WW23d.com is an online outlet that specializes in the 3D printing of -you guessed it- WW2 figures. They cover the main participants: US, Soviet Union, Great Britain, Germany and Japan. They are a recent arrival on the toy soldier scene. I am not 100% sure when they got started, but I ran into them during the summer of 2023 through a Facebook page called WW23D prints. I don't think they author the designs of the figures, but rather partner with others who upload their designs into their site. One thing that is a very nice touch when you buy from them is that you get a letter along with your figures. The letter contains the orders for a 'mission' that your men have been assigned. The mission corresponds to some actual engagement in which that service branch actually fought. I believe that they specialize on 1/32 scale. Unfortunately I just visited their web site only to discover that it is 'temporarily closed'. You can't even browse their catalog. I hope they are not out of business, as they were a good alternative to Speira Miniatures which also sells 3D printed soldiers, but at about double the price. And if I recall correctly some of the designs are available on both sites. Luckily I ordered a good batch of figures while they were still open, so let's take a look at what I managed to get my hands on.
WW23D British Long Range Desert Group
This was the most interesting set for me 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.
WW23D British Long Range Desert Group Jeep
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 a few extras in and this is one of the additional guys I got.
WW23D British Long Range Desert Group Truck - Part 1
This truck is a bit larger and can fit 4 or 5 guys in the back in addition to the driver and copilot, who is also 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. The vehicle appears to be a Chevy 30CWT 1 1/2 ton truck and it is reasonable well built for a 3D printed vehicle and it does not have the layering that some 3D printers create.
WW23D British Long Range Desert Group Truck - Part 2
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 better to keep to the familiar norms.
WW23D British Commandos
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.
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.
WW23D German Afrika Korps
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.
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.
WW23D Soviet Scouts
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 should be painted 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.
WW23D Soviet Naval Infantry
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.
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.
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