Two Red Army tank commanders from WWII are the subject of Alpine Miniature's latest releases. As usual, we look at each one, painted & unpainted, with a comparison to the real soldiers of the time & what they were wearing to see the quality of the sculpts and research - it's all there in our preview...
Preview: 1/35th scale WWII Russian Tank Commanders from Alpine Miniatures
One could say that the Red Army tanks of WWII were one of the bigger contributors of the victory against the German army. they were certainly used in a lot of the propaganda of the time and we have many pictures and videos of Soviet tankers and their vehicles, especially on the attack in the latter years of the war when the Soviets were mostly on the advance.
Russian Tank Commander #1
Kit No #35281
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The figure comes with 2 head choices.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms
Boxart by Calvin Tan
Alpine Miniatures has provided this figure with two alternate headgear choices, the peaked officer's cap which we see in this picture. This was the headdress that tank officers typically wore. This visor cap of the Red Army was issued for use from 1935 onwards. The hats come with a strap that can be affixed around the chin if need be, These caps featured side studs/ buttons and a soviet red star badge on the front of the hat.
This tanker's heads both have the same face, the button nosed tanker with a slight cleft chin and furrowed brow comes out very nicely in the box art painting by Calvin tan.
The other headgear choice is the leather padded tanker's helmet with goggles placed upon them. The Red Army tanker' helmets were to prevent damage from the sidewalls of the tank and protrusions of equipment and hatches all looking to bring the hurt. The goggles were a wartime RKKA design that had three variations in the length of the windows to increase peripheral vision or fit the individual soldier’s face. Below left, the large ‘long window’ version on a motorcycle-sidecar team. Right, an RKKA tank crew member with the smaller ‘short window’ version.
We saw only yesterday Alpine's new Tank Commander #1 unpainted in clean light grey resin. you can see more details here of what you get in the pack
We see the full body figure here with his two head choices, the long tanker's overalls, leather strap and belt and high boots under the legs of the trousers of the figure.
A photo below of the tanker's overall with its distinctive buttoned-down pocket on the left breast and waist pocket on the right hip. This tanker on the left below is also wearing the same goggles and headgear as our man. Do you notice the wrinkles in the overalls that are neatly copied by the sculptor here in this figure?
Do you notice the blue colour in the box artwork? Soviet tanker's overalls were either blue or black (mostly)
You can see below the tanker's very thick leather heavy gloves who's details have been skilfully picked out by the box art painter Mr Tan. The thick leather is stitched along the length of the glove
Below on the right is a Soviet armoured car BA crew member in sergeant rank with the German (who were of course allies in 1939) with the same old fashion Nagan holder.
Russian tank commander # 2
Kit No #35282
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The figure comes with 2 head choices.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms
Box art by Calvin Tan
This second tank commander wears a little bit more winter-weight clothing. This figure is a half-body figure that rests on his hands on either side of the tank hatch. Again he has the choice of two different headgears while having the same facial figures for both soldiers. The first of those is shown in the pictures above and below a fur-lined padded version of the tanker's helmet. A lot warmer in the Russian winter, especially out of the vehicles. The hat has warm sheepskin inside, with built-in headphones and a laryngophone (throat microphone) attached to it.
The second head choice wears the ubiquitous Ushanka - a sheepskin-lined leather hat that is incredibly warm, it would serve also as a padded helmet inside the tank, but more commonly worn outside the tank and by commanders with the large red star present in the middle of the hat.
As an example of why tank commanders would want to wear the padded tanker's helmet or this Ushanka - in the harsh winter of 1941-42, when the temperature in places dropped to -52 ° C. The tank officers below are wearing the same hat and even the same jacket. Also called a Ushanka-hat or trooper hat, it had ear flaps that can be tied up to the crown of the cap, or tied at the chin to protect the ears, jaw and lower chin from the cold. The thick dense fur also offers some protection against blunt impacts to the head. It offers protection far superior to that of a typical beanie cap should the wearer fall and hit his or her head against ice or packed snow. Military-style Ushanka of the Soviet Army. Ushankas are often made from expensive sheepskin, rabbit or muskrat fur.
Again, we saw this figure with the two head choices yesterday when they were previewed on the Alpine Miniatures FB page. It is great to see thee unpainted to see an alternative look at them put together in raw form.
The largest part of this sculpture is the torso with the Polushubok or short sheep-skin fur coat. Also different type of winter uniform. Technically, an attempt to make something in between a vatnik and a trench coat. Warmer than the trench coat, less bulky than the vatnik. These were common for a good reason especially during the winter months, so popular in fact, that the Germans often pilfered these from the Russians they encountered.
Here you see the officers of the Red Army tanker service, they wear exactly what this figure is wearing (almost) with the lined tanker's jacket and helmet. The tanker's coats show you the attention to the buttons and loops on the jacket that are sculpted very finely here in 35th scale - pretty hard to do!
The thick - again lined mittens that this commander is wearing are usefully sculpted as flat as possible so that they sit directly on the tank's hull or turret flush.
Although hard to see, the officer on the left below wears the same lined mittens, also the same five-pointed star buckled belt that this figure wears...
From the rear, you can see the stitched officer's belt, pistol on the right hip on his belt, the strap over his shoulder, all affecting the thick jacket and pinching the seams as it contracts against the body in a very natural fashion. The thick seams on the jacket are sculpted in there adding more detail to an otherwise rather thick coat that has far fewer folds potentially than a thinner jacket.
Russian Tank Commander Set (2 figures)
Kit No #35283
1/35th scale
Cast in light grey resin
The pictures show both of the figures with 2 different heads each.
Sculpture by Taesung Harmms
Boxart by Calvin Tan
These two figures are also sold as a set in the same box at a slightly cheaper price point than buying both single figures. Both of these tankers are in a warmer material, although one is suited to the real Russian winter, while the other one would be a little chilly outside his tank!
If you like these you can order these two figures separately or as a set as well as any other of Alpine's figures directly from their website if you live in the US, or through their distributors worldwide.
