Soviet Artillery

Latest addition: Hanomak 45mm Anti-Tank Gun with crew

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The Soviets produced 76mm guns from 1942 onwards in massive quantities (over 100,000) and with a 76mm round, they were capable of piercing any German Tank prior to the Tiger I and the Panther. The Soviets were known for deploying large belts of anti tank defensive positions in depth which would wear down the German armored offensive capabilities and would leave them ripe for T-34 counterattacks, which is how they managed to stop the largest ever tank offensive at Kursk. The pictures below depict this gun in a street fighting scenario, as the Red Army pushed west and retook its cities.

Italeri Soviet ZiS 3 76mm Anti-Tank Gun - Part I

This is a nice artillery piece introduced by Italeri. It is a 76mm Soviet Anti-Tank gun. When this set was released, around 2010, it filled a huge gap in the WWII 1/32 plastic toy soldier world. In addition to the gun itself, the set contains a crew with a great variety of poses. There's a main gunner operating the weapon, while the rest of the crew works hard to keep the ammunition supply flowing.

Italeri Soviet ZiS 3 76mm Anti-Tank Gun - Part II

This is what the German vehicles would be facing as they came around the corner.

Italeri Soviet ZiS 3 76mm Anti-Tank Gun - Part III

This perspective affords a better view of the action as well as an unusual detail in the scene.

Can you spot it? I actually included a German guy in this picture by mistake! There's only six figures in the set. 

Plastic Platoon Soviet 76mm Gun with Crew, Winter Dress - Part I

This is a really nice contribution to the hobby. There aren't that many Soviet artillery crews and guns available. I can think of the Italeri set, but that's about it. PP has released this set in both summer and winter outfits. Unfortunately I have only been able to find the winter crew. The figures are certainly nice, as usual, but clearly, the highlight of this set is the gun itself. It comes in a few parts that must be put together - the wheels, shield, trail/carriage and the barrel, but it is fairly easy to assemble. The detail is all there. You can see many nice touches like the hinges on the front of the shield and the grooves on the wooden spokes of the wheels, as well as the firing mechanism of the gun itself.

Plastic Platoon Soviet 76mm Gun  with Crew, Winter Dress - Part II

As you can see from this other angle, you get an officer who is directing the firing of the gun, an ammo handler ready with the next round, a guy ready to fire, and another guy who can be placed in a couple spots to help operate or move the gun - he is carrying a side arm, so he might also be an officer. The uniforms are nicely detailed and show a variety of winter clothing. A couple of long coats, a padded jacket, etc. My favorite is the cap with sheepskin lining. And to round it all up, you also get a couple of ammo boxes. Ready to lay some supporting fire!

Hanomak Soviet 45 mm Anti-Tank Gun 'Sorokapyatka' - Part I

As you can see, this anti-tank gun is operated by a 4-man crew. One man is loading and firing the gun, another is handing him the ammunition. A third one is dealing with the cases containing additional ammunition, and the fourth one is observing and directing the fire. A good crew which can probably be deployed to help with other artillery pieces. In addition to the men you also get a wooden defensive position to go with it. I feel that this set is sculpted at a slightly better level of quality and detail than other Hanomak sets. The posing feels less rigid and more natural. Perhaps if you want to be highly critical, the hands could be done slightly better, and the 45 mm shell being held by one of the men feels a bit too thin, but other than that, I think this is one of their best sets.

Hanomak Soviet 45 mm Anti-Tank Gun 'Sorokapyatka' - Part II

Here's a view from the front to appreciate the detail on the front of the wooden barricade. I probably would have preferred to be able to buy the gun without it. I don't really need it and I would rather pay a lower price, but given that you get it, and it is reasonably nicely detailed,  I should be able to incorporate it into some defensive works for this or some other artillery unit, specially once it is painted as it has pretty nice texture on the wood and the rocky ground. 

Hanomak Soviet 45 mm Anti-Tank Gun 'Sorokapyatka' - Part III

I took this other picture to try to show the different parts that have to be glued to put together the gun. The gun comes as 11 separate parts, 3 of which have to be glued quite precisely to assemble the gun's operating mechanism. What makes it harder is that there are no instructions and some of these parts come attached to their sprue and it is not clear where to cut. Some of the plastic is needed as a pin to be inserted into some small holes, and some of the plastic is simply excess material but it all looks the same. Fortunately I found some pictures of some real guns out there on the internet that guided me in this process. Another thing I had to fiddle with is the gluing and positioning of the trails. At first it seemed like they were going to end up with the hole for the pin that keeps them together on the outside, but it is supposed to go in the middle. After some trial and error I figured out how to glue them in a way that the holes are on the inside. This was not intuitive given how the parts are designed to fit together. In fact, at the online store where I bought them, the pictures they show have them glued incorrectly.

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Introducing the Soviet Naval Infantry

Latest edit: Added Hanomak 'Baltika Set 2' Soviet Naval Infantry

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The Soviet Naval Infantry was theoretically an amphibious force, although they only conducted a handful of landings during the war. For the most part they were used as normal infantry in land battles where reinforcements were badly needed like Stalingrad, Leningrad, or the outskirts of Moscow. Some of them were actually ship crews retrained as infantry, but nonetheless they fought courageously and earned themselves a gallant reputation.

This first set of pictures is the Soviet Naval Infantry made by Pegasus Hobbies. It comes in 12 nice, very well-proportioned, action poses. It requires a minor amount of assembly/gluing, namely a few arms and weapons, as some of the figures are manufactured using two molds. That's still a small price to pay in exchange for some nicer -less flat- poses compared to what can be manufactured with one mold. Unfortunately I still have not gotten around to painting them, although I already researched the uniforms. Even unpainted, they still make a nice scene.  

In the pictures below you see them launching a counterattack on a street that has already exchanged hands several times. Will they prevail this time?

The men up front rush forward.

The rubble on the street offers some amount of cover.

The front elements are already in grenade-throwing range.

The guys immediately behind provide covering fire.

A couple of sub-machine gun bursts to make the enemy take cover.

A side view of the action.

Looks like this machine gunner is about to do some damage...

Taking a well-aimed shot.

The captain bringing up the rear.

The more cautious guys following a few steps behind.

Publius Soviet Naval Infantry - Part I

Here are a few more Naval Infantry guys made by a Russian company called Publius. They are really hard to find. I got these guys courtesy of my friend and fellow collector, The Plastic General. He discovered them and managed to obtain some from a contact in Russia. The level of detail and fluidity of movement in the sculpting is among the best I've seen. They are so well done that leave you longing for more poses. 

Publius Soviet Naval Infantry - Part II

I also like the fact that every pose is an action pose, as opposed to having some marching or standing guys, which tend to have a more limited use. And as you can see, there is a nice variety in the weaponry and outfits of the figures. I also like the fact that the bases have some detail and texture, but they are not bulky as has been the trend recently in the hobby. These guys are certainly a great complement to the Pegasus figures and add much needed variety to this service branch of the Soviet Army.

Publius Soviet Naval Infantry - Part II

These are the same figures as above, just as a group and in a different shade of color. I must admit that I forgot I had already bought and posted them, but the picture turned out well, so we can repost them :-)

Plastic Platoon Soviet Naval Infantry - Defense of Leningrad, 1941

A great set depicting the intensity of  close quarter combat happening in an urban theater. These naval infantry figures would be equally at home in Stalingrad or Sevastopol, and they will be a great complement to Publius' and Pegasus' naval infantry troops. Again, the plastic is a bit soft, and that makes the tips of the weapons point in odd directions, but other than that, the sculpting -i.e. the level of detail and action- on these figures is exceptional. I can't wait to see how realistic they look with some paint on them!

ESCI Soviet Spetznaz - Part I

The Spetznaz are Soviet Special Forces, however they are post WWII figures. I find their uniforms however close enough to the Soviet Naval Infantry that I have decided to use them as such to complement the Pegasus figures. The weaponry is a bit modern, so I'll have to overlook that. In terms of the poses I like the men who are crouching better than the ones who are standing.

ESCI Soviet Spetznaz - Part II

Some of these guys are wearing a different head gear. Not sure if those will blend in with the Naval Infantry. Their weapons however would fit quite well in the WWII period. Again, I have my reservations about the poses of the guys who are running. I would like them better if their upper bodies were leaning more a bit forward.

Speira Miniatures Soviet Naval Infantry

Speira makes 3D printed toy soldiers. They only offer a handful of Soviet Naval Infantry figures, so when I saw this guy I grabbed him. What's interesting about him is that you can also select the head that you want for him. There are three or four variations, with different headgear and facial expressions. He will go well with my other Soviet Naval Infantry guys from Pegasus, etc. 

Hanomak Soviet Arctic Troops

Even though this set is supposed to represent troops fighting in or around the Arctic Circle, there are only two guys who seem to be dressed adequately for the occasion -the officer and the man sitting on the ground seem to be pretty snug, but the other guys would be freezing. Or perhaps they are fighting in the summer months and we now have figures to defend the Arctic year-round? Jokes aside I actually bought this set to get my hands on the four naval infantry figures. I also don't have much use for the officer who is just standing around. But the three guys on the left, are in very nice action/fighting poses and will be a good addition to the unit. The guy who is aiming his handgun upwards is nice in terms of the sculpting and detail, but will also have limited uses on the battlefield. 

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.

Plastic Platoon Soviet Naval Infantry, Defense of Sevastopol

For some reason I really like Soviet Naval Infantry troops, so I was very excited to learn that Plastic Platoon had come up with its own interpretation. The set does not disappoint. Perhaps the only thing to criticize is the fact that some of the bases are almost like the base that you would have for an actual sculpture, particularly the anchor, the cannon, and the steps, but even those elements are well done. I also like that we get a guy wearing a cape, as well as one wearing a helmet instead of the usual cap. We also get a good variety of weapons, my favorite being the light machine gun. These guys will definitely go very well with the rest of the detachment! BTW, The title of the set refers to Sevastopol, but I feel like deploying these guys within the ruins of Stalingrad... WDYT?

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Red Army Continued - Part II

It was these five guys which convinced me to get this set. As you may already know by now, I have a soft spot for Soviet Naval Infantry, and these five sailors are definitely more interesting and dynamic than the other five figures in the set - at least they are engaged in battle! They are not the best naval infantry figures in my collection in terms of poses and sculpting detail, but they will add a bit more guys and variety to the unit. Maybe the most interesting guy is the one going cowboy, who also got rid of his jacket along the way - and will look nice when his striped shirt is properly painted. I also like the man throwing the grenade and how he has loaded himself with extra ammo belts as did a couple more of his fellow sailors. All in all a good second half of the set.

Tihon Figuren Soviet Naval Infantry 'Sailors of the Revolution'

Based on the name of the set, I am not sure if these guys are actual WW2 figures, or late WW1/Russian revolution. They do not have any submachine guns, so based on the weaponry they could be either. Which is a good thing for me! The poses are well done, with a lot of nice detail and also a nice level of dynamism. In terms of detail, the faces, including the mustaches are very well done and I also like how they gave the officer a round belly, perhaps due to extra vodka rations being a perk of his rank? Another nice detail I noticed is how the man who is advancing to strike with a knife is biting on to the flaps of his hat, likely to make sure they don't make any sound and betray his approach. The man who is whistling to his mates is also a unique pose. The material of these figures is relatively soft which means that I had to work a bit on straightening the bayonets. /nothing that a bit of hot/cold water won't fix, but it did take a few tries. Maybe that's why someone chose to clip them off in some pictures I saw online. Anyhow, a really nice set which will blend well with the other Naval Infantry sets in my collection!

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Baltika' Set 1

I am not sure why Hanomak has released their Naval Infantry figures in two sets of 3. Here are the first 3. The two men standing are OK. The man on the left is a bit too straight for my taste, but his redeeming quality is that he is actually firing a captured German light machine gun - looks like an mg 34. The man on the right is just right as far as his stance and I like that he is wearing a helmet to give the unit a bit of variety in terms of head gear. And that leaves the prone guy. I think he is the most interesting guy in the set. If you look closely, he is holding a cluster of hand grenades, the kind that you might use to blow up the tracks of a tank. Is that the reason why he is crawling? It is also a nice detail that he is wearing two full ammo belts across his chest which will give him some good color once he is painted. I really like Soviet Naval infantry, so I am happy to add these to the ranks and I am eagerly waiting to get my hands on part 2 of these 'Baltika' guys!

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Baltika' Set 2 - Part I

Here is the rest of the squad. Very nicely done, both in terms of the poses and the detail. The man firing the light machine gun on the go is nice enough, but the two man team carrying the machine gun is the special treat here. I am usually not a fan of figures that can't be deployed on their own as it limits their use. In this case, these two guys clearly go together. While the guy in the front could be made to drag the machine gun on his own (and I did glue the MG only to the guy in front to preserve that possibility), the second guy would look awkward leaning down and grabbing nothing, so not a lot of other things for him to do than help his buddy. But theses guys are unique enough that it's worth it to invest two poses to create this team vignette.

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Baltika' Set 2 - Part II

To better appreciate the detail on the MG and also how the back man is grabbing it I took a second picture. The second guy's hand is made so well that he can hold the tip of the muzzle in the cup of his hand formed by his folded fingers. It is also worth mentioning that the bipod for the light machine gun also comes detached and it must be glued to it. I use Maxi Cure from Bob Smith Industries. You need very little and it creates que seems like a permanent bond even across very small attachment surfaces.

Hanomak Soviet Naval Infantry 'Kerch Set'

I an a big fan of Soviet Naval infantry figures, so when I saw this set I had to get it. I know that many will find the guy getting off the boat a bit odd. I do to. In fact, I really dislike such figures because they limit extremely where and how that figure can be used. Obviously not many of us have a harbor setup where we can attach the bow of this boat to some other partial ship. Anyhow, my plan is to cut off the section of boat and use the plank to get in and out of some ruined buildings. I considered giving the man another base entirely, and that would not be too hard because he is not fixed into the base. His feet simply plug into it. But the angle at which he would be standing relative to level ground would be off. Another figure which is a bit odd is the one walking on water. Yes, they have sculpted a wave under him! And it is not even a great looking wave. It resembles more a big foot with toes. So here what I am planning to do is to simply decorate the base with rubble once I paint the guy. Other than that the figures are really nice, well posed, with realistic uniforms and weapons, and well detailed -look as those mustaches :-). They will be a nice addition to the Soviet sailors fighting in the ruins of Stalingrad or Sevastopol! BTW, if you were wondering about the name of this set, Sevastopol and the Kerch Peninsula are both in the Crimea, which the Soviet sailors helped to liberate.   

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Introducing the British 8th Army

 Latest edit: Added Kozak Miniatures B8A Set towards the bottom of this post.

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To complement the post on the German Afrika Korps, today I would like to introduce the British Eighth Army, who fought both the Germans and the Italians in the deserts of Libya, Egypt and Tunisia. In addition to its British core, the 8th Army was actually a collection of commonwealth troops from many nations, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Canada, as well as many men from several occupied countries in Europe. They were engaged in a highly mobile war for approximately two years in North Africa. Initially the Italians pushed the British back into Egypt, then the British counterattacked pushing the Italians back into Libya, which made the Germans join the fight under Rommel in February of '41 with the resulting counteroffensive which pushed the British back into Egypt. After a while the British regrouped and mounted their own offensive which pushed the Afrika Korps all the way back into Tunisia and eventually with the help of the US landings in Morocco and Algeria, they managed to defeat the Axis forces and eliminate them from the African continent by May of '43. Among the most pivotal moments of the North African campaign stands the siege of Tobruk in which a surrounded garrison composed primarily of the Australian 9th division held for 8 months preventing the Panzer Army from attacking further into Egypt until it was relieved by the Eighth Army in Nov '41, which is actually when the 8th Army was officially formed. The Eighth Army was led by a few generals, but the most notable one was Bernard Montgomery (as of Aug '42), whose success in Africa propelled him to fame and greater responsibility during the rest of the War. After the North African campaign was won, the British Eighth Army went on to fight in Italy where they again played an important role in tough and bloody battles such as Monte Cassino. In terms of coverage from toy soldier manufacturers, there has been no lack of attention. However as you will see from the pictures below, manufacturers have favored the North African campaign over Italy when depicting the 8th Army.

Airfix British 8th Army - Part 1

Every now and then you come across a pose that you know you have seen somewhere. Such is the case with the guy on the left. There is a black and white photograph of British 8th Army troops approaching a disabled tank in the desert and one of them looks very much like this guy.

Airfix British 8th Army - Part 2

Usually most Airfix poses are fighting, action poses, so the guy on the right who is standing as if on watch, is a bit of a disappointment, specially when there are only 7 poses total. Even with that, these Airfix guys definitely belong at the core of any B8th Army.

BMC British Infantry - Part 1

When BMC produced these guys they were described as British Infantry, however I think they are better suited as British 8th Army guys. If you look at some of the other manufacturers' figures you will also find bagpipes &  berets...

BMC British Infantry - Part 2

 ...and those shovels and picks look like they could come in handy in the rocky, craggy expanses of the North African landscape. 

Charbens British 8th Army - Part 1

These guys are vintage figures, from around the 60's. As far as I know they came factory-painted. I will probably have to paint them over when I paint the rest of these guys. That's when I go through those dilemmas that I described in this other post.

Charbens British 8th Army - Part 2

I have to say that the sculpting is actually fairly decent for figures made around that timeframe. A couple of the guys in the previous pictures can be criticized, but these three guys are pretty good looking.

Cherilea British 8th Army

These guys are 60mm figures. The guy in the middle looks like he could be Monty. The rest of the guys are a decent addition to the unit, a bit upright in some cases, but still acceptable.

Crescent British 8th Army

These guys are fairly well sculpted for the time when they were made and come factory painted. I am not sure exactly how many there were in the original set, but this sample gives an idea of what they looked like.

Crescent British 8th Army clones

These guys are 40mm clones made in Hong Kong. I made the mistake of buying them on eBay without checking that they were the right scale. The only bright spot is that it let me realize that there is at least one more pose that I do not have in 54mm - the guy with the sub MG.

DSG British 8th Army

These are new production figures using the old Britains Deetail molds by a new firm in Argentina. The bases are made out of plastic which I found a bit disappointing as it gives the figures a whole different feeling when you hold them. Other than that, the poses are kind of similar to the Airfix guys, aren't they? 

Britains Deetail Vickers Machine Gun Team

This is a nice set. Hard to find and a bit on the expensive side. The MG actually works. It comes with about 9 little ammo balls which you can fire using its spring mechanism, visible on the side of the gun. It rounds up the collection nicely.

Matchbox British 8th Army - Part 1

Matchbox gave us 13 poses in this set. Almost twice as generous as most of the other manufacturers. Their figures are mostly in good action poses. Casualty figures are not my favorite, but the guy in this set actually looks pretty authentic.

Matchbox British 8th Army - Part 2

Even though the bagpipe guy is not an action pose, I have to admit that he will probably look really nice once he's painted.

Matchbox British 8th Army - Part 3

It looks like this batch contains another Monty. I am going to have to chose who is the boss as there is at least one more candidate to pick from further below.

DGN British 8th Army - Part I

As you can see, this set is heavily influenced by the British 8th Army Matchbox figures. However, when you compare them side by side, you realize that they are originally sculpted, but there is not mistaking that the sculptor tried to replicate the original. 

DGN British 8th Army - Part II

The weapons are definitely different. Some of them are larger, and some of them are missing the bayonet at the tip of the rifle, which several of the Matchbox guys have. 

DGN British 8th Army - Part III

Overall, this is a pretty solid set. Not very original, but fairly decent if you were not aware of the Matchbox figures. Good poses and good level of detail.

Revell British 8th Army - Part 1

These guys are 1/35 scale. I painted several of them along with the Airfix guys a few years back. As you can see, the guys I left out were the ones that are standing a bit funny.

Revell British 8th Army - Part 2

I suppose with the berets and bagpipes these guys could belong to the Black Watch, the famous Scottish regiment which fought in North Africa.

Timpo British 8th Army - Part 1

These guys remind me a bit of the Cherilea guys, particularly the machine gunner. They are also on the taller side of 54mm figures. This set contains what appears to be the third Monty guy in my collection.

Timpo British 8th Army - Part 2

These Timpo guys are not my favorite figures. There are two things that I don't quite like. They are standing too upright and their facial expressions could have used a bit more work. Some of their faces look more like skulls.

Timpo British 8th Army - Part 3

Here are a few vintage figures with some original paint still on them. Notice how they were also cast on a darker plastic color, which I actually like better than that of the newer recasts. 

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry - Part I

This set was sold as British Infantry, but from the short trousers, it seems to me like they are 8th Army troopers. This set was produced after the Germans and the Americans, and you can see the new bases and slightly better sculpting, although not as good with the later sets. 

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry - Part II

The guy running is a good action pose. A bit off balance, but nice enough. The guy on the right does not really grab me. There is something about how he is holding his weapon and how he is standing... The man in the center is a nice middle ground.

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry Series 2 - Part I

This is a set that I had totally missed. I wasn't even aware it existed. Chronologically, it seems to be one of their middle sets, with the sculpting being fairly decent at this stage -take a look at the facial expressions-, the bases not yet so bulky, and already integrated into the figures instead of glued to them. 

 21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry Series 2 - Part II

As you can see, the set is comprised of all fighting poses with a good degree of action put into the sculpting. The more a guy is leaning the more I like him. Note also how they have given us figures with both short and long trousers. All in all a nice set from 21C.

Forces of Valor British 7th Armored Division - El-Alamein 1942 - Part I

This is a set that I originally passed on buying. I did not like the bulkiness of the upper bodies. Of course, later on I felt that I should plug the hole in the collection, but by that time, they were no longer being produced and were much harder to find and pricier to get. Anyhow, I am happy I finally got a hold of them. I am still not a big fan of the sculpting and I still don't like the detachable bases, but it felt good to be able to check them off the list.

Forces of Valor British 7th Division - Part II

Here are a few more poses. They came in a different set, Two of them appear to be repeats of guys in the previous set. One of them, the man firing while kneeling, might be slightly different - note the knee is slightly off the ground - or it could also be that the one on top is missing the base and they are actually the same pose. Either way, there's really only two new poses. The wounded man and the man calling his men forward. Sculpted in the same bulky style, so not much new to say about them. 

Airfix British Infantry and Support Troop

These two guys are not officially British Eighth Army, but I've decided to incorporate them into the unit to give them a bit more firepower as none of the sets above contain a mortar or an antitank weapon, which given the nature of the combat in North Africa, would certainly come in handy.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army by TS Central - Part I

Here we have an 18-figure set of B8A guys. In terms of poses, this is really generous. I might be wrong, but I don't recall another set as big as this one since the Conte GIs were released about 20 years back. Anyhow, when it comes to 3D printing, given the volume of figures available, I am realizing that I may not be able to pursue completeness anymