer. But I am totally happy with this trade off. Much better to have these strong Indian guys than none at all. As with the Australians, you have to get a bit creative to pose them in ways that are slightly different from the Commonwealth sets, although that's probably not a big deal anyhow unless you plan to deploy them on a scene side by side.

Expeditionary Force British Machine Gun Section - Pacific War

Expeditionary Force Australian Defense Section - Pacific War

These guys would go well providing support to the MG team, as they all come in poses suitable to be firing behind cover. One of the most interesting figures in this set is the man firing the Lewis machine gun on top of the tree stump. Two other men are firing sub machine guns and the rest, aside from the officer, are riflemen. One of them throwing a grenade. I do have to say that the Expeditionary Force grenade throwers are some of the least exciting. Perhaps it is because they are assembled on top of a base body that is also used for firing/advancing poses, but they lack sufficient momentum in their body movement. But I don't think the body is the limiting factor. I think that by stretching the arms a bit, some of this could be addressed.

Expeditionary Force Australian Machine Gun Section - Pacific War

In this other MG set, I chose to have all the men in the MG teams kneeling, and the three support troops standing. Note also that you can glue the ammo box to the base of the ammo handles in a slightly different way, with the lid opening forwards or backwards. This gives them just enough variation to avoid making them feel like clones. Note also that the weapons on two of the three support men are different in each of the sets (Australian, Indian, and British). The third guy is either holding a set of binoculars, or pointing, depending on which arms you use for the machine gun team lead.

Expeditionary Force Indian Defense Section - Pacific War

And here we have the Indian Defense section. In this case the man behind the stump is firing a Bren gun, which sets him nicely apart from the other two Defense Section sets. Other than this difference and the head gear, the rest of the men are equipped very similarly. A couple of sub machine guns, although one of them is a Sten gun, and the rest are regular riflemen, and one officer. And there's also the grenade thrower. You can play with the positioning of the heads, and arms to provide a bit of variation.

Expeditionary Force Indian Machine Gun Section - Pacific War

The third MG set is for the Indian Army. Again, a nice degree of differentiation is achieved simply through the headgear. One thing that you do have to pay attention to when gluing the MG teams together is that the cooling box may easily end up being pulled upwards when you glue it to the side of the Vickers gun. You need to hold it down so that the base does not end up lifted up in the air. And you also want to make sure that when you set the arms of the loader, the back leg of the MG's tripod is resting on the base of the gunner. Else, the ammo belt will not line up properly with the slot where it is supposed to fit in. Lastly, the bodies of the ammo loader and the gunner looks similar, but they are actually different so make sure you glue the correct set of arms to each, or else the bases will get in the way of each other and the ammo belt will not reach the MG. Yes, I had to redo my first set because I did not pay attention to these small details the first time.

Expeditionary Force Australian HQ Section - Pacific War - Part I

The HQ sections are probably my favorite ones. I really like the mix of poses and weaponry. All of them come with a radio man, a PIAT anti-tank gun, and a light mortar. From there, there the other 6 poses are pretty versatile, as you can attach a variety of upper arms and weapons to the base bodies of which you get a good mix of standing and kneeling poses. Note also that the radio man comes with a listening headset or you can also attach a head with regular headgear.

Expeditionary Force Australian HQ Section - Pacific War - Part II

These are the rest of the set. Sometimes I like to attach the heads at a bit of an angle to show that need to communicate with the rest of the unit, and also to show that the men need to be watchful of what's happening all around them. Note also that the headgear for these Aussie troops comes in a couple of variations, with the folded brim (slouch hat) or without it. BTW, the way that these guys turned out, I feel that they could very well be the assault section.

Expeditionary Force Australian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

The mortar set is composed of 9 figures. It comes with 3 mortars, 3 loaders and 3 ammo handlers. The other 3 figures can be either officers/NCOs coordinating the firing, or some other free standing figure as you will see throughout the rest of these pictures. The set comes with 3 kneeling figures for the ammo handlers and 3 standing figures for the loaders, but I tried to mix it up a bit so that not all the crews would look the same. For example, here the loader is kneeling and the ammo handler is standing.

Expeditionary Force Australian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

Here the loader is standing and the ammo handler is kneeling. These guys also got the officer to coordinate the action. You can tell that he is the officer because he has a side arm and he's also not wearing a backpack as the NCO in the previous picture.

Expeditionary Force Australian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

This third crew got a radio man as the free standing figure. I also switched it up a bit by having the loader hold the shell at the waist, and use his other arm to adjust the mortar. This also allows him to stand on the right side of the mortar.

Expeditionary Force British HQ Section - Pacific War - Part I

Expeditionary Force British HQ Section - Pacific War - Part II

The rest of the HQ section, with the 3 standard poses (mortar, radio, and PIAT) and a couple of supporting guys. Note that here I have turned one of the kneeling guys into the NCO which is directing the movement of the guys behind him. In the case of the Australians, I glued those arms to a standing figure.

Expeditionary Force British Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

Expeditionary Force British Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

Here I have made the loader kneel, and instead of dropping the shell into the mortar he is performing some adjustments before firing the shell. This crew also got the officer to direct the operation.

Expeditionary Force British Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

Expeditionary Force Indian HQ Section - Pacific War - Part I

In the case of the Indian HQ section, I also gave them a kneeling sniper and a kneeling man with the sub mg at the ready at the waist. The other 3 poses are the standard ones, but if you pay attention you may notice that for some reason the sun decided to highlight the radio man. It only happened in this picture. Maybe he has some critical message to relay in his upcoming battles?

Expeditionary Force Indian HQ Section - Pacific War - Part II

The rest of the HQ section is ready to move forward and complete its mission. The officer and the NCO are issue instructions and the other two guys are ready to neutralize anything that moves. What's nice about these Expeditionary Force figures is that the headgear really makes them look different from the other sets.

Expeditionary Force Indian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

These guys are setup the way they were originally meant to be assembled, with the standing guy dropping the shell, and the kneeling one handing over the next one. In this case, the targets are being relayed to them by radio.

Expeditionary Force Indian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

This one is a slight variation on the previous one, with the standing guy reaching out with his left hand to perform some adjustment on the mortar before dropping the shell. And they also got the NCO to direct their fire.

Expeditionary Force Indian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

I had to get a bit more creative with this last crew. I made the man on the left stand ready drop the shell with two hands, and in this case the kneeling man is performing some adjustments, while holding another shell on his right hand. The officer is in charge here.

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

Expeditionary Force US Marines - Defense Section

Expeditionary Force US Marines - Assault Section

Expeditionary Force US Marines - Machine Gun Section

Now these guys do bring some firepower to the fight. With two Browning 30 cal. MGs and several sub MGs, these guys could probably stop a banzai charge on its tracks, or at least trim it down substantially! In addition to the MGs, you get a couple other figures to round up a three person team for each MG. One team will have an observer and a radio man, while the other will have an observer and a man directing the fire. The other three are there to provide protection most likely against a flanking move. I say that because wherever those Browning MGs are pointing is probably pretty well covered!

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Introducing the British 8th Army

2026-01-27T19:49:00.002-05:00

Latest edit: Added Kozak Miniatures B8A Artillery Sets and Mars B8A towards the bottom of this post.

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To complement the post on the German Afrika Korps, today I would like to introduce the British Eighth Army, who fought both the Germans and the Italians in the deserts of Libya, Egypt and Tunisia. In addition to its British core, the 8th Army was actually a collection of commonwealth troops from many nations, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Canada, as well as many men from several occupied countries in Europe. They were engaged in a highly mobile war for approximately two years in North Africa. Initially the Italians pushed the British back into Egypt, then the British counterattacked pushing the Italians back into Libya, which made the Germans join the fight under Rommel in February of '41 with the resulting counteroffensive which pushed the British back into Egypt. After a while the British regrouped and mounted their own offensive which pushed the Afrika Korps all the way back into Tunisia and eventually with the help of the US landings in Morocco and Algeria, they managed to defeat the Axis forces and eliminate them from the African continent by May of '43. Among the most pivotal moments of the North African campaign stands the siege of Tobruk in which a surrounded garrison composed primarily of the Australian 9th division held for 8 months preventing the Panzer Army from attacking further into Egypt until it was relieved by the Eighth Army in Nov '41, which is actually when the 8th Army was officially formed. The Eighth Army was led by a few generals, but the most notable one was Bernard Montgomery (as of Aug '42), whose success in Africa propelled him to fame and greater responsibility during the rest of the War. After the North African campaign was won, the British Eighth Army went on to fight in Italy where they again played an important role in tough and bloody battles such as Monte Cassino. In terms of coverage from toy soldier manufacturers, there has been no lack of attention. However as you will see from the pictures below, manufacturers have favored the North African campaign over Italy when depicting the 8th Army.

Airfix British 8th Army - Part 1

Every now and then you come across a pose that you know you have seen somewhere. Such is the case with the guy on the left. There is a black and white photograph of British 8th Army troops approaching a disabled tank in the desert and one of them looks very much like this guy.

Airfix British 8th Army - Part 2

Usually most Airfix poses are fighting, action poses, so the guy on the right who is standing as if on watch, is a bit of a disappointment, specially when there are only 7 poses total. Even with that, these Airfix guys definitely belong at the core of any B8th Army.

BMC British Infantry - Part 1

When BMC produced these guys they were described as British Infantry, however I think they are better suited as British 8th Army guys. If you look at some of the other manufacturers' figures you will also find bagpipes & berets...

BMC British Infantry - Part 2

...and those shovels and picks look like they could come in handy in the rocky, craggy expanses of the North African landscape.

Charbens British 8th Army - Part 1

These guys are vintage figures, from around the 60's. As far as I know they came factory-painted. I will probably have to paint them over when I paint the rest of these guys. That's when I go through those dilemmas that I described in this other post.

Charbens British 8th Army - Part 2

I have to say that the sculpting is actually fairly decent for figures made around that timeframe. A couple of the guys in the previous pictures can be criticized, but these three guys are pretty good looking.

Cherilea British 8th Army

These guys are 60mm figures. The guy in the middle looks like he could be Monty. The rest of the guys are a decent addition to the unit, a bit upright in some cases, but still acceptable.

Crescent British 8th Army

These guys are fairly well sculpted for the time when they were made and come factory painted. I am not sure exactly how many there were in the original set, but this sample gives an idea of what they looked like.

Crescent British 8th Army clones

These guys are 40mm clones made in Hong Kong. I made the mistake of buying them on eBay without checking that they were the right scale. The only bright spot is that it let me realize that there is at least one more pose that I do not have in 54mm - the guy with the sub MG.

DSG British 8th Army

These are new production figures using the old Britains Deetail molds by a new firm in Argentina. The bases are made out of plastic which I found a bit disappointing as it gives the figures a whole different feeling when you hold them. Other than that, the poses are kind of similar to the Airfix guys, aren't they?

Britains Deetail Vickers Machine Gun Team

This is a nice set. Hard to find and a bit on the expensive side. The MG actually works. It comes with about 9 little ammo balls which you can fire using its spring mechanism, visible on the side of the gun. It rounds up the collection nicely.

Matchbox British 8th Army - Part 1

Matchbox gave us 13 poses in this set. Almost twice as generous as most of the other manufacturers. Their figures are mostly in good action poses. Casualty figures are not my favorite, but the guy in this set actually looks pretty authentic.

Matchbox British 8th Army - Part 2

Even though the bagpipe guy is not an action pose, I have to admit that he will probably look really nice once he's painted.

Matchbox British 8th Army - Part 3

It looks like this batch contains another Monty. I am going to have to chose who is the boss as there is at least one more candidate to pick from further below.

DGN British 8th Army - Part I

As you can see, this set is heavily influenced by the British 8th Army Matchbox figures. However, when you compare them side by side, you realize that they are originally sculpted, but there is not mistaking that the sculptor tried to replicate the original.

DGN British 8th Army - Part II

The weapons are definitely different. Some of them are larger, and some of them are missing the bayonet at the tip of the rifle, which several of the Matchbox guys have.

DGN British 8th Army - Part III

Overall, this is a pretty solid set. Not very original, but fairly decent if you were not aware of the Matchbox figures. Good poses and good level of detail.

Revell British 8th Army - Part 1

These guys are 1/35 scale. I painted several of them along with the Airfix guys a few years back. As you can see, the guys I left out were the ones that are standing a bit funny.

Revell British 8th Army - Part 2

I suppose with the berets and bagpipes these guys could belong to the Black Watch, the famous Scottish regiment which fought in North Africa.

Timpo British 8th Army - Part 1

These guys remind me a bit of the Cherilea guys, particularly the machine gunner. They are also on the taller side of 54mm figures. This set contains what appears to be the third Monty guy in my collection.

Timpo British 8th Army - Part 2

These Timpo guys are not my favorite figures. There are two things that I don't quite like. They are standing too upright and their facial expressions could have used a bit more work. Some of their faces look more like skulls.

Timpo British 8th Army - Part 3

Here are a few vintage figures with some original paint still on them. Notice how they were also cast on a darker plastic color, which I actually like better than that of the newer recasts.

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry - Part I

This set was sold as British Infantry, but from the short trousers, it seems to me like they are 8th Army troopers. This set was produced after the Germans and the Americans, and you can see the new bases and slightly better sculpting, although not as good with the later sets.

