Sunday, January 29, 2023

Vympel - Toy Soldiers

Vympel seems to be a recent entrant into the 1/32 Plastic Toy Soldier space. They are based out of Russia. I first came across them when I saw pictures of their 'Das Reich' set. For a while I was a bit confused because shortly after I saw the same figures being advertised by Hanomak. Later I learned that they made some type of commercial deal with them and Hanomak ended up selling their Das Reich set. See more on that below. Initially I thought that Hanomak had purchased Vympel as a whole, but later it became apparent that they were still operating independently, when they released their next set representing the pre-war German expedition into the Himalayas. I hope to see more production from Vympel going forward as their Das Reich figures in particular were a good addition to the hobby.  

Hanomak Waffen SS - Das Reich Division
Hanomak / Vympel 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 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 / Vympel Flamethrower
Hanomak / Vympel Flamethrower
The sixth figure in the Das Reich set was meant to be the flamethrower guy.  As mentioned before, it was a bit larger than the other figures in the Das Reich set, so it got released along with the Norland set by Hanomak.

Vympel Germans In Search of Shambhala
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. 

 

Ratnik - Toy Soldiers

Ratnik appears to be a Russian manufacturer based out of Ekaterinburg. I believe the name Ratnik means warrior in Russian, which would make this a very appropriate name for this firm. I don't know much about them and this is the first set from them that I have come across. Some internet searches reveal that they also produce tin lead figures in 54mm scale. I only saw them sold individually, but I don't know if they were originally part of a set. I will have to keep an eye out for more info about them and potentially more sets. 

Ratnik Soviet Border Guards
Ratnik 1941 Soviet Border Guards
This is a good set to complement the Hanomak NKVD Soviet Guards. The sculpting is average -a couple of the poses feel a bit stiff, like the man throwing the grenade or the man to his right- but the diversity of poses compensates for that. For example, you get a radio man with it which is something handy in any unit and several of the poses are useful in fighting scenes. As was the case with Hanomak, you also get a guard dog, which seems quite appropriate for this unit. The one pose I don't care much for is the officer walking with the gun in his hand. He seems to be of limited use in the type of scenes I like to setup. Lastly, this set also comes with a border post. I guess to help setup the scene at the border. Given how shortly the war was fought at the border where these posts might have been, I would have preferred if they had given us an extra pose instead. But all in all, a decent set to add to the collection.


 


Saturday, January 7, 2023

Introducing the German Mountain Troops

Latest edit: Added Hanomak's sets and Vympel's set.
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The German Mountain Troops or Gebirgsjäger were light infantry troops specialized in mountaineering and fighting under winter conditions. Many of them hailed from the Bavarian Alps or Austria's Tirol region. While in the mountains they moved primarily by foot and relied on mules to carry their supplies and equipment. Their coat of arms is the Edelweiss, a white flower that grows at high altitudes. Mountain troop divisions were raised both within the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS. Many fought in the northern front, in Finland and the adjacent Soviet territory, trying to capture the port of Murmansk which was an important source of lend-lease supplies for the Soviets. Others fought in the Caucasus, one unit becoming famous for raising their flag on top of Mount Elbrus, the highest point in that mountain range. They also took part in combat operations in the Balkans, some taking part in the failed attempt to capture the partisan leader Tito in Yugoslavia. Other units fought in the Italian ranges around the Gothic Line and some more on the French Vosges mountains. As the war progressed, they were increasingly used as traditional infantry, some seeing combat side by side with traditional infantry divisions on the eastern front. The book Black Edelweiss by Johann Voss provides a good narrative of the experiences that the 6th SS Mountain Division went through in the Arctic Front and the grueling 1600km march that they undertook by foot through Finland and Norway when Finland and the Soviets signed a peace treaty in September '44. Another book, Seven Days in January by Wolf Zoepf narrates in great detail what this same division went through during Operation Norwind, fighting in the Vosges, and conducting night marches through the mountains during the last major offensive that Germany launched during the war. As far as availability of figures we are pretty much constrained to just one set from Airfix, however there are several other sets such as the Airfix Afrika Korps, or some Revell Engineers who wear similar headgear and can be painted as mountain troops to complement them.

Airfix German Mountain Troops
Airfix German Mountain Troops - Part 1
This whole set is very diverse and has some very unique figures. Unfortunately many of them can't really be considered fighting poses, but that's still OK given their uniqueness. The guy on the left is one of my favorites, however you will need to deploy him with a few more of his kind, perhaps on a long range patrol. His feet/skis are detachable, so you will need to find a good glue to attach them or put them on every time you send him into action.

Airfix German Mountain Troops
Airfix German Mountain Troops - Part 2
Mountain troops compensated for their fewer number of submachine guns and semiautomatic weapons by having a slightly larger number of MG42s, as the team on the left shows.

Airfix German Mountain Troops
Airfix German Mountain Troops - Part 3
A few more climbing guys, a signals man -who would have to rely heavily on good weather, and two more fighting poses. Overall almost twice as many poses as in most Airfix sets. Perhaps one of the reasons why it has become a very popular set amongst collectors.

Hanomak German Mountain Troops
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. 

Vympel Germans In Search of Shambhala
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
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 Nordland Division fought primarily on the northern flank of the eastern front, so their outfits are appropriate for that climate. 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.

Click here to see pictures of German Combat Engineers, a possible complement to these figures.
Here are some pictures of the Airfix Africa Corps. If painted grey, they can also be used as Mountain Troops.