Wednesday, November 20

Stalingrad bring out their warmly dressed Soviet soldiers fighting not just the Germans but cold and hunger!

Just when you thought all the good sculptors came from Korea Stalingrad Miniatures reminds us of the quality coming from Russia. It is the cold Eastern front experience that is the focus for the newest range of figures from Stalingrad. This time with his very personalized style of sculpting figures we see Russian soldiers at rest and looking after the next generation.

New products from Stalingrad for November:

# 3051 - Russian Officers, 1939-43
These Russian officers are seen discussing plans on a map. They are sold as a set of two, and we will look at them each in turn.

Some pictures of the inspiration of these figures..
The taller officer wears a large great coat which dominates his whole torso. He has braces over the coat on which hang both his map pack and the case for his binoculars. He also has a pistol for self-defence in its holster on the right hip. 

To protect his feet he wears the thick padded valenki and the ushanka covers his head from the cold.

The smaller officer also has the same footwear and headwear as his comrade. The ushanka has the ear flaps hanging down keeping him warm.
He also has a great big padded coat with fur lining that almost dwarfs him as it sits very wide at his lower body. He is seen peering at the map while his bigger mate is telling him “what’s what”


# 3052 - Russian Tanker, 1939-45
A little like his comrades in this set – this figure is also sculpted by Alexander Zelenkov. He is seen with his hands at his side – almost to attention but almost looking straight on at what’s in front of him. Like his comrades he wears the padded telegroica pants and jacket and felt Valenki boots.
This tanker wears a padded tanker’s soft helmet with a fur lined inside that conceals most of his face when all done up. He also has a pistol for self-defence on his rear right hip in a holster.
Inspiration for this sculpt...

# 3053 - Russian Soldier, 1940-45
This cheery looking young soldier is seen at a time of rest ready for some hot “chi” or maybe some vodka for his cup?

The inspiration…

The figure

He is seen in his fur lined Ushanka hat, his padded telegroica jacket and pants as well as his thick outer boots called Valenki, these kept the Russian soldier’s feet from suffering the cold effects and were usually worn for walking on dry snow when the weather is frosty. The Germans often nicked these off their enemies once captured or even dead bodies. He is seen here sitting on a resin box supplied with the set.


# 3054 - Russian Soldier and Orphan, 1941-45
 
This Russian infantryman is dressed ready for winter – his ushanka on his head, the large fur lined coat and padded thick pants and boots – he is giving comfort and food to a little маленькая девочка (little girl) who is wrapped up in a soldier’s blanket. The feeding looks like it might be under some protest – maybe she doesn't’t like rations much?

The pictures of the sculpt and the wartime images it was inspired by..
The two sit on top of a resin wooden box as the feeding takes place – of note on the little girl is her traditional headscarf and on the soldier his shoulder slung PPsh 41 “Pe-Pe-Sha” stamped steel machine gun and his wrinkled forage bag on his waist. His furry gloves and collar of his jacket look great as well.
These kits are avialable to purchase on line right now - More info and all of their other excellent kits can see on the Stalingrad web-site www.stalingrad.diorama.ru
New set from Stalingrad
Big Set - Russian Infantrymen, Berlin 1945
The set includes 10 figures 
We will have a look at each of the figures in detail – but first Alexander from Stalingrad who sculpted these sent us some atmospheric shots he used in the crafting and Imagineering of this large set of Russian soldiers storming Berlin in the last battle for Europe in WWII..

S-3046 - Russian Infantryman, Berlin 1945
The Red army soldier runs hard at the front with his PPsh 41 “Pe-Pe-Sha” stamped steel machine gun. Interesting for this soldier he carries a German made bread bag on hid belt hip along with a round spare MG mag and an entrenching tool.
His billowing coat is a star of this sculpt and he really does give an impression that he is “head down bum up” as he bee-lines it for cover/the enemy.
You can see the picture here that inspired the figure – this Guardsman running through piles of rubble.

S-3047 - Russian Infantrymen, Berlin 1945
This is a fine pair in this one box – it encompasses the officer – leaning over to look at where his soldier’s attention is focused at in the distance, somewhere in the rubble.
The Officer wears a leather coat with his large guard’s sideboards obvious as the red star on his officer’s cap. He carries a Luger in his right hand (with holster on his belt) and a map case on his left hip. I like the way his coat is hanging downwards towards the way he is leaning.
You can see here in the picture that spawned this figure the officer in the middle of these soldiers – his leather jacket and cap prominent.
The other soldier who is lying prone on the ground is in a more typical garb for a soldier, his tunic and leggings are nicely wrinkled with movement as he wriggles across the ground for a better look.
He is carrying a late war  7,62 mm PPS-43 SMG with banana shaped magazine and you can see by looking closely his medal on his chest is hanging straight down in a natural way – very nice sculpting again.

In the picture below you can see just how the red army man is lying down and inching his way forward.


S-3048 - Russian Infantryman, Berlin 1945    
This soldier looks to me like a junior officer/nco in the red army. He is winding up just about to throw his pineapple grenade at those German beasts. Again he carries a late war model PPS-43 SMG – you can tell it apart from the earlier PPsh 41 by the metal stock and thin, bent magazine.
He wears a padded hat called an “ushanka” that has fold down ear pads to protect him from the cold of winter as well as a medium length coat over his padded trousers and boots covered with wrappings that act as galoshes. 


S-3049 - Russian Infantryman, Berlin 1945
This last figure comes with a bit of Berlin with him! The figure includes a small part of the base which is basically resin bricks for the red army soldier to walk on and make sure he is correctly posed.
Like his comrade he has short boots with wrappings/galoshes and thick trousers under a warm double breasted overcoat. On his back is his “meshok” forage bag which carried pretty much anything he could carry. And he wears on top of his head the standard Red Army soldier’s helmet.
 
You can see in this famous picture of two soldiers – wrapped against the cold looking onto Berlin’s famous main street and large winged statue. Iconic. Notice his “meshok” forage bag? Well done Alexander!

Earlier soldiers in this Berlin set...

# 3041 - Russian Infantryman, Berlin 1945
This infantryman – in his padded "Telogreika" jacket and padded trousers are a common theme in this set of attackers of Berlin in 1945 – he carries a grenade on his hip, a “meshok” forage bag on his back as well as high boots and a soft Model 1935 forage capon his head.
 
He is making use of his fast firing PPsh 41 “Pe-Pe-Sha” stamped steel machine gun – popular for lots of rounds real fast on the enemy. He has it to his shoulder as he sights the enemy.

# 3042 - Russian Infantryman, Berlin 1945
 This soldier of the Soviet army carries a large light machine gun – the Degtyaryov machine gunDP-28 at his hip in a firing or ready to fire stance as he scans the distance.
He is wearing a steel Russian standard helmet with a thick greatcoat covering much of his uniform and only his boots are showing. Over his coat he wears a large satchel band with two of the large round magazines for his MG inside with a wrap around his chest

# 3043 - Russian Infantryman, Berlin 1945
this hard fightin’ comrade wear a padded hat called an “ushanka” that has fold down ear pads to protect him from the cold of winter though this one has the flaps tied up for ventilation. He also wears the padded "Telogreika" jacket and field trousers with high boots. You can see his padded knees built into his pants and the detail around his padded jacket especially at the waist which looks very good in this sculpt.
 
On his back he carries one of the late war  7,62 mm PPS-43 SMG’s that were favoured for close combat in house to house fighting – ohh and just in case you missed it he is brandishing a large “panzerfaust” anti-tank (and building) rocket which he is aiming at something unfortunate in the distance. He also carries a synthetic leather map pouch on his rear as well as a knife on his belt – armed to the teeth!.


# 3044 - Russian Infantryman, Berlin 1945
This infantryman is brandishing his PPsh 41 “Pe-Pe-Sha” at the ready on his shoulder in a firing position. He has some spare rounds on his hip in a carry pouch and a pineapple grenade on his hip just in case.
 
He is in the classic kneeling pose wearing his padded "Telogreika" jacket and field issue trousers as well as high boots and an “ushanka” hat on his head.

# 3045 - Russian Infantryman, Berlin 1945

Looking like he is scurrying across the street this soldier carries a captured Sturmgewehr 44 fully automatic assault rifle captured from the Nazis and treasured not only a war prize but a great battlefield weapon by the soviets & allies. He has standard clips in their holsters attached to his belt.

Wearing not only his padded "Telogreika" jacket and padded pants over some boots insulated luge wraps and an “ushanka” hat on his head he looks like he is in a hurry!

 New resin kit from Stalingrad in October 2013:
S-3020 - Soviet Tram Series “Kh” (WWII era)

Full resin kit,
1/35 scale,Decals included.


This full resin kit is detailed inside and outside and will look just amazing built up and in either in a regular running condition or partially obliterated in a wartime diorama. The “KH” tram series will do for just about anywhere in Europe during WWII but they always remind me of Central and Eastern Europe
More photos and build instruction from Stalingrad to show you a little more of the kit
And here she is ready for paint - some outstanding detail! - I can say that this will be a special kit and much beloved when it arrives
Check out Stalingrad’s site for ordering and any more on some of their great resin kits…

 
# 502 - German boxes and equipment

This set of resin equipment may be found in it’s real state littering the battlefield either in Berlin 1945 or in any other diorama you want to make. The resin kit features a decal sheet with lots of markings to further enhance your boxes, buckets, a crate, suitcases binoculars, map case, steel & wooden boxes. This looks to be very nicely detailed when painted up as seen here.

More info and all of their other excellent kits can see on the Stalingrad web-site www.stalingrad.diorama.ru
 
New June 2013 Items from Stalingrad:

# 3590 – 1/35th sale Waffen-SS Panzer Crew, Kursk 1943 Big Set
This large new set from Stalingrad includes ten (10!) figures and the decal for a well-known tiger that fought in “Operation Citadel” the attack of the Kursk pocket in 1943 – If you get this set you get two bonus figures that aren’t sold separately – let’s have a look at them all and also some extra items on sale this month.

A full body figure sculpted in 35th scale – this SS Panzer commander (these soldiers could be plain Wehrmacht as well as their tunics are often hidden) this tank man is seen talking to a soldier on the ground – directing him towards probably where they don’t want to go in the tank!

The commander wears a side forage cap and a full length tanker’s overall over high boots and he carries a pistol for self-defence. He has in his hand a pair of short Zeiss opticals..
This excellent set of Crewmen fit very well on your Tiger tank – Like real people of this time living on wartime rations they are skinny young men. One of the tankers is watching on looking into the distance sitting on the turret and leaning on the commander’s cupola. He is wearing no headgear and an Oak leaf pattern (as painted here) pair of overalls.
His companion looks like a ranking officer – his sideboards have officer’s pips on them and his arms are spaced so he perfectly fit the commander’s cupola of your tiger. He is a full body figure – and as well as his overalls he wears a P-38 holster and an M42 peaked cap on his head.
Inspiration for this soldier is taken from a picture of a German tanker sitting rather dejected in the turret of a T-34 – maybe he was annoyed at driving in a Russian tank?
Well you cannot really tell from the picture but the sculptor really did a good job with his facial figures he really does have a sideways look on and a downturned mouth!
This junior Mr Puniverse is seen in just his trousers and boots with a side forage cap and nothing else on – his inspiration again is from a picture of several tank men on a Tiger. He is looking on to the horizon like his comrades.
This tousle-haired tanker is seen making his way up on the Tiger’s front deck glacis plate in a period picture which again was his inspiration. His left hand rests on the barrel of the 88mm gun as he makes his ascent up the vehicle.
 
 I like the elasticated band on the tank man’s waist. The overalls are baggy as well and fold naturally with the movement of the man.

This SS panzer officer is identifiable by the painted figure who has Waffenfarbe in “Rosa” or pink signifying the panzer Korps.
The officer comes with a choice of two hand options – one holding his gloves and the other holding a map in his hand – nice to get the choice – and even if you didn’t use the hand on this you could use it on another.  
The map especially looks good as you can see the folds in it – you can see these soldiers in the picture below.
 
This tank man is equally impressive – from his skinny torso with rolled up sleeves showing a small wristwatch and the Panzer destruction badge on his chest to his M42 peaked cap.
The wrinkling on the pants especially is impressive and the whole body language is well done.
Also on sale this month are three Russian alternative forms of transport – if you liked being pulled along that is!
# 3013 - Russian farmers cart
This large based Russian cart could either pack lots of gear or lots of people – your choice – it is cast in resin and the instructions are included to show you how they go together

# 3016 - Russian farmers cart for hay
This high sided cart is more suited to carrying a load than people – oww maybe just a few kids or some hay! Again the instructions show you a lot about this resin kit.
# 3019 - Russian sledge
Just in time for the Winter Olympics next year – this Sledge is perfect for civilians or soldiers pulling wounded or provisions though the snow – it’s your choice!
You can order these from the Distributors from Stalingrad’s web-site www.stalingrad.diorama.ru
New figures from Stalingrad this April

# 3005 – German General and his driver
This high level staff officer of the Wehrmacht is seen either getting into or most likely out of his staff car whilst his driver stands to attention behind him opening the door.


The General is seen with a full length wool lined coat with his decorated sideboard easy to see in these pictures. He has his leg raised in an interesting pose and here you can see that it fits the Opel Kapitan staff car pretty perfectly but I suppose it could be just about any car really.

His corporal (Unteroffizier) is seen here standing stiffly to attention in his ¾ length greatcoat with side M-34 forage cap on his head while he holds the door open for his commander.



# 3006 – German Officer
This man could well be posed with the General and his driver – he is seen standing rigid whilst at attention as his commander gets out of his staff car.
The officer wears a dispatch rider weight rubberised long coat that has a large pocket on the front of it and he carries a large sealed map or plans – probably why the high ranking officer is there to see him in the first place.


# 3007 - German soldiers on excursion
These two lads look like trouble! In a scene reminiscent of the first part of the movie “Stalingrad” (apt on this occasion) the soldiers are at a tourist locale behind the lines and one at least is wounded. He carries his arm in a sling under his jacket, which bears one or two medals telling of his exploits..

His Kammeraden looks like he is up to no good as well – although not wounded he carries a Leica III camera or a bunch of flowers – why you ask? Because he has fixed in his gaze the two lovelies that lay on the beach in our next set…



# 3008 - Girls On Beach
These two lovely young ladies are just out of the water on a trip to the back, who knows if they know they have attention from the German tourists?
There are two lady figures here – one is seen resting sitting down looking ahead at either the water or her friend.
Her companion has just gotten out of the water and is drying her hair with a long towel. Her swimming costume is textured and looks great in this sculpt.
The girls have a bunch of stuff sprawled out around them – all their personal effects on the beach. We think that Stalingrad have captured their beauty very well indeed.


# 3576 - Red Army Tanker
This lad from the Red Army has a crafty cigarette or ”сигарета” He can be seen here inside the turret of his tank but he can be posed outside his vehicle as well as he is a full bodied figure.
Wearing his tanker’s leather jacket and side forage cap with a long and nasty looking captured knife on his belt this soldier has an excellent look on his face. It is the trademark of Stalingrad’s figures and he looks like he is enjoying every last bit of that ciggie!


# 3577 - Red Army Tanker
The last figure in this month’s releases is sitting flush inside his vehicle and has as a feature of this sculpt got flattened arms so when he leans on the vehicle  he os looking forward and down and quite convincingly so as his clothes meld with the surface of the tank.
He wears the iconic Russian tanker’s padded helmet and is seen here in light dress – so maybe he and his comrade are at the beach watching the girls?? Sounds like a dating game show – Russians against the German team – who will get the girls?

All of these figures are now available from Stalingrad’s distributors – to be found on their website www.stalingrad.diorama.ru