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry - Part II

The guy running is a good action pose. A bit off balance, but nice enough. The guy on the right does not really grab me. There is something about how he is holding his weapon and how he is standing... The man in the center is a nice middle ground.

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry Series 2 - Part I

This is a set that I had totally missed. I wasn't even aware it existed. Chronologically, it seems to be one of their middle sets, with the sculpting being fairly decent at this stage -take a look at the facial expressions-, the bases not yet so bulky, and already integrated into the figures instead of glued to them.

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry Series 2 - Part II

As you can see, the set is comprised of all fighting poses with a good degree of action put into the sculpting. The more a guy is leaning the more I like him. Note also how they have given us figures with both short and long trousers. All in all a nice set from 21C.

Forces of Valor British 7th Armored Division - El-Alamein 1942 - Part I

This is a set that I originally passed on buying. I did not like the bulkiness of the upper bodies. Of course, later on I felt that I should plug the hole in the collection, but by that time, they were no longer being produced and were much harder to find and pricier to get. Anyhow, I am happy I finally got a hold of them. I am still not a big fan of the sculpting and I still don't like the detachable bases, but it felt good to be able to check them off the list.

Forces of Valor British 7th Division - Part II

Here are a few more poses. They came in a different set, Two of them appear to be repeats of guys in the previous set. One of them, the man firing while kneeling, might be slightly different - note the knee is slightly off the ground - or it could also be that the one on top is missing the base and they are actually the same pose. Either way, there's really only two new poses. The wounded man and the man calling his men forward. Sculpted in the same bulky style, so not much new to say about them.

Airfix British Infantry and Support Troop

These two guys are not officially British Eighth Army, but I've decided to incorporate them into the unit to give them a bit more firepower as none of the sets above contain a mortar or an antitank weapon, which given the nature of the combat in North Africa, would certainly come in handy.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army by TS Central - Part I

Here we have an 18-figure set of B8A guys. In terms of poses, this is really generous. I might be wrong, but I don't recall another set as big as this one since the Conte GIs were released about 20 years back. Anyhow, when it comes to 3D printing, given the volume of figures available, I am realizing that I may not be able to pursue completeness anymore. However I do want to have at least one set of 3D printed figures for each service branch and I still had that gap for the B8A. BTW, I really like that they have grouped all these figures as a set because it is pretty hard to track and buy them individually. In terms of these first 6 guys, not much to comment other than getting two poses of what's essentially the same officer figure just with different head gear seems like a missed opportunity to have crafted some better pose, but with an 18-figure set I guess they can afford that luxury.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army TS Central - Part II

In terms of the actual figures, I find them just OK. As I've pointed out with other Kozak figures, I find the posing of these guys a bit too stiff. I would prefer to see more bending of the knees, hunching of the back, ducking to avoid projectiles and flying debris, or running faster to find cover. These guys lack a sense of urgency, even the ones who are 'running'. Out of the first two pics, I think the Bickers machine gunner is probably my favorite. Perhaps because he is the one who requires the least intensity to appear to be doing his job well. I do have to say that the variety of weapons is welcome. Having said that, it would have been nice to issue a weapon to the grenade man on the left, perhaps slung across his back? Else he's going to need a lot more grenades!

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army TS Central - Part III

This is where the set gets better. The kneeling guys and the prone guys are definitely much better than their standing counter parts. One of the prone guys is firing a Bren gun and the other one seems to be firing a Boys anti tank rifle, aka 'elephant gun', which is a nice choice of weapon. The two kneeling guys in the middle look very similar, but they have different webbing/pouches, and one has a scope on his rifle so that he can snipe better at those DAK guys. One interesting bit is that the bases are not designed by Kozak, but rather provided by the vendor. In this case, they issue circular bases, and if you pay attention you will notice that some of them have a larger diameter than others. You get to glue them yourself, so I allocated the larger ones to the kneeling guys.

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central

These are the same five poses as the British Para Artillery crews. They are just dressed in desert uniforms with short sleeves and short trousers. A couple of them are wearing netting on their helmets. In terms of poses you get a loader, an ammo handler, the guy operating/firing the gun, an observer and a guy just trying to preserve his hearing. I labeled them 'light' artillery because they are holding smaller shells as compared to another B8A crew shown a couple of pictures below.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central

Mars British 8th Army

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Kozak Miniatures - Toy Soldiers

2026-01-26T12:22:00.000-05:00

Latest addition: British 8th Army Artillery Crews, British Army Artillery Crews and US Paras at the bottom of this post

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Kozak Miniatures was founded by Eugenio Chernov, a Ukrainian sculptor, a couple of years ago. Back then it was called Kozak Mini Art Studios. It operates entirely digitally, meaning that its sculptures are digital blueprints that come to life via 3D printing. It does not have its own retail outlet, but rather licenses its designs to different vendors which take care of the printing and all the other commercial and logistics aspects. I first ran into them at the Speira site and since then I have encountered Kozak's designs at WW23D.com and Toy Soldier Central. They have a Facebook page where they showcase their work and they also have links to a couple other outfits that take care of selling and printing their figures. Kozak is quite prolific and its range is fairly large at this point. Given that I am writing about them, they certainly offer WW2 figures, but they also offer quite a few Napoleonics, French Colonials, Pirates, Native Americans, Samurais, Ninjas, Modern Ukrainian, SWAT Teams, and more. Some of them come with artillery pieces, horses, camels, vehicles, rafts, etc. And because they are 3D printed they can be scaled up or down to different sizes and can be printed with different variations of head gear. Many of the figures can be purchased individually, but recently some vendors have started to offer them as sets. I personally prefer this latter option because I find it hard to keep track of what figures I have already purchased if I buy them individually given the rate at which new designs are being offered. Below is a sampling of some of the designs that they offer in the WW2 range, along with where I have purchased them.

Kozak Miniatures British Long Range Desert Group by WW23D

Kozak Miniatures British Long Range Desert Group Jeep by WW23D

Kozak Miniatures British Long Range Desert Group Truck by WW23D - Part I

Kozak Miniatures British Long Range Desert Group Truck by WW23D - Part II

Kozak Miniatures British Commandos by WW23D

Here are a few more guys to complement the Airfix and Matchbox commandos. I have the same commentary about their stance (a bit too straight) as I have about all the figures from this manufacturer, so I am not going to dwell on it, but at least there are three kneeling guys and one of the men -second from left- does seem to have some nice forward momentum. The squad comes with a good mix of light infantry weapons, including a sniper rifle, adequate for their clandestine missions and of course, they are wearing the distinctive commando cap.

Kozak Miniatures British Paratroops by WW23D - Part I

These men look ready to join their comrades in Arnhem. There are nine of them so I decided to split them into two groups for the pictures so that you can see them better. From this first group, my favorite one is the one on the left, kneeling on one leg and leaning forward while firing his sub MG. The one on the right reminds me of the pose from one of the Conte British paras. And the other 3 just seem to be walking on patrol on their way to liberate some Dutch town before the Germans counter attack and turn on the heat on them.

Kozak Miniatures British Paratroops by WW23D - Part II

These guys are a bit more adequate for a battle scene. The two guys in the middle are very similar to each other, except that they have the opposite foot forward and one of them is flexing his back knee a bit. The other difference is the type of sub MG. One of them has a sten gun with the magazine on the side, while the other one doesn't. The guy on the left is a pretty standard pose, and the one on the right reminds me of a pose I have seen in another set, but I can't quite place him. Let me know in the comments if he also rings a bell.

Kozak Miniatures British Paratroops Set 2 by Speira

This is their second set of British Paras. I did not get the first one because they are very similar to the 3D printed guys I already bought from WW23D.com. But even this set does have a couple duplicates relative to the one from WW23D. Given the amount of 3D printed figures I've decided that I will have to be a bit selective in terms of which ones I get. Anyhow, I got set 2 because of its special weapons. The heavy MG and the Piat can always come in handy for an airborne unit which is usually light in heavier weapons. The other 5 guys are OK. I also liked that I could order them wearing helmets instead of berets (you can also order them with those). In terms of detail, I like that you can even see mustaches on a couple of guys. It probably helps that I also ordered them in Big 1/32 scale.

Kozak Miniatures German Afrika Korps by WW23D

The British SAS guys need an opponent, so here we have the German Afrika Korps, although compared to the number of poses that came with the SAS set, these guys are going to face a tough fight. The most distinctive feature of these guys is that they are all wearing googles on their helmets. Their poses are not too exciting, except for the guy on the left, who is displaying a bit more action. Good thing that we have other manufacturers to fill in the ranks and give us more diversity of poses.

Kozak Miniatures German Paratroops by WW23D

Kozak Miniatures Soviet Scouts by WW23D

This is a service branch not often represented so I was glad to see them as I do need more poses to complement the Bassevich and Plastic Platoon scouts. As you can see, they are wearing their distinctive cammo smock that I will be painting with the amoeba pattern. I also like that they gave us a pose who is sneaking in with a knife on his hand to take out an opponent undetected and preserve the surprise factor of the mission. One thing I didn't like however is a more visible manufacturing flaw on the leg of the man who is kneeling and looking through his binoculars. I may plant a bush in front of it to make it less obvious.

Kozak Miniatures Soviet Naval Infantry by WW23D

What attracted me the most about these Soviet Naval infantry guys is the fact that they are wearing helmets. Most of the other figures I have representing this service branch are wearing sailor caps. I actually prefer that look, but I like that these guys will create some variety in my ranks. Ready for defending Sevastopol or as reinforcements for Stalingrad.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops by WW23D

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army by TS Central - Part I

Here we have an 18-figure set of B8A guys. In terms of poses, this is really generous. I might be wrong, but I don't recall another set as big as this one since the Conte GIs were released about 20 years back. Anyhow, when it comes to 3D printing, given the volume of figures available, I am realizing that I may not be able to pursue completeness anymore. However I do want to have at least one set of 3D printed figures for each service branch and I still had that gap for the B8A. BTW, I really like that they have packaged all these figures as a set because it is pretty hard to track and buy them individually. In terms of these first 6 guys, not much to comment other than getting two poses of what's essentially the same officer figure just with different head gear seems like a missed opportunity to have crafted some better pose, but with an 18-figure set I guess they can afford that luxury.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army by TS Central - Part III

Kozak Miniatures British Support Troops by Speira - Part I

Kozak Miniatures British Support Troops by Speira - Part II

Kozak Miniatures Soviet Paratroops by TS Central - Part I

These guys get extra points for being the first Soviet Airborne troops that were released, as far as I know. Plastic Platoon just released theirs and I've already placed my order for them as I write this post on March, 2025. The other good thing about these guys is that all of them (or 5 out of 6?) are in poses that can be used in a battle scenes. These guys are outfitted with jumpsuits, including the padded helmet used for jumping. I am not sure that they would have kept them on after the jump, but when it comes to toy soldiers, I think it gives them more character and it makes them more recognizable as airborne troops. In terms of weaponry, 4 of them have machine guns, and two of them are rifle men. Given that they are all on an airborne mission, I would have left out the rifles and issued them all automatic weapons. I am also not super excited about their upright postures, but that's been the case with all other Kozak sculpts, so I won't spend much time dwelling on that.

Kozak Miniatures Soviet Paratroops by TS Central - Part II

These are the same 6 poses as the ones above, with the only difference being that they are wearing a field cap, instead of the padded jump helmet. This cap used to be sky blue in real life. Other than that, I also took the opportunity to position the kneeling man so that the first picture lets you see the rucksack which all of them are wearing, and the second picture lets you see the front of the man. I got these guys from Toy Soldier Central, and got them in 1/30 size so that they fit better with the upcoming Plastic Platoon figures. All figures come without bases, but you can ask for them and glue them yourself. I chose to leave the kneeling men without bases as that allows me to place them closer to obstacles or on uneven terrain where bases would make them stand at odd angles.

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 1 by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 1 by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part III

Kozak Miniatures Australian Infantry by TS Central - Part I

This is another generous set in terms of the number of poses. Several of them resemble the figures in the British 8th army set with the main difference being the headgear. Speaking of headgear, I bought these guys as Australian infantry, but later I read something about the brim folding on the left side for New Zealanders, and the right side for Australians (at least in Tasmania and Victoria). If that's true, then these guys could also be from New Zealand if you ignore the fact that their hat is not as pointy as it should be for New Zealanders. In terms of the poses in this picture, I would prefer to see more action in them. These are the guys showing the most movement in the set and only one guy has a foot off the ground. Whether they are attacking or defending, it's going to be hard to overrun the enemy or find cover when you are moving at that pace!

Kozak Miniatures Australian Infantry by TS Central - Part II

Here's a group of mostly firing poses. Better suited for combat, but again, not very dynamic. But I suppose you can place them behind sandbags or some other protective rampart and they would do just fine. Among this guys, I tend to like the guys with the submachine guns better than the rifle men. Of course, the guy who is advancing would have to abandon his defensive position and venture out into the open. But hey, he could be firing behind a Matilda tank as they advance! BTW, I should also point out that based on their short sleeves and short trousers, I decided that these guys would be deployed to the North African theater of operations.

Kozak Miniatures Australian Infantry by TS Central - Part III

And here you have the kneeling and prone firing poses. The same that we got with the B8A set. As you can tell, two of them on the left are identical, except for the fact that one of them has a scope on his rifle, so we got ourselves a sniper. In terms of the prone men, one of them is firing a Bren gun, while the other one aims his Boys anti-tank rifle at some unsuspecting Panzer III. Speaking of the Boys AT rifle, the armor of later Panzer IIIs and subsequent Panzer IVs proved too thick for this weapon, and you also had to be within 300 yards. Then again, that's nothing compared to how close you had to get with a panzerfaust, but in the open desert I bet that could be easier said than done.

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part III

Kozak Miniatures US M116 75mm Howitzer and Crew by TS Central

There aren't that many artillery pieces and crews around so when I saw this set I didn't think twice about getting it. The howitzer itself is nicely done and I am impressed that it came as a single piece. I guess that's the kind of magic that you can achieve with 3D printing. In terms of the men, I like all the poses, but I feel that the sitting guy does not go well with the other five. I'd expect the crew to be either hard at work, or relaxing, but not doing both simultaneously. I also found the outfits a bit mismatched. A couple of the guys are shirtless, two of them have rolled up sleeves, and then you have a couple of them wearing pullovers. All this led me to place them in the North African desert where the temperatures do drop at night. Or maybe they could also be in the Italian mountains? In any case, a good addition to the US forces!

Kozak Miniatures US Heavy Weapons Teams by TS Central

Heavy weapons are always a welcome addition to strengthen your infantry units. I know many of us may not think of a sniper team as part of a heavy weapons unit, but if you use it to take out key targets I suppose it could pack a heavy punch! One thing to be aware of with this mortar team is that since you have to add the bases to the men, they won't let them get close enough to the mortar, so you will need to place the mortar on top of the bases as well. This will give it a bit of a higher angle, but not too much. That's also why I left the bases off the machine gun team. They would have kept the two men from being sufficiently close enough to feed the ammo belt into the gun. Luckily, the MG guys can stand fine without it. A good thing about this set is that these guys can probably pass for troopers in any theater of operation since they are wearing the standard US army uniform and have not adjusted their attire to any specific local conditions. I have to point out though that when I first took the picture I mistook the flamethrower for a Marine as I tend to think of them as a weapon mainly used in the Pacific.

British Paras with 6-Pounder Anti Tank Gun by TS Central

British Paras with 75mm Pack Howitzer by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part III

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Toy Soldier Central - Toy Soldiers

2026-01-25T19:55:00.013-05:00

Toy Soldier Central is a firm owned and operated by Luciano Castellani. It got into the toy soldier business in early 2023 as a pioneer of 3D printed toy soldiers. It's range of figures includes a good selection of WW2 guys as well as other genres such as Space Troopers, Halo, Star Wars, and a few other modern sets, like police, frogmen, etc. TSC got its start as a licensee of 3D designs, primarily from Kozak Miniatures, which were printed on demand when customers placed orders through the web site. Over time TSC has evolved towards being a design/sculpting collaborator, as was the case with the Plastic General, and it seems that TSC is headed in the direction of designing its own figures, which is why I am now giving it a dedicated page in the blog. One of TSC's claims to fame is that it has developed a new type of resin which is a lot less brittle than other types used in the industry. TSC is also very customer oriented, the pricing is fair, the shipping is prompt, and Luciano always welcomes customer feedback and tries to incorporate it back into the products. For instance, the recent improvements that TSC has made to the bases of its figures makes them a lot more usable. Before you would have to request bases and spend time gluing them to heels and toes that sometimes wouldn't have much surface area to apply glue to. Now you can request the figures with bases that come attached to them, and the shape of the bases is tighter which allows you to place the men closer to each other if needed. This is particularly important for figures like artillery, mortar, or MG crews. Firms that listen to their customers will always do much better than those that don't. We look forward to TSC's continued success and expanding range of WW2 figures. In the meantime, let's check out some of its sets.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army by TS Central - Part I

Here we have an 18-figure set of B8A guys. In terms of poses, this is really generous. I might be wrong, but I don't recall another set as big as this one since the Conte GIs were released about 20 years back. Anyhow, when it comes to 3D printing, given the volume of figures available, I am realizing that I may not be able to pursue completeness anymore. However I do want to have at least one set of 3D printed figures for each service branch and I still had that gap for the B8A. BTW, I really like that they have packaged all these figures as a set because it is pretty hard to track and buy them individually. In terms of these first 6 guys, not much to comment other than getting two poses of what's essentially the same officer figure just with different head gear seems like a missed opportunity to have crafted some better pose, but with an 18-figure set I guess they can afford that luxury.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army by TS Central - Part III

Kozak Miniatures Soviet Paratroops by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures Soviet Paratroops by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 1 by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 1 by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 2 by TS Central - Part III

Kozak Miniatures Australian Infantry by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures Australian Infantry by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures Australian Infantry by TS Central - Part III

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Marines by TS Central - Part III

Kozak Miniatures US M116 75mm Howitzer and Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures US Heavy Weapons Teams by TS Central

The Plastic General German Waffen SS in winter uniforms by TS Central

This is the first and long awaited set from the Plastic General. If you look closely, what is unique about this set is that they are wearing long coats and on top of them they are wearing cammo jackets and helmet covers. Previous manufacturers of winter German troops had given us one or the other, but not both. Given that these guys are late war guys -think Battle of the Bulge period- they are also equipped with weapons of the period, a couple MP40s, a couple Stg44s, and you also get a machine gunner and a rifle man with a panzerfaust on his back to round up the set. The poses address all the core poses that you want in combat unit. No odd poses or fancy weapons. A good, solid basic initial set. The sculpting is fairly nice, with good level of detail, which Toy Soldier Central helped polish. Notice how these guys are wearing scarfs and anything else they can wrap themselves in for the tough winter campaigns. These guys come printed in flexible resin, so they are very sturdy. If there's anything to improve, I would have liked to see the figures display a bit more dynamism. For example, the grenade man could have a bit more range of motion if he really wants to throw that potato masher farther than a few yards. But hey, let's not get nitpicky.

Kozak Miniatures British Paras with 6-Pounder Anti Tank Gun by TS Central

This is a nice set. It gets two thumbs up from me for its uniqueness as well as the execution. The gun and the figures are both nicely sculpted. Good poses and good level of detail. The crew includes a kneeling loader, a standing ammo handler, the gun operator, the commander observing and directing the fire, and an additional guy plugging his ears :-) I am not sure what his job was meant to be, but he adds some realism to the scene. I got these figures from TS Central which has developed a flexible, softer resin for 3D printing. The figures are now so flexible that I had to use the hot/cold water trick to straighten out the gun's barrel!

Kozak Miniatures British Paras with 75mm Pack Howitzer by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British Army Light Artillery Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures British Army Heavy Artillery Crew by TS Central

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part I

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part II

Kozak Miniatures US Paratroops Set 3 by TS Central - Part III

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Dragon Models - Toy Soldiers

2026-01-25T11:20:00.001-05:00

Latest edit - added German Infantry Machine Gun Team at the bottom of the post

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Dragon Models is a firm based out of Hong Kong. They got started in 1987 and have been going strong since then. Their initial focus was 1/35 model kits for figures and ground vehicles. Since then they have diversified in many directions. They added aircraft to their model kits, they introduced plastic figures, 12" action figures, remote controlled vehicles, diecast vehicles in 1/72, and many other items. They do not sell directly to the public, and in some cases they allow other companies like Revell or Italeri to resell their products under their own brands. In terms of 1/32 WWII plastic, they have not really addressed that segment of the market. They have released a few WWII plastic figures under the CanDo brand which are essentially whole figure versions of their plastic kits, but even those are 1/35. However they are close enough in size that they could be combined with some smaller 1/32 guys. Their level of detail is actually very good and they come factory painted. The only thing not to like about them are the bases which are a bit oversized, perhaps because they wanted to make the figures taller and easier to combine with 1/32. I only have a few of the sets which they released. Hopefully I can get a few more sets over time. Let's take a look.

Dragon German Infantry - Approach to Stalingrad

Dragon German Infantry - Barbarossa 1941

Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat - Part I

Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat - Part II

Dragon German Infantry - Krakhov 1943

Dragon CanDo Tiger Aces

This is a special set from Dragon. They represent famous Tiger commanders such as Michael Wittman (in black standing on the turret). There's also Hans sitting up front, Georg stand off to the side wearing an officer's cap. Kurt (Knispel) - the most prolific Panzer ace- standing opposite him with a regular cap (that's the only difference between him and Georg), Woll to the right of Wittman, and Karlheinz resting his arm around the tank's gun. These guys are now not so easy to find and they can be a bit pricey of you do run into them. That's particularly true of Kurt who was only manufactured 4 times out of every 100 figures in the set. If you can find them they are a great complement to the FOV and 21C panzers.

Dragon CanDo German Infantry Machine Gun Team

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A Battlefield Tour of Wingen-sur-Moder

2026-01-11T18:48:00.016-05:00

I recently had the chance to travel through the Alsace and Lorraine region in eastern France and visit Wingen-sur-Moder. I learned about this small town when I read the book Seven Days in January, which describes the fighting that took place there as part of Operation 'Nordwind'—a lesser-known German offensive that began a couple of weeks after 'the Battle of the Bulge'.

I find field trips such as this invaluable for understanding the tactical context of a battle. This visit provided that and much more, especially when it came to gaining a glimpse into the human dimension of the conflict and the lasting impact this battle has left on some of the town’s residents. What started out as a self-guided tour, based on whatever little information I could gather online—there isn’t much out there—turned into a very fruitful and rewarding day when we met a very nice couple who serve as the town’s WWII historians. Their names are Jacky and Linda Bergmann, and their family lived in Wingen during WWII. Decades later, they spearheaded efforts to commemorate the events and to recognize the men who contributed to the town’s liberation. This led to several reunions with veteran groups—initially just U.S. veterans, but eventually German veterans as well.

And as if that were not enough, Jacky and Linda have also set up a small museum to document and share with the world what took place in Wingen during Operation 'Nordwind'. It is this wealth of knowledge—drawn from firsthand accounts by surviving soldiers on both sides and townsfolk who lived through these events—combined with our hosts’ eloquent and precise explanations, that made our visit far exceed all expectations.

I hope I can do it justice throughout this post and, along the way, help Jacky and Linda spread the word and keep alive the memory of what took place in Wingen 81 years ago.

HOW I ENDED UP THERE

This is the book that put Wingen-sur-Moder on my radar. It was written by Wolf Zoepf who was second in command of the 3rd battalion, 12th regiment of the 6th SS Mountain Division 'Nord'. He wrote it after several visits back to Wingen during which he met US veterans who helped him clarify and complement his recollections about the tactical aspects of the battle. Jacky and Linda also got to meet him in person. Given his role during the battle, it was good that he took the time to document it because he died a month before his book was published in 2001.

THE HIGH LEVEL PICTURE

Operation 'Nordwind' took place between December 31st 1944 and January 25th 1945. It started two weeks after Operation 'Wacht am Rhein' (aka 'the Battle of the Bulge'). Both operations were called off concurrently.

Operation 'Nordwind' was conceived as an opportunistic attack after the US had weakened their sector of the line north of Strasbourg in order to respond to the German offensive in the Ardennes, about 250 kilometers to the north. Not only was this sector weakened, but the Allied advance to capture Strasbourg had left their front protruding dangerously to the east surrounded by German forces on three sides. For Germany, recapturing this territory along with the destruction of several US divisions meant a stronger negotiating position as the tide of war continued to change rapidly.

It is with this backdrop that a battalion of the 6th German SS Mountain Division descended into Wingen-sur-Moder moving southwards as part of a larger pincer movement meant to link up with other German divisions attacking north after breaking out of the Colmar area. Unfortunately for the Germans, despite the initial success, their attack was halted and repelled. For a more complete explanation of Operation 'Nordwind' here is a useful article.

The fighting in the town of Wingen-sur-Moder itself took place between the very early hours of January 4th and the early hours of January 7th when the Germans retreated as stealthily as they had arrived through the heavily wooded hills on the north side of town. The fighting was intense. Of the approximate 725 Germans who started the offensive, only about 225 made it back to their lines, including the wounded who could walk. On the American side there were close to 250 casualties. In exchange for those losses, 306 GIs who had been initially taken prisoner during the battle were freed.

During my visit to Wingen I was trying to understand better what transpired during those intense 72 hours.

You can also read a very good description of the battle at Wingen-sur-Moder here.

The above map comes from Wolf Zoepf's book. It shows the events of the 3rd day, with white arrows showing the progress of the US counterattacks from the northwest and the southwest. Wingen is a small town. It has a railway that divides it into a northern and a southern side. The north side has a main street running through it, which leads to an underpass beneath the railway that connects with the southern side of town. This was the road used by the US forces approaching from the northwest. As the street comes out of the underpass it creates a 3-way intersection with a street leading east of town, and another one leading southwest of it. The latter was the second route of approach used by the US counterattacks. My visit was mostly around the southern side of town, where I focused on the Catholic Church, the former Hotel Wenk, and the Bergmann House, highlighted in yellow above.

Here's a picture, courtesy of the Bergmanns, which shows the two main streets on the southern part of town. The photographer was facing east. The Bergmann house is in the foreground along a street running left to right and hardly visible due to the snow. Note the hole on the right wall of the house, about where the floor joists of the second floor would be. Keep that in mind when we talk a bit more about the Bergmann House towards the end of this post. Hotel Wenk is burning a short distance away, and the Catholic Church a bit farther. The town's main intersection and the railway underpass leading to it would be a bit to the left of where the picture ends. The street going from the intersection to the Hotel Wenk is clearer to see.

THE TOWN TODAY

This is the view shortly after coming out of the railway underpass at the main intersection and looking towards the former Hotel Wenk. Note how even today, the town is quite sparsely populated.

This is the view from a street parallel to the railway line, looking east at the town's train stop. The railway and this street are also parallel to the street running in front of the former Hotel Wenk. The hills to the left are where the Germans came from during the early hours of January 4th 1945.

This is the view standing in front of the former Hotel Wenk facing west, towards the town's main intersection and the underpass connecting with the north side of town. The distance from here to the main intersection is likely less than 500 meters. If you want to get better oriented with the town you can 'visit' it using the google maps street view. Here's a link that drops you at street view at the main intersection.

OUR LUCKY ENCOUNTER

We arrived in Wingen on a beautiful winter morning, a few days before the 81st anniversary of the battle. We parked at the Town Hall and started walking looking for a church that I had seen in some pictures taken shortly after the battle. We must have looked slightly confused because some locals kindly offered us their help and after figuring out where to turn, we were on our way. To our surprise, a few minutes later, as we were approaching the church a car zipped into the parking lot and out of it jumped Jacky Bergmann, who was no less than the town's WWII historian! As it turns out, those locals who helped us with directions alerted the Bergmann's that some folks were in town looking for the church and they guessed correctly that we were on a WWII field trip and Jacky was there offering to give us a guided tour. This turned our visit into something exceptional!

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Below, to the left is the picture of the church that I had found online. On the right is the church as it stands today. I found it quite sobering to stand and walk past this place where those two GIs fell. When the Germans first descended into town during the early hours of January 4th 1945, they captured about 300 unsuspecting GIs and they guarded them in this church. Apparently as some of them were being escorted there, one of the GIs knelt to tie his boot and a rattled German fired on them. Not a glorious way to go, but representative of how sad and wasteful war can be.

One thing to note about how the Germans caught the US forces by surprise is that many of the civilians at Wingen had evacuated to neighboring villages several days before. They left when refugees fleeing the fighting to the north of Wingen came through town. So it is a little surprising that the Germans were able to overrun the US positions so quickly during the early hours of Jan 4th. Was that thanks to the prowess of the German attack? After all, the 6th SS Mountain Division was highly skilled at night infiltration through difficult terrain. Or does it reveal a level of insufficient preparedness on the side of the US forces? But let's also not forget that the US forces were thinly spread out after troops were sent north to help stabilize the front at the Battle of the Bulge. Perhaps it was the perfect combination of factors?

This is the back side of the church. Jacky made the point of showing it to us as it is heavily pockmarked by small arms and machine gun fire - you can tell the difference in caliber by the size of the holes. The church changed hands at least twice during the battle and after it was recaptured by the Americans, the Germans were then kept there.

Here is the church as seen from the street in front of the former Hotel Wenk. Note by the way that I have been referring to it as the Catholic Church. That is because farther south, behind the Hotel Wenk there is another church, the Protestant one. In this picture you can also see the memorial to the US troops involved in the battle.

THE MEMORIAL

These memorial plaques are the direct result of the Bergmann's sustained efforts to commemorate and recognize the sacrifice of the US forces involved in liberating their town and to honor the endurance of the local civilians during WWII. The Bergmanns have done so much for this cause that Linda is affectionately referred to as “G Lady” by U.S. veterans, due to the close relationships she forged with veterans of G Company, 2nd Battalion, 274th Regiment of the 70th U.S. Infantry Division and their relatives.

Here is a closer look at the plaque dedicated to the 70th Infantry Division. The 70th Division is the unit that counterattacked starting the afternoon of January 4th 1945 and eventually drove the Germans out of Wingen. This plaque was dedicated 35 year ago, in 1991, 46 years after the battle. At the time the men of the 70th Division must have been in their late 60s or early 70s.

Here is also a link to the 70th division's website documenting their memorial at Wingen, It includes a picture of Linda and town officials during one of the anniversary commemorations.

This is the plaque commemorating the contributions of the 45th Infantry Division. The unit which was initially defending Wingen when the German attack descended on them.

This plaque is dedicated to the 100th US Infantry Division which liberated Wingen a month before it was retaken by the Germans during Operation Nordwind.

THE WENK HOTEL

Hotel Wenk served as the command post for the 3rd battalion of the 12th regiment, 6th SS Mountain Division while the Germans controlled the town. As such it suffered heavy damage and in some pictures you can see an intense fire consuming it.

After the battle, just a shell of the building remained.

Today the former Hotel Wenk has become Restaurant Au Wingenerhof. If it weren't for the pictures above you would not be able to tell that it was reduced to a shell back in 1945.

By the way, note how the new name reflects the mixed heritage of the Alsace region which changed hands between France and Germany 4 times in the span of 75 years (1871-1945)

Restaurant Au Wingenerhof is where we stopped for lunch during our visit. The food there lived up to the French cuisine's delicious reputation.

THE MAISON BERGMANN MUSEUM

The Bergmann Museum at Wingen is a true labor of love. For years Jacky and Linda have been painstakingly collecting documents, photographs, film, and artifacts that tell the story of what happened during those fateful days in January 1945. This is a private, self-funded endeavor, housed in an extension to one of the original homes involved in the battle 81 years ago.

It is hard to describe all the content and numerous pictures in detail. Suffice to say that when visiting in person they really help tell the story, not just of the places, and the battle movements, but also the participants involved.

US veteran groups have contributed some of their memorabilia.

Color-coded dots help identify the different buildings and places across the numerous pictures.

You could easily spend a couple hours just going through the content on these white walls.

The opposing units' command hierarchies have also been meticulously documented.

All of the above was complemented by a highly knowledgeable and thorough explanation from the Bergmanns and enhanced with many personal first-hand anecdotes. And they don't do this just for visitors. They also take time to educate the local students about these events.

Some of the German artifacts in their collection. Much of it left behind after the hasty retreat.

Many of these items were found in the surrounding hills in the years that followed the war.

German entrenching tools, inert US hand grenade, ammo belt and clip, etc.

They even have a VCR and TV setup where you can watch original footage of film recorded by the combat cameramen of the 70th Infantry Division right after the battle.

You can see more of this footage here.

MAISON BERGMANN
(The Bergmann House)

One of the most interesting aspects of our visit was the fact that we ended up inside one of the actual homes where the battle took place. After touring the museum, Linda and Jacky were kind enough to invite us into their home for coffee. This ended up being an amazing treat, not just because of the amazing display of hospitality, the tasty cookies of the traditional Alsatian sweets, but because we also got to learn in great detail about the events that transpired in their actual home.

The Bergmann House is where Jacky's mother lived and it is also the home where he grew up. Growing up he learned much about the battle around town and the buildings that played a significant role, like the Church and Hotel Wenk. He also knew that there had been some fighting in their own home because a shell from a Sherman tank had exploded in their basement. He also heard from his mother that after the battle they had to take out buckets full of shell casings which they dumped into the craters left behind by explosions in their garden. And they had also heard a story about how after the US forces retook the house, they had used a dead German soldier as protection when firing from one of the windows in their home. Years later, as Jacky and Linda began to research and document the events that transpired at Wingen, they came across the picture below.

Initially it did not seem like anything more than just one more picture of the battle. As time went by, Jacky began realize that window was the second floor window of their house which faces north. One of the clues is the panes of broken glass which were patched with that cardboard material. As it turns out, years later when the windows were replaced, they were stored the attic and Jacky was able to corroborate that those were the same windows depicted in the picture, still with the cardboard attached to them. Jacky took me upstairs and from there it was fairly obvious why the US troops had chosen that location as the station for their machine gun. It provided a great field of fire that covered both the street leading up to the Wenk Hotel, the railway embankment above it, and the surrounding hills beyond. Those hills were being used by the Germans to target anything approaching from the west and I am fairly certain that this machine gun position helped negate that advantage.

It is from standing in spots such as the window at the second floor of the Bergmann House and hearing the rich details of what transpired there that you begin to grasp what actually took place there. I am extremely appreciative towards Jacky and Linda for opening their home to a curious WW2 hobbyist and sharing all their knowledge and personal anecdotes. This was an extremely enlightening and rewarding experience. If you ever want to learn more about the events that took place at Wingen-sur-Moder you should definitely look them up and visit their Museum. As mentioned before, it is a true labor of love and on behalf of all people interested in WW2 I thank them for covering this subject so well and keeping the memory of this battle and its participants alive.

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Click here to see a post about the West Wall museum at Pirmasens

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Introducing the Soviet Mountain Troops

2025-11-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

Latest edit: Added the new set of Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops 'Marukhsky Pereval' at the bottom of the post

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The Soviet Mountain Troops were a minor branch of the soviet military. Normally when I research a service branch of a country that fought in WWII, I find so much information that I spend several days summarizing the content so that it fits within a few paragraphs. That has not been the case with the Soviet Mountain Troops. As far as I can tell, there were only five Mountain Infantry divisions, and it does not seem like they were used much differently than regular infantry units. I came upon this topic after buying some figures meant to depict the troops which fought at Mt Elbrus, but even that seems like it was a very small action. So small in fact that apparently the first defenders were not mountain troops but just local militia that happened to be close by. There was so little resistance to capture the mountain that the Germans actually had the opportunity to climb to the top 3 times. The first time they forgot to bring a camera. The second time they took a camera, but the Reich's propaganda machine decided they needed film, so they were sent back up a third time. Later, after the Germans withdrew to shorten the front after the collapse of Stalingrad, the Soviet Army reclaimed the mountain, without any fighting. So this might be a situation in which the lore of the small Mt Elbrus action has aggrandized the role of the Soviet Mountain Troops. Here's a link to a site that analyzed in great detail the action at Mt Elbrus. As far as Mountain Infantry Divisions, the Soviets fielded the 60th, 63rd, 68th, 72nd and 83rd divisions. The 60th, based at the Carpathian Mountains, was destroyed in the Uman pocket within the first couple months of the war. The 63rd, was based at the Caucasus and fought in the Crimea. It was destroyed during the German offensive in the summer of '42. The 68th was used to occupy Iran in 1941 and remained there for the duration of the War. The 72nd was deployed in Ukraine and it was also destroyed in the Uman pocket at the start of the war. The 83rd division is the one that saw the most action. Initially deployed to Iran, it later helped liberate the Crimea and later on pushed through the Carpathian Mountains into Czechoslovakia where it ended the war. In terms of plastic toy soldiers, I am only aware of one manufacturer who has covered this subject - Hanomak. They are a recent entrant into the arena, but their debut set has been a welcome addition. Let's check it out.

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops - Part I

This set is supposed to represent the Soviet Troops that were deployed to recapture Mount Elbrus, during the 1942/43 German offensive into the Caucasus. The sculpting and level of detail does deliver what you would expect from a set addressing this subject. Starting with the poses, I really like that they are not just climbing, but they are actually engaged in battle. The bases and the equipment that they carry takes care of conveying the setting, from the obvious ropes and tools, to the more subtle crampon shoes, woolen socks, googles, etc., you can tell where these guys are fighting. I also like the rugged appearance of the men. Whether those beards are to keep warm, or reflect the complexities of maintaining the dress code at high altitude, they fit these guys very well.

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops - Part II

Across the six figures you can also see a nice range of weapons in use. We have a few PPSh-41 sub-machineguns, a sniper rifle, and a very welcome Degtyaryov machine gun on a bipod firing across a valley. Then there's also the grenade pack suggesting more intense close quarter combat, as they struggled to occupy and retain the high ground. My only concern at this point is the fact that I will only have six poses to man the defenses. Overall, a nice set, representing a unique subject, executed pretty well. Worth adding to the collection.

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops Cloud Front - Part I

Now this is a nice set from Hanomak! I might actually like it better than the previous one. For sure the material is better. More like plastic and less rubbery than the previous set. The sculpting is also very crisp, well proportioned and with lots of nice detail in the equipment and features, like the crampons on the shoes and even the bushy eyebrows of the bald guy kneeling. The flag and the hammer being held by the middle man come separately, so light assembly is required. In terms of the poses, they are all good action, battle poses. The only one that's a bit odd is the one throwing the large rock. It limits where and how you can use him in a scene, but all things considered, given that he is a mountain trooper I suppose it is acceptable for him to resort to that type of 'weaponry'. A great expansion set from Hanomak!

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops Cloud Front - Part II
I know we are always curious about how they compare size-wise to earlier sets, so here's a side by side comparison with the some of the figures from the previous set. As you can see they are fairly well matched. Perhaps a tiny bit taller, but nothing that will keep me from folding them into the unit, especially when you consider how few poses exist for this service branch!

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops 'Marukhsky Pereval'

These guys represent the troops which fought at the strategic Marukh Pass, one of the gateways into the Caucasus. The pass was occupied by the Germans around September 1942 and recaptured by the Soviets in January 1943. The Soviet defenders included mountain troops, infantry rifle brigades and even cadets from the Tbilisi Infantry School. These figures focus on the actual mountain troops as you can tell from the equipment they are wearing, particularly the crampons on the shoes. The man with the Cossack hat is the only outlier. The figures also come with a few additional mountaineering accessories like picks and hammers -not shown in the picture-, but they don't have any free hands to hold them. I suppose you could glue them to the bases, but I don't think I will have much use for them. Not surprisingly, the sniper on the left is a woman. Something worth noting is that the grenade man leans quite a bit forward. Even after multiple hot/cold water treatments I could not get it to stand straight. To get a decent shot of him I had to place his base on a part of the rock with a bit of a slope. Speaking of bases, the prone machine gunner also comes with a separate base for the MG, just FYI. My favorite figure is the guy lying on the ground leaning back while firing his submg. This may have been a common situation in such uneven, mountainous terrain. All in all a nice set which will be a good addition to the other two sets of Soviet Mountain troops!

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Introducing the Soviet Infantry

2025-11-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

The latest additions are Publius Soviet Infantry, Battle of Khalkhin Gol and Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry, Battle of Konigsberg 1945, towards the bottom of the post.

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The Soviet infantry, the Red Army's foot soldiers, formed the immense and often brutally deployed core of the Soviet war effort on the Eastern Front of World War II. At the war's commencement in June 1941, the Red Army possessed a vast number of infantry divisions, though many were understrength and ill-prepared for the onslaught of the German invasion. These divisions, organized into corps and armies, were the primary force tasked with defending the Soviet Union's vast territories. Throughout the war, the number of Soviet infantry divisions fluctuated wildly due to catastrophic early losses and subsequent massive mobilizations. Despite suffering staggering casualties, the sheer number of infantry formations and the Soviet Union's immense manpower reserves allowed them to absorb losses and eventually overwhelm the Wehrmacht.

The standard uniform of the Soviet infantryman typically consisted of a simple tunic ( гимнастёрка - gymnastyorka) and trousers, often made of rough cotton, along with a side cap (pilotka) and leather boots or lapty (bast shoes) for some early in the war. Equipment was often rudimentary, especially in the initial chaotic phases. The standard rifle was the Mosin-Nagant, a robust but somewhat outdated bolt-action weapon. Submachine guns like the PPSh-41 became increasingly common, providing crucial close-quarters firepower, particularly in urban combat. Machine guns like the DP-28 light machine gun and the Maxim heavy machine gun offered sustained fire support. Anti-tank capabilities initially relied on inadequate anti-tank rifles but were later supplemented by anti-tank grenades and, eventually, more effective rocket launchers like the RPG-1 and captured German Panzerfausts.

Training for the Soviet infantry varied greatly throughout the war. Early on, many conscripts received minimal training before being thrust into combat. As the war progressed, training improved, emphasizing basic infantry tactics, marksmanship, and political indoctrination. Soviet infantry doctrine often relied on massed assaults, overwhelming the enemy through sheer numbers, often at a tremendous cost in lives. The character of the Soviet infantryman was forged in the crucible of a brutal and uncompromising war. Driven by patriotism, a fierce determination to defend their homeland, and often harsh discipline, they endured unimaginable hardships and fought with a tenacity that surprised and often exhausted the German Wehrmacht.

The Soviet infantry suffered the most horrific casualties of World War II. Estimates of total Soviet military deaths range from 8 to 11 million, with the vast majority of these being Red Army soldiers, and within that, infantry bore the heaviest losses. At the start of the war in 1941, the Red Army numbered around 5.5 million personnel, a significant portion being infantry. At its peak strength, the Red Army reached over 11 million. Throughout the war, an estimated 34 million Soviet citizens served in the military. The infantry's casualty figures are staggering, likely numbering in the millions killed, wounded, and missing. The immense losses sustained by the Soviet infantry were a defining characteristic of the Eastern Front and a key factor in the eventual Soviet victory, achieved through immense sacrifice and unwavering resilience.

In terms of toy soldiers, they have been represented well by past manufacturers and in recent years a good number of sets have been released by new firms out of Russia (Publius, Plastic Platoon, Hanomak). By the way, I have to say that in the name of accuracy, I always try to resist calling them Russian Infantry, as the Soviet army contained many more groups beyond Russians. The funny thing however is that many manufacturers actually refer to them as Russian Infantry on their packaging. However you prefer to call them, I present them to you for your review.

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This post is a consolidation of several Soviet Infantry posts I had previously made. It started out as a post about the Soviet troops I painted, 100 different poses in total. Then I added more recent production figures, as well as other less common or 'vintage' figures, which I'd like to be able to paint some day.

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Airfix Soviet Infantry

Another nice set by Airfix. Good sculpting and solid selection of action/fighting poses for the most part. Maybe the guy in the middle could have been made a bit more active or simply made into an entirely different pose (maybe a mortar?) as he is not too different from the guy on the far right who is significantly better simply by showing him running. In general this set could have used a couple more figures rushing forward so that we could mount a stronger frontal attack with them, but they can still be used very well for urban combat scenes. This is when I wish that Airfix sets had been 10 or 12 poses! Lastly, I also like how the set portrays how common the submachine guns were among the Soviets, particularly in the late years of the war.

Italeri Soviet Infantry

Italeri has given us 8 more poses of Soviet infantry, in uniforms well suited for late fall/early spring. The selection of poses is good, even if the sculpting of a few guys feels a bit stiff. For instance, the guy running holding the sub MG above his head doesn't have enough energy in my opinion. Or the guy charging with his weapon at the waist feels like legs, back, neck are all sculpted at the same angle. And then there's the guy who is just standing/guarding. Those feel like wasted poses to me. But the three kneeling guys are really good. I only wish the rock wall would not be in alignment with the MG. The mortar man and the man firing while standing are solid guys.

Supreme Playsets Soviet Infantry - Part I

These guys are recasts of the 1/72 Italeri Soviet Infantry. The set contains 12 figures, which is 4 more than the Italeri 1/32 set. If you want to try to identify which 4 are the new ones, do so before reading the next sentence. Two of the additional poses are the first and the third guys from the left. The one on the very left is carrying an anti-tank rifle (not sure if it is a PTRS or a PTRD), which is actually a nice and unique figure/weapon across all the Soviet Infantry sets that I have seen. He's great at taking on lightly-to-medium-armored German vehicles.

Supreme Playsets Soviet Infantry - Part II

As you can see, Supreme Playsets released these figures in two color schemes. The green base color that you see is actually the color of the plastic, and only the face is really painted. The rest of the figure just has some brown patches throughout the body. So, other than the eyes, which actually look fairly decent, the rest of the paint job is rather poor. The same is true for the brown figures in the first picture above. The two new poses that I have yet to paint (or paint over) are the first and the fourth guys from the right.

Italeri Soviet ZiS 3 76mm Anti-Tank Gun with Crew - Part I

This is the Italeri Soviet Anti Tank Gun Crew which I showcased in a previous post. They are all very nicely done. This set filled a huge gap in the WWII 1/32 plastic toy soldier world. In addition to the gun itself, the set contains a crew of 6 in a rich variety of poses. If you're paying attention you might have realized that there are 7 figures in this picture. I included a German crew member by mistake! See if you can find him.

Italeri Soviet ZiS 3 76mm Anti-Tank Gun with Crew - Part II

Here it is from a different angle. The Soviets produced these guns from 1942 onwards in massive quantities (over 100,000) and with a 76mm round, they were capable of piercing any German Tank prior to the Tiger I and the Panther. And if you are still trying to figure out who doesn't belong in the picture, the guy on the far left is not part of this crew. He snuck into the picture by mistake when I was grabbing the figures from their bin.

MPC Soviet Infantry

I have mixed feelings about this set. The 4 guys at both ends of this picture are acceptable, but the 3 guys in the middle are definitely a bit odd. Like what's up with the guy taking such a big step? Is he marching? I would much rather have a battle pose. The Cossack officer is a nice touch, but he seems to be falling over to his left. And the guy throwing the grenade seems to have a stiff neck or at least an injured shoulder. One more thing about the second guy from the left. He seems to be a repeat of the pose they also have in the German infantry set who seems to be asking for the ball in a football game. One of those is already plenty.

Marx Soviet Infantry

A very nice set particularly when you consider how long ago these guys were made and the mold making constraints at the time. The base of these figures actually says 1965 on the bottom. Probably among the earliest WWII Soviet toy soldiers to be made. The slim style of these guys is consistent with that of other Marx sets. We only get 6 poses but each of them delivers a good level of intense action, even the wounded guy who, as you may already know by now if you have read some of my other posts, is not typically one of my favorite poses. A must have classic.

Reproductions of Marx 6" Soviet Infantry by DSG and sold by SWTS - Part I

This set has 6 poses and they are scaled down versions of 6" Marx Soviet guys which I happened to have as a kid. The poses are actually pretty good, except for the fact that these guys are closer to 50mm and maybe some of the sculpting detail got eroded in the process to clone them/scale them down. The least exciting guy is the guy walking with his rifle across his body, but I actually like the fact that we get one more guy with a long coat on as they paint up nicely.

Reproductions of Marx 6" Soviet Infantry by DSG and sold by SWTS - Part II

Here is the last guy in the set. Except for the base, he is almost exactly like one of the 54mm Marx guys. A good, intense pose for your hand to hand battles scenes of the Eastern Front.

Toy Soldiers of San Diego Soviet Infantry

TSSD gave us 8 poses at the start of this century. It has uniforms that go well with Italeri's for that chilly, but not brutally cold time of the year. Good sculpting detail and good variety of poses. The woman sniper is a good unique touch which pays tribute to the many women who fought at the front lines of the Soviet army. Another unique pose is the man throwing the Molotov cocktail instead of the more typical grenade. And we also get a wounded guy, but not the type that is getting hit in that moment. Note also that this set is one of the earlier ones to use larger, more sculpted bases which are less neutral to the setting in which the figures have to be placed. But still a great set to add to your collection.

ESCI Soviet Infantry

This is actually a 1/35 set. Next to some of the larger TSSD figures these guys look small, but when you need extra poses, you can't be very picky. Then again, I did not paint the officer on the right, so maybe I did get a bit picky. My 2 favorite guys in the set are the kneeling guy firing on the left, and the man charging forward, second from right. BTW, I think the officer might be a woman, but it's hard to tell for sure. The third figure from the right may also be a woman. Either that or they are just dudes with very bushy hair, but given the important role that women played in front lines of the Soviet Army, it's not possible to rule out that they are females. Anyhow, an OK set to have if you are open to some variation in size in your ranks.

DGN Soviet Infantry - Part I

These guys all seem to be originals as far as I can tell. They are a fairly decent set in terms of detail and proportions. Some of the poses are a bit 'funny' though. For instance, the guy on the left is aiming too low. I suppose he could be placed in the upper floor of a building. The other guys in this first picture are OK. In fact, I quite like the two on the right.

DGN Soviet Infantry - Part II

My favorite guy here is the officer. Very nicely sculpted and good body language. The grenade thrower's arm is posed at a funny angle, but other than that, these four guys make a good batch.

DGN Soviet Infantry - Part III

These are my least favorite poses. I don't really like how they are standing. The best part is that they are all carrying sub mgs, but I don't think they would manage to survive a charge across no-man's land standing that way.

Atlantic Soviet Infantry - Part I

The other Soviet figures that I discovered come courtesy of Atlantic. Atlantic was in production mainly during the 70's and '80s so some of these figures are more interesting from the collector's standpoint and less so because of their sculpting which is sometimes a bit stiff. Having said that, the Maxim machine gun is a pretty unique figure/weapon, and that by itself makes the set special. Here is a previous post on the Maxim Machine Gun.

Atlantic Soviet Infantry - Part II

The second guy from the right is a good example of what I mean when I say that their sculpting is sometimes a bit awkward. The rest of the figures are fairly decent and will blend well with the rest of the painted guys once they have some color on them.

Charbens Soviet Infantry

Charbens was in production during the 60s and 70s, but these figures look like recent casts. These guys are actually Cossacks. A couple of the poses are a bit odd, like the guy standing with his legs apart or the guy throwing the grenade. My favorite ones are the machine gun and the third guy from the right.

Cherilea Soviet Infantry

These guys are 60mm figures, but close enough in size to pass for some tall Slavic guys. They are also wearing a Cossack outfit which is good to augment their number in my Soviet Army. The set comes with a flamethrower guy, a mortar, and a bazooka, which are welcome heavy weapons.

Cherilea Soviet Infantry - Vintage

Here are some of the original figures. Some of the factory paint is faded, but there is enough left to see that the pants were painted grey, while the shirt appears to have been left in the original plastic color. Not the most accurate, but I guess it made them lively and attractive.

21st Century Toys Soviet Infantry

These guys come painted out of the factory. They are in fact a nice set. The sculpting is good, the poses are good and the paint job is also very good. The uniform colors don't match my painted figures that well, but I still find them a nice addition to the unit.

Crescent Soviet Infantry

This set was a real find as it is not easy to come by. To my knowledge there are only 5 poses. The pose on the right is rather original. As you can see they came factory painted. The level of detail on the sculpting is fairly decent, except for the faces which are a bit dull. All in all, a nice set to have in the collection.

Progress Soviet Infantry - Part I

These figures are closer to 60mm in size. The detail is actually rather shallow, as if they were clones of clones. I don't think that's the case though because the proportions are still fine, so I think they were simply sculpted this way. As far as the rest of the sculpting goes, the figures are well posed and in decent action stances.

Progress Soviet Infantry - Part II

The flag bearer is a rather unique figure. He could be getting ready to climb the Reichstag building in Berlin. I am assuming the man on the right is wounded, otherwise his pose would be a bit lame. The other two are average poses.

Progress Soviet Infantry - Part III

The last guy in the set. I had actually run into this figure at a bin of figures in a soldier show a couple of years back, but since I had not been able to find the rest of the set or identify the manufacturer I had not posted him. Now he can be displayed with the rest of his gang.

Publius Brest Fortress Soviet Infantry - Part I

These are some of the best figures I have seen. I love the action-packed poses, how the movement and intensity of the fight is captured, and the great level of detail. For instance, look at the figure on the left, standing on a German helmet. I also like the man on the right firing the MG with the circular ammo drum from the hip.

Publius Brest Fortress Soviet Infantry - Part II

The rest of the set. Again, look at the guy in the middle for instance. His attitude is totally consistent with the the weapons he carries. Throwing himself into a close quarter combat situation. The woman on the right reflects the important role that women played in the Soviet army, not just as nurses, but in many combat functions. The only things not to like about these figures are that there are only six poses and that they are out of production and therefore are really hard to find.

Publius Stalingrad Soviet Infantry - Part I

Publius' third WWII set is just as good as its predecessors. The uniforms emphasize the winter season of the campaign. The poses are loaded with action and movement. When you look at the man in the middle you can feel the tension in the situation that he might find himself in.

Publius Stalingrad Soviet Infantry - Part II

The only pose that seems a bit stiff, compared to the rest is the sniper woman, but even she is well sculpted. The man on the right is an interesting pose. If you look at him closely, you will notice that he is wearing body armor. I've seen some pictures in which you can actually see the dents left by bullet impacts, so it seems that they were reasonably effective.

Publius Battle of Berlin Soviet Infantry

Another nice set from Publius. Great sculpting, with lots of action and emotion packed into the poses. The only figure that I am not very excited about is the signaler. Not just because it is not a combat pose, but also because Engineer Bassevich had just released pretty much the same pose in its latest set. Also, note that the set comes with a wall section. I would not have minded if that had also been replaced by another combat pose. Forces of valor has given us many factory-painted wall sections that look even more realistic. One thing I like about this set is that these guys can be combined with their earlier sets to get more poses. For instance, there's a naval infantry guy who can be mixed with their first set. The guy with the smock can be mixed with the Stalingrad guys, and the regular infantry guys can be combined with the Brest Fortress figures.

Engineer Bassevich early war Soviet Infantry - Part I

These are early war Soviet Infantry figures. Apparently they are made in Russia. I find myself a bit ambivalent about these figures. On the one hand, the poses are nicely done, with a good degree of action and they have a lot of nice detail. For instance, the expressions on the faces of these figures are among the best I've seen. The casting however is not so great. The figures come with a lot of flash. Part of it looks like marks left over in the clay during the sculpting, the rest is probably from the mold. Also, the plastic that they are made of is very light. I tend to like figures better when they have a bit more weight. And then there is the price... not only are they very expensive relative to the average new production toy soldier, but you also end up paying a hefty shipping cost. At the end of the day each of them comes to about 5 dollars a piece, which not even many vintage figures fetch. So are they really worth it? We'll have to see how they paint up.

Engineer Bassevich early war Soviet Infantry - Part II

The rest of the poses. I could have done without the two guys standing in the middle, and taken two more action poses. BTW, notice the diversity in the uniforms and headgear at this early stage of the war. Also, you can't tell very well in these pictures, but these are some of the few Soviet figures made with a full backpack. You can see that better in the previous picture.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Part I

This other set is a theoretically an Infantry set, but it is actually a big mix of things. These guys for instance represent a couple of high ranking officers, and two regular army guys. The officer with the big coat must be some kind of big shot who is probably standing way behind the front lines.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Part II

These other guys are the crew of a tank and the guy on the right looks like a downed airman firing off a signal gun, perhaps hoping to be rescued before the enemy gets to him. Certainly not the average poses in an infantry set, however they will come handy in some unique scenes, not to mention that the nice level of detail will also make them look quite good when painted.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Part III

The last three poses in the set represent an artillery crew. Here I am showing them manning the Italeri ZiS 3 76mm Anti-Tank Gun, however that gun comes with its own crew, so now I am thinking that perhaps I will use them to man a captured German PAK of which I have several who are still lacking a crew.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Partisans - Part I

A unique set by Engineer Bassevich. The depiction of these partisans strikes a nice balance between showing them as civilians and soldiers. For example, the guys above might have just joined the partisan unit and are still wearing some of their original clothes and their weaponry is lacking automatic firing.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Partisans - Part II

These guys however are more rugged and is likely that they are regular army troops who got left behind the enemy lines and joined the partisans, giving them some badly needed training and leadership. As far as the quality of the figures go, I am quite pleased with this set. They don't have any flashing, and the plastic used to make them feels more dense, making them feel a bit more robust. The level of detail in the sculpting as you can see, is really great.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Partisans - Part III

These guys are probably a mix of civilians and ex-soldiers, but have been in the Partisan ranks long enough to have more sophisticated clothes and equipment. A very interesting touch is the kid in the middle, holding a captured German sub-machine gun. I actually saw a picture of such a kid, dressed very much the same way, which was surely the inspiration for the pose.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Military Women - Part I

Another unique set from Engineer Bassevich. This time the set is a bit of a mix. 8 Figures represent women across a range of military roles. As with some of the previous sets, some of the figures are inspired by actual historical characters. In this first picture we have Marina Raskova (far right), a pioneer in the Sovier Air Force and founder of 3 female pilot regiments. The next character is supposed to be a brave girl who rushed under the tank with and blew it up using a pack of grenades. This happened in September 23, 1943 near the village of Ivanenko, Ukraine. The sniper figure is supposed to honor women such as Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Rosa Shanina, Elizabeth Mironova, Mary Polivanova, Natalia Kovshova. Below are a few pictures which inspired these figures sent to me by Alex, the man behind Engineer Bassevich.

Elizabeth Mironova and the movie character which inspired the figure with the sub MG

Grenade Girl and Marina Raskova

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Military Women - Part II

On this picture we have Zina Tusnolobova, who lost all limbs helping the wounded in combat. While on the hospital, a tank unit heard of her and named 5 tanks after her. Another famous medic was Valeria Gnarovskaya (far right), a medic credited with saving many lives. In a single battle she is said to have brought from the battlefield 47 wounded, and then went on to defend them, killing over 20 and enemy soldiers. The figure in the left is a road inspector, as were Sonya Petkovska and Marya Shalneva. Below are a few more pictures which inspired these figures sent to me by Alex, the man behind Engineer Bassevich.

Marya Shalneva and women at attention

Medical instructor Valeria Gnarovskaya and medic Zina Tusnolobova

Zina Tusnolobova caring for a wounded man and one of the tanks named after her

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Scouts

These other 4 figures represent Red Army scouts. I like the 3 figures on the left better than the man on the right. He reminds me of the old days sculpting which would favor flat figures for ease of casting and release. I wonder why they made him this way. In terms of uniforms, the head cover and thickness strongly suggests that these are winter troops, although I suppose you could also paint them in a cammo scheme. Notice how they are also equipped with sub machine guns, something necessary given that they were used as an elite, shock unit.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Scouts

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Battle of Berlin Part I

Another nice set from Engineer Bassevich to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the capture of Berlin. A set with a nice level of detail and a generous number of poses (12!). Notable among them is the figure representing the man who raised the Soviet flag over the Reichstag. The figures are well proportioned, although a bit bulkier than those from other manufacturers, and the poses show a nice level of action, and are adequate for urban fighting. Speaking of comparisons with other manufacturers, I do like Engineer Bassevich's plastic better. It is harder and therefore the tips of weapons do not get bent.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Battle of Berlin Part II
The other poses also represent some of the other service branches, with a couple of tank men fighting outside their vehicles and what appears to be an airman fighting on the ground with his side arm. I recently learned that such coats were also issued to infantry troops, so maybe he is just a ground officer. Another thing I like about this set is that there are no figures standing guard as in many of EB's prior sets. Again, the level of detail on the figures is really good, and the manufacturing process did not leave any flashing. A very nice set, worthy of the event it commemorates.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry - Defense of Leningrad, 1941

Publius Soviet Infantry - Winter 1944

This is another really nice set from Publius. I often wonder if this sculptor is the same as Plastic Platoon's because the level of detail, quality, and sense of action in the poses is also exceptional. And compared to Plastic Platoon's figures, they are slightly less expensive. And a bonus is that this set actually contained 8 figures. This is supposed to be a winter set, but I like that the figures are outfitted for either a late fall/early winter, or a late winter/early spring weather, making them more versatile. The uniforms included coats, padded suits, and a Plash-Palatka rain cloak. In terms of weapons, they also have a nice range. From a flamethrower, to a captured panzerfaust, passing through all the standard Soviet small arms. Their weaponry, along with the poses make them very usable in a wide range of combat situations. Overall another great set from Publius.

Mars Soviet Infantry

Not a set for which there is a shortage of poses from prior manufacturers, but it is understandable that a Ukrainian firm would manufacture such a set around the 75th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War. No concerns from my end about the selection of poses. All are good, dynamic fighting poses. What's also nice about some of them are the rain capes (Plash-Palatkas). Not very common in sets from prior manufacturers. My only criticism about the set is that some of them show some flashing and/or mold misalignment down the middle line of the figure.

Warhansa Soviet Infantry - Defenders of Brest

These figures are only OK in my opinion. I feel that the body language lacks the sense of urgency and action that you might expect from men who are fighting with their last resources, against the odds, as the weapons and the wound suggest, and as the story of the Brest Defenders goes. The main thing to like about these figures is the material. It is a very solid plastic. Firm, but not hard. The one touch I did like quite a bit is the hair style of the wounded man. Well done.

Warhansa Soviet Infantry - Nameless Height

This set is named after a Russian WWII movie. I have not watched it so I don't know if the figures depict any specific events from the movie. And speaking of movies, the man with the rifle above his head reminds me very much of Ron Perlman in Enemy at the Gates. I wonder if that was intentional. Maybe not the resemblance with Ron Perlman, but to depict the same features that made Ron a good cast for that role. Other than that peculiarity, this set, like the one above, is OK, but not great, and at $30 for 4 figures, it's only a set I purchased to fill a hole in my collection.

Plastic Platoon Soviet 'Hunters and Prey' - Stalingrad, 1942

Starlux Soviet Infantry
I suspect these might be recasts as they don't have any color on them as opposed to the typical Starlux figures. Also, I don't really know how many there were in the set. I only got a hold of five of them, with two repeated figures. I am not overly excited about the poses. I don't like figures which just seem to be standing around not doing much, and that's how these guys look. But they are hard to find, so at least I am happy I have a few guys as a sample.

Starlux Soviet Infantry ?
I can't say for sure if these guys are Soviets. They look like they could be, but then again, the look very different from the three Soviets in the prior picture. I do like that they are action poses, so I hope they turn out to be Soviet. Even if they are not, maybe I will just use them a such.

Unknown Soviet Infantry
This is a guy who came with a mixed set of figures. It's actually fairly well done. And you can recognize well that he is a Soviet guy, not just by the uniform, but also by his weapon. Unfortunately, there are no markings on the figure to give a hint about the manufacturer. So if you happen to know who made him, please leave a comment.

Speira Miniatures Soviet Infantry

Here's one more Soviet infantry man. What's special about Speira Miniatures is that the figures are 3D printed. This guy is supposed to be standing up, running forward to throw his grenade, but he does not have a base to stand on. In due time I might glue him to one, but for now, I think he works equally well crawling forward. He just needs a bit of support on the back to keep him from rolling over.

Hanomak Soviet Infantry - Defenders of Brest

A good set to add to your ranks of Soviet infantry. By itself, it does not really give you enough of a fighting unit, but they are good 'character' figures to enhance your Red Army. The most interesting figures here are the female medic helping the wounded soldier, while firing a pistol, and the wounded man holding (or throwing?) a grenade. They are made to fit nicely with each other. The downside is that they don't really make much sense without each other. The bugler firing his pistol is also interesting and unique. The officer and the man firing his sub machine gun on the go are both nicely sculpted and useful battle poses. The wounded man standing around is the only pose that I think could have been used for a better purpose, particularly because we already had a wounded man in the set. But I suppose the idea was to convey the desperate situation faced by the defenders of the Brest Fortress.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Field Hospital - Part I

This set is addressing a range of characters that you might have run into within a dressing station or a hospital close to the front. Two key figures here are the surgeon and the nurse in their operating gowns. Then you have the stretcher bearers who would do the hard work of bringing their wounded comrades if they lived long enough to get there. These figures are well done. The only unusual thing is that the man carrying the front of the stretcher seems to have a very flat face, without a nose.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Field Hospital - Part II

Here we have a couple of characters who would have been at the front. Maybe a wounded pilot who crash landed, and a couple of medics supported by a dog trying to reach him to lend him aid. There's also a couple figures who would have been at the field hospital recovering from their wounds, and perhaps trying to make life a little livelier. And then we also have this other figure documenting the scene -the horrors of the wounded, and the high spirits of the man around camp- probably for some propaganda film. All of them interesting and unique characters addressing a topic not covered often. I typically prefer frontline figures, but with the wealth of Soviet infantry figures already made, it seems reasonable to branch out and cover these other subjects.

Hanomak Soviet Penal Battalion

The Soviet penal battalion set is similar in nature, in the sense that several of them are also engaged in hand-to-hand fighting, but I think I like this set better than the German one as all the poses are consistent with the level of action and useful in both a defensive and offensive scenario. I also like the sculpting and level of detail. For example, notice the bandaged hand on the man on the far right, which BTW is carrying a grenade cluster that comes off, so be careful not losing it. Note also the expression on the man firing with the captured German sub MG. You can even see his teeth individually! Another interesting bit about this set is that it comes with a traffic sign. Not a bad addition, but I would not have minded a seventh pose instead. Anyhow, all in all, a good set, which can be used really well for close quarters fighting against the German penal battalion set.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry Kharkov

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle Team, Winter Dress - Part I

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle Team, Winter Dress - Part II

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle Team, Summer Dress - Part I

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle Team, Summer Dress - Part II

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry, Battle of Kursk

Plastic Platoon Soviet 76mm Gun with Crew, Winter Dress - Part I

Plastic Platoon Soviet 76mm Gun with Crew, Winter Dress - Part II

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Red Army Continued - Part I

This set came with ten figures. The first five pictured above are a bit unremarkable. Three of them are just standing around. One of them is firing from a standing position - we have many of those, and the other one is advancing or standing pointing his bayonet forward. Maybe their best feature is that they are dressed in winter long coats. So why did I buy this set then? It was because of the other 5 figures representing Soviet Naval Infantry. You can check Part II of the set at the bottom of this other post.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry, Final Assault on Berlin 1945

Hanomak Soviet Infantry 'Citadel' - Part I

This is an interesting set from Hanomak. I am pretty sure it represents the defenders of the Brest Fortress, as Hanomak also made a set to represent the German 45th division, which is the unit that led the attack on Brest. Another clue is that most of the men are wearing what appears to be officer caps. That's because the fortress was defended not only by regular army troops, but also by NKVD and border guard units, who also wore such caps. In terms of the sculpting, it is OK for the most part, although I wish that the two poses on the right were leaning a bit more forward, consistent with their momentum. If you feel that something is missing from the second man from the left, that's because he is meant to be striking a German lying beneath him. He comes as part of the 'Dogs of the Reich' set, which I don't have yet.

Hanomak Soviet Infantry 'Citadel' - Part II

Here's the view of the two men behind the fortress walls. One of them is simply firing his rifle from the waist in a kneeling position. The other one, is a shirtless man running/jumping over the wall, using a wooden door as a ramp and ready to engage in intense hand to hand combat with his entrenching tool. Something to know is that most of these guys -except for the prone man and the one striking with his rifle- must be glued together. Not a problem if you have a good glue. These two guys while a bit bulky will look quite good if/when I get around to painting them. All in all a nice set.

Hanomak German and Soviet Infantry 'Confrontation' Set

Publius Soviet Cossacks - Plastun Division

It had been a while since Publius had released a WWII set and they did not disappoint with this new set! The topic is unique and the execution is superb as usual. Not just the poses, which are all very exciting and useful for a wide range of combat scenarios, but also the quality of the sculpting. Take for instance the engraving of the knife sheaths, the fur in the hats, or the detail of the medals. Everything is really well done. I also have to give them credit for not overdoing the bases as has been the trend lately with many Russian manufacturers. The bases are still nice without being bulky and more importantly, they do not constraint the environment in which the figures must be placed. The diversity of weapons and uniforms is also nice. As far as the unit, even though the Soviets fielded several battalions and regiments of Cossack soldiers, the only Cossack division was the 9th Krasnodar Plastun Division. They were considered an elite unit and the Germans referred to them as 'Stalin's cutthroats'. Now I just need more of those cutthroats to be able to field a larger unit!

Plastic Platoon Soviet Infantry, Battle of Konigsberg 1945

Publius Soviet Infantry, Battle of Khalkhin Gol

This is the other WWII set that Publius released in the second half of 2025. It represents the Soviet troops that fought against the Japanese in the Far East, along the border between Manchuria and Mongolia in 1939. I had to think twice before getting this set because there aren't that many other Soviet figures to complement them. But then I got them simply because they are so well done that it would be a shame to pass on them. In typical Publius tradition, the sculpting is top notch with plenty of action and detail. The most telling clue that these were early war troops fighting in the far east is their head gear. It contains several ssh-36 helmets with their distinctive ridge on top, and a couple of floppy hats (Panamkas). I also like the flag attached to the bayonet ala Japanese style. I don't know if that happened in other fronts, but it seems fitting for this theater. I can picture in my mind both sides running into battle across the vast expanses of the Mongolian steppe with their colors displayed in this way. All in all a very nice and unique set.

Classic Toy Soldiers Korean War Chinese - Part I

I got these guys thinking that I will use them as WWII Soviet Winter troops. The level of detail is so good that their faces actually betray them as Chinese. I might still be able to use them as Soviets, if we assume that they came from the Central Asian Soviet Republics. The uniforms and weapons all would pass as Soviet gear. In terms of the sculpting and poses, I am quite happy with this set. All poses are combat poses, which is the way I like them.

Classic Toy Soldiers Korean War Chinese - Part II

The man on the right is actually my favorite pose. You don't often see figures reloading their weapons, and he is doing it on the run. Another interesting detail of these figures is that the base is covered in snow and you actually see the footprints of the men on it. A nice touch of realism, which actually highlights the fact that I should have taken these pictures with a different background :-)

The only thing that some might criticize is that the sets come with 16 figures, but you don't get two of each pose. Three of them come in 3s and 3 of them as singles. Having 2 of each is useful if you plan on painting one set of poses and leaving the other 8 unpainted. On the other hand, if you want to use all 16 together, then, having one officer makes more sense than having two. All in all a nice and unique set from CTS, so I might not even mind buying a second one, perhaps to use as true Chinese.

Classic Toy Soldiers Korean War North Koreans

Similarly as with the CTS Korean War Chinese, my intention is to use these guys as Soviet Winter Troops. The sculpting is nice, and the uniforms and weapons fit just fine. My only wish is that the poses were a bit more dynamic. I don't like is as much when they are mostly standing around. But They do add 8 poses to the pool of potential Soviet Winter troops. Can't complain about that.

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Hanomak - Toy Soldiers

2025-11-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

Latest edit: Added the Soviet Mountain Troops 'Marukhsky Pereval' at the bottom of the post

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Hanomak is a recent entrant into the 1/32 Plastic Toy Soldier space. They are based out of Russia and they seem to be mostly focused on WWII figures. I only became aware of them last year, 2021, but they seem to be moving quickly in the production and release of their sets with at least 6 or so released so far and a few more in the works. Aside from WWII, they have also released a set of Celts/Ancient warriors. Their presence online is sparse. I mainly keep up with their releases through an Instagram account and third party posts on Facebook groups. This also makes it a bit hard to purchase their figures. You might be able to find them on eBay, or you need a direct connection with a dealer in Russia. The material of their figures is soft rubber, which means that weapons bend very easily. I suspect that will present a bit of a challenge when painting them and making sure the paint stays on, but nothing that can't be solved with a coat of Plastidip. A few of their sets also require gluing of hands/weapons/equipment, which is not as simple with their soft rubber as it is with harder plastic, but it is doable. In terms of their choices of sets, so far they favor less common aspects of the Eastern Front. For example, mountain troops or NKVD troops. Hanomak also seems to have made some type of deal/partnership with Vympel, another relatively new manufacturer, and they have purchased/released their set of Das Reich German soldiers under the Hanomak brand. This made it a bit confusing for a while as it was not clear what brand to search for if you were looking for those figures. I recently received several of their new sets so let's take a look at them.

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops - Part I

This set represents the Soviet Troops that were deployed to take back Mount Elbrus, during the 1942/43 German offensive into the Caucasus. The sculpting and level of detail does deliver what you would expect from a set addressing this subject. Starting with the poses, I really like that they are not just climbing, but they are actually engaged in battle. The bases and the equipment that they carry takes care of conveying the setting, from the obvious ropes and tools, to the more subtle crampon shoes, woolen socks, googles, etc., you can tell where these guys are fighting. I also like the rugged appearance of the men. Whether those beards are to keep warm, or reflect the complexities of maintaining the dress code at high altitude, they fit these guys very well.

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops - Part II

Hanomak German Mountain Troops

And these are the worthy opponents to the Soviet Mountain Troops. They are also a nicely detailed set, with plenty of mountaineering equipment on them. Crampons, ropes, pikes, googles, backpacks, as well as a good variety of fighting weapons. In terms of poses, I prefer the five on the left a they are actually doing something and can be used in a battle context. I particularly like the kneeling machine gunner. The man fending off an attack with his pike is also interesting, although I wonder why he is not using his sub machine gun. Maybe out of ammo, in which case he might be better off letting go off it and pulling out his knife? Another interesting pose is the man throwing the grenade. I like how he has two bags hanging around his neck full of grenades. And then there's the guy on the right. He gets a 10 for the level of detail, but I wish he had been posed doing something more than just standing around. I think he is supposed to he smoking a pipe. I chose not to glue it. It would just make him appear more relaxed than he already is. BTW, as I just implied, this set also requires the gluing of several weapons/accessories. Nothing too complicated, except for the fact that the rubbery material bends a bit too easily. Anyhow, all in all a pretty nice set which will complement the Airfix figures well.

Hanomak Soviet Infantry - Defenders of Brest

Hanomak Waffen SS - Das Reich Division

This is an interesting set for a couple of reasons. Originally, when the pre-release pictures came out, they were published by company called Vympel, but later it seems that Hanomak purchased the rights and began distributing it. This caused a bit of confusion. Also, the original pictures had 6 figures in it, however one of them was of a slightly larger scale, so Hanomak decided to not release it as part of this set. Probably a good decision. These five poses are true 1/32 scale, meaning, smaller than the 'Big 1/32' scale that Hanomak uses for their other figures. In terms of the figures themselves, they are all nicely sculpted, and good action poses. My only criticism is that they also require you to glue some of the hands/weapons to the figures. The molds have pins and holes in them to help with this but the rubbery material makes them useless because the pins bend when you try to put them into the holes. So the only solution is to slice off the pins and glue them as best as you can line up the arms with the hands. The other criticism is that the hands that come wit the weapons are smaller than the hands that come attached to the arms. Not very noticeable, but not great either. What I really like is the cammo foliage on the helmet of the second guy from the left, in addition to his overall stance. A great pose. And the machine gunner is also very nicely done. A unique variation on the pose. The sandbags are a separate piece so you can place your machine gunner behind a wall or any other protection you want. Lastly, the fact that most of them are wearing cammo smocks -even the commander- means that when these guys are painted they will look even more interesting.

Hanomak Soviet NKVD - Border Guards

At first glance these figures could be thought of as regular Soviet Infantry. Upon further inspection, I there are a few clues that confirm the name of the set. The first one is that they are all wearing a cap with a visor. I don't know if this is because all member of the NKVD force were officers, but it seems that when I see pictures of them, they are all wearing such cap. Then you have the guy with the dog, and also the machine gunner. If you watched enemy at the gates, those machine gunners are hard to forget. And then there are also the two guys standing around, likely detaining or interrogating someone. Two of the poses do seem to represent the political officers who were attached to front line units, to influence and monitor them ideologically. These officers would also fight alongside them and one can only imagine that either to demonstrate the strength of their political convictions or due to them, they would have led by example and tried to inspire their men, as the man with the flag is doing. In terms of the sculpting, no complaints. Nicely detailed, well proportioned, good poses. Similar rubbery material as the other sets, but in this case you only have to glue the shield to the machine gun.

Hanomak Soviet SMERSH - Liquidation Set

Another niche topic SMERSH was the military intelligence unit of the Soviet Army. In this set they are supposed to be hunting German sympathizers in liberated territories. Given that the three sympathizers are shown in more active fighting poses, I think it would have made sense to have the SMERSH guys display a little more intensity. The officer firing two pistols is OK, but the other two seem too relaxed. I am actually planning to fold the three civilian figures into my unit of partisans, and maybe use the SMERSH guys to enhance the ranks of my Soviet Infantry. I would not have enough of them to create a meaningful unit of SMERSH men. The three civilians are much more interesting. These guys may actually be former Soviet soldiers who aligned themselves with the Germans (notice the uniform under the coat, or the padded jacket and hat, and the German sub machine gun), or they could also be Germans who ended up behind enemy lines (notice the boots and the field cap). All nicely detailed and sculpted. And nothing to glue with this set.

Hanomak German Infantry Officer
Hanomak has produced a few extra figures that you can purchase separately. This is a German officer who is surrendering. H is nicely detailed, wearing gloves, spectacles, and his briefcase is lying at his feet. Note that he is also wearing a Y-harness, typically worn by the infantry men to attach and carry their kit/gear. So maybe this guy was a frontline officer, but he looks a bit too polished to me. More like a staff officer who would hang out at the rear, where he would not need to carry around a kit. What do you think? There are three other individual poses that I did not buy. All of them are German casualty figures (one of them a Mountain Troop), lying flat on the ground, too neatly for how you would expect a body to fall, so I took a pass.

Hanomak Soviet Partisans

This depicts the wide range of folks who took arms against the German invaders behind enemy lines. You can see fighting age men in Soviet army attire who are likely men who got encircled and left behind the German advance. There are older men fighting with farming gear, there are women who may have been civilians or maybe also Soviet army regulars, and there's even a teenager who is cursing and ready to throw a rock. And there's also the guy operating the radio which allowed them to coordinate their operations with the main Soviet forces. A good set from Hanomak which will complement well the other partisan sets that came before.

Vympel Germans In Search of Shambhala

I believe this set represents the German expedition led by Ernst Schaefer in 1938-39 to Tibet. The Nazi regime was interested in all things mystical and Shambhala, located in Tibet, is at the center of such mystical prophecies. I mainly care about this set because it has a few figures which can be used to enhance my unit of German mountain troops, particularly the two German men in the front row. The one figure that I don't have much use for is the one who appears to be a Tibetan holy man. It is nonetheless nicely detailed and interesting. BTW, I am not sure if this set is now owned by Hanomak, as was the case with the "Das Reich" set, or if Vympel remains a standalone firm, so for now I am listing them in this post.

Hanomak German Nordland Division

This is an interesting set representing the SS division made of volunteers from Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. Some of its figures could be used as Mountain Troops, or in general as Winter Troops. The two figures that I don't care much for are the female which appears to be a camp guard, and the cameraman. The former seems unrelated to a combat panzergrenadier division. The latter might have been there documenting the fighting, but in a set of just six figures I would rather have another fighting pose. I might probably use him if I ever setup a scene of Mountain Troops climbing Mt Elbrus. As far as the sculpting of the figures, the level of detail is nice, but they feel a little stiff for me in the sense that they all are standing very straight.

Hanomak German Penal Battalion

Hanomak Soviet Penal Battalion

Hanomak German Cossack

This is a figure that may not be too exciting for some collectors given that it is not much of an action pose. The appeal for me came from the fact that it is a mounted Cossack. The only other German Cossacks that I am aware of are the ones released by Mars a year or two back, but all of them are on foot. So this guy is great at representing their origins riding horses in the steppes of eastern Europe, and it will also make a good commander. In terms of the sculpting the figure is reasonably well done. It has some nice touches like the luger, the hat with the German insignia, and the pelt cover under the saddle, even if the detail is not the sharpest.

Hanomak Soviet Partisan

I had similar feelings about this figure as I did regarding the German Cossack. This guy is showing a bit more action firing or at least aiming his subMG, however the horse is way too relaxed. But if you want to give your partisans some variety so that not all of them are on foot, this is a decent figure to add to your collection. I wonder however how often partisans relied on horses as they seem like they would be much easier to track down. In terms of the sculpting, the figure is fairly average with a few interesting details like the bags on the horse or the rider's googles and mustache.

Hanomak German Tank Crewmen

This set represents dismounted tank crews in intense close quarters combat. Well, except for the officer who seems to be taking in the action. I am not sure why they depicted him like that. This set will be a good complement to a similar set from Mars, although I am not sure that I need that much volume of dismounted tank crews. What is interesting about this set is that it was produced using digital sculpting. That's why the lines are so smooth. You notice this specially on the clothes. I have to say that I prefer the hand-sculpted figures better, but I expect that this technique will continue to improve. In fact, the 3D printing is already quite impressive. As far as the figures, they are well posed and I do like that their bodies reflect the urgency of the situation.

Hanomak German and Soviet Tank Crewmen fighting

Here is a picture of how the German guy is supposed to be combined with its Soviet counterpart. The German guy has his pistol drawn, while the Soviet guy is about to stab him. Who do you think will prevail? BTW, notice that the Soviet guy is also a tank guy, which suggests that these two crews disabled each other's tanks, which would have had to happen at very close range for them to end up fighting hand-to-hand or were part of a larger tank battle and ended up running into each other while evacuating from the battlefield. Neither scenario seems very likely to me, but hey, everything is possible in the world of plastic toy soldiers...

Hanomak Soviet Tank Crewmen

This is the counterpart to the German dismounted tank crew. Similarly to that set, these guys are engaged in intense close quarters fighting, except for the guy who is holding his binoculars while his comrades struggle for survival. The poses are fairly decent, depicting the intensity of the moment. The only guy that I don't quite like is the man firing the subMG. His body is too stiff. You would expect him to be crouching slightly, even if only to brace himself from the recoil of his weapon. The detail on these guys is also fairly smooth -few creases on their uniforms, hardly any wrinkles on their faces-, due to the digital sculpting. These guys will join forces with some other dismounted tank men from Engineer Bassevich.

Hanomak Finnish Lapland Army

This is a very interesting and unique set from Hanomak. It represents the Finnish troops who fought the Germans after Finland stopped fighting the Soviets. The set is organized around a small anti-tank gun. The gun comes in multiple pieces and requires some assembly. I had to glue my together so that it would stay in place. The figures are all well posed and relevant to the situation. What is perhaps most interesting about them is the variety of uniforms. The man kneeling with the ammo is wearing a double-breasted jacket, the man firing the pistol seems to be wearing some kind of smock over his uniform, while the other three are wearing the more traditional Finnish uniform for enlisted men and officers. The set comes with an extra box of what appears to be armor-piercing ammo, as well as a few lose shells to place in the box and the guy's back.

Hanomak Soviet Arctic Troops

Even though this set is supposed to represent troops fighting in or around the Arctic Circle, there are only two guys who seem to be dressed adequately for the occasion -the officer and the man sitting on the ground seem to be pretty snug, but the other guys would be freezing. Or perhaps they are fighting in the summer months and we now have figures to defend the Arctic year-round? Jokes aside I actually bought this set to get my hands on the four naval infantry figures. I also don't have much use for the officer who is just standing around. But the three guys on the left, are in very nice action/fighting poses and will be a good addition to the unit. The guy who is aiming his handgun upwards is nice in terms of the sculpting and detail, but will also have limited uses on the battlefield.

Hanomak German Allgemeine SS Troops

These figures are meant to represent the non-combat branch of the SS. These guys in particular seem to be the ones that might be found guarding the Nazi headquarters or standing at attention during the military parades. In the early years of the regime, they would have likely worn black uniforms for ceremonial purposes. One thing I wish had been done with this set is to provide two or three guards with the same pose. That way they could be placed guarding a door or lined up next to a parade observing the same stance. I would have gladly traded one or two of the officers for more guards. And the female guard, that one seems like she could be working at a concentration camp for women. Not a scene I care to recreate, so I really don't have much use for her. Overall a decent set that will give me a few more good poses for a parade scene. These will be the guys around the podium. In terms of scale, these guys are closer to true 1:32.

Hanomak German Infantry 45th Division - Part I

Hanomak German Infantry 45th Division - Part II

Hanomak German PAK 40 Gun with Crew

Hanomak Soviet Infantry 'Citadel' - Part I

Hanomak Soviet Infantry 'Citadel' - Part II

Hanomak German and Soviet Infantry 'Confrontation' Set

Hanomak German Nebelwerfer with Crew

This is a very well received set from my perspective. I only have one other nebelwerfer in my collection and that one does not have a crew. What's interesting about this one though is that it appears to represent the nebelwerfer 42 which had 5 barrels as opposed to the nebelwerfer 41 which had 6. However, the ammunition being depicted is the one for the nebelwerfer 41. The ammunition for the nebelwerfer 42 had a pointed warhead, as opposed the the phallic shape of the 41's ammo. But given how unusual it is to have such a set, I am not going to get too picky about the ammo mismatch. In addition to the 3 crew men, the set also comes with a sandbag emplacement. I am not a big fan of it. I would have rather had more figures or a lower price point instead of the sandbags. Also, be mindful that the nebelwerfer requires a bit of assembly and gluing, but nothing complicated.

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Baltika' Set 1

I am not sure why Hanomak has released their Naval Infantry figures in two sets of 3. Here are the first 3. The two men standing are OK. The man on the left is a bit too straight for my taste, but his redeeming quality is that he is actually firing a captured German light machine gun - looks like an mg 34. The man on the right is just right as far as his stance and I like that he is wearing a helmet to give the unit a bit of variety in terms of head gear. And that leaves the prone guy. I think he is the most interesting guy in the set. If you look closely, he is holding a cluster of hand grenades, the kind that you might use to blow up the tracks of a tank. Is that the reason why he is crawling? It is also a nice detail that he is wearing two full ammo belts across his chest which will give him some good color once he is painted. I really like Soviet Naval infantry, so I am happy to add these to the ranks and I am eagerly waiting to get my hands on part 2 of these 'Baltika' guys!

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Baltika' Set 2 - Part I

Here is the rest of the squad. Very nicely done, both in terms of the poses and the detail. The man firing the light machine gun on the go is nice enough, but the two man team carrying the machine gun is the special treat here. I am usually not a fan of figures that can't be deployed on their own as it limits their use. In this case, these two guys clearly go together. While the guy in the front could be made to drag the machine gun on his own (and I did glue the MG only to the guy in front to preserve that possibility), the second guy would look awkward leaning down and grabbing nothing, so not a lot of other things for him to do than help his buddy. But theses guys are unique enough that it's worth it to invest two poses to create this team vignette.

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Baltika' Set 2 - Part II

To better appreciate the detail on the MG and also how the back man is grabbing it I took a second picture. The second guy's hand is made so well that he can hold the tip of the muzzle in the cup of his hand formed by his folded fingers. It is also worth mentioning that the bipod for the light machine gun also comes detached and it must be glued to it. I use Maxi Cure from Bob Smith Industries. You need very little and it creates que seems like a permanent bond even across very small attachment surfaces.

Hanomak German PAK 36 with Crew

Hanomak Soviet 45 mm Anti-Tank Gun 'Sorokapyatka' - Part I

As you can see, this anti-tank gun is operated by a 4-man crew. One man is loading and firing the gun, another is handing him the ammunition. A third one is dealing with the cases containing additional ammunition, and the fourth one is observing and directing the fire. A good crew which can probably be deployed to help with other artillery pieces. In addition to the men you also get a wooden defensive position to go with it. I feel that this set is sculpted at a slightly better level of quality and detail than other Hanomak sets. The posing feels less rigid and more natural. Perhaps if you want to be highly critical, the hands could be done slightly better, and the 45 mm shell being held by one of the men feels a bit too thin, but other than that, I think this is one of their best sets.

Hanomak Soviet 45 mm Anti-Tank Gun 'Sorokapyatka' - Part II

Here's a view from the front to appreciate the detail on the front of the wooden barricade. I probably would have preferred to be able to buy the gun without it. I don't really need it and I would rather pay a lower price, but given that you get it, and it is reasonably nicely detailed, I should be able to incorporate it into some defensive works for this or some other artillery unit, specially once it is painted as it has pretty nice texture on the wood and the rocky ground.

Hanomak Soviet 45 mm Anti-Tank Gun 'Sorokapyatka' - Part III

I took this other picture to try to show the different parts that have to be glued to put together the gun. The gun comes as 11 separate parts, 3 of which have to be glued quite precisely to assemble the gun's operating mechanism. What makes it harder is that there are no instructions and some of these parts come attached to their sprue and it is not clear where to cut. Some of the plastic is needed as a pin to be inserted into some small holes, and some of the plastic is simply excess material but it all looks the same. Fortunately I found some pictures of some real guns out there on the internet that guided me in this process. Another thing I had to fiddle with is the gluing and positioning of the trails. At first it seemed like they were going to end up with the hole for the pin that keeps them together on the outside, but it is supposed to go in the middle. After some trial and error I figured out how to glue them in a way that the holes are on the inside. This was not intuitive given how the parts are designed to fit together. In fact, at the online store where I bought them, the pictures they show have them glued incorrectly.

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Kerch Set'

I an a big fan of Soviet Naval infantry figures, so when I saw this set I had to get it. I know that many will find the guy getting off the boat a bit odd. I do to. In fact, I really dislike such figures because they limit extremely where and how that figure can be used. Obviously not many of us have a harbor setup where we can attach the bow of this boat to some other partial ship. Anyhow, my plan is to cut off the section of boat and use the plank to get in and out of some ruined buildings. I considered giving the man another base entirely, and that would not be too hard because he is not fixed into the base. His feet simply plug into it. But the angle at which he would be standing relative to level ground would be off. Another figure which is a bit odd is the one walking on water. Yes, they have sculpted a wave under him! And it is not even a great looking wave. It resembles more a big foot with toes. So here what I am planning to do is to simply decorate the base with rubble once I paint the guy. Other than that the figures are really nice, well posed, with realistic uniforms and weapons, and well detailed -look as those mustaches :-). They will be a nice addition to the Soviet sailors fighting in the ruins of Stalingrad or Sevastopol! BTW, if you were wondering about the name of this set, Sevastopol and the Kerch Peninsula are both in the Crimea which the Soviet sailors helped to liberate.

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops Cloud Front - Part I

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Odessa Set'

This is the 4th set of Soviet Naval Infantry from Hanomak. I probably don't need any more of these guys, but I have a soft spot for this service branch, so I had to get them. Except for the second guy from the right who is just hanging out on top of a big rock, the other 5 guys are pretty good action poses. The radio man is a particularly unique pose. A useful figure in any unit. The way he has been posed is also quite different. Something that caught my attention is that several of the men have Asian-looking faces. I don't know if this is intentional or it is just my imagination. If that's the case, that would be a realistic touch that makes this set representative of the many ethnicities that served in the Soviet ranks. Another thing to note is that the officer's base is bent upwards. I tried to straighten it using the hot/cold water treatment, but it did not make any difference. The material is quite rubbery so it just bends right back up. I am probably going to glue a flat base underneath, fill the gap with putty and make it look like he is standing on a chunk of rocky terrain, similar to the other guys.

Hanomak Soviet Mountain Troops 'Marukhsky Pereval'

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