Tuesday, December 3

Preview: 1/16th scale "Soviet Soldier, 1945" from Stalingrad Miniatures...

Stalingrad Miniatures has gone up in size with this new 1/16th scale figure of a Soviet soldier in the last days of WWII. We look at the figure & the senes that inspired the sculpt in our preview...


Preview: 1/16th scale "Soviet Soldier, 1945" from Stalingrad Miniatures...

"Soviet Soldier, 1945"
From Stalingrad Miniatures
Kit No. 603
1/16th scale
One figure in light grey resin
Sculpted & box art by Alexander Zelenkov
This figure was inspired by several photos of Soviet soldiers from the last year, months, and days of WWII. The photos are below, and they show the figures in their typical woollen coats, PPSh steel-stamped & wooden but sub-machine guns, and thick boots. 

The inspiration:
This series of photos, taken from Soviet-occupied Europe in late WWII/1945. The Soviet soldier is seen mirrored in many of these men, ushanka padded fur hats with thick, woollen great coats and leather boots. These soldiers are seen either with others in their units or sheparding refugees and displaced persons back to their safe places after the war. 
We would have loved to see the dog in there, wouldn't we? This soldier is clearly seen guarding the Budapest bridge at the end of WWII. He is seen wearing all of the same gear that this figure has, with a good view of the rear of this man looking surprisingly like the figure...
A view of several Soviet soldiers, wearing pretty much the same gear as each other and as this figure, seen marching near the centre of Budapest after their victory there...
Our soldier (on the right) is seen with soldiers with a group of captured Hungarian soldiers and officers on the street Kinizsi in Budapest. February 1945...

The figure: "Soviet Soldier, 1945" from Stalingrad Miniatures Kit No. 603 (1/16th scale)
This single figure is cast in light grey resin, coming unassembled from the sculpt by Alexander Zelenkov. He is seen below, unpainted and assembled. with the affore-mentioned uniform, great ocat, with thick lappels, a leather belt clenching it in the waist, and the thick coat slowly folding in the waist section. The strap holding his bread bag and his PPsH also pulling and folding his thick coat.
Below you can see some close-ups of his face. This is the painted figure, also by Alexander Zelenkov. I can see the enhanced detail in the face of the man, with wrinkled eyes, maybe from harsh living or perhaps laugh lines, with heavily lined jowls also. You can see him smoking one of the fat russian cigarettes (that smelled like death, I always say) or at least led to it if they got through the war alive.
The rear shows you, especially the  folds of the thick coat in the arms, the waist and the pinched and pulled clothing underneath those straps for his gun and bread bag.

This figure is available right now. Check these out and all of Alexander's other works at the Stalingrad Website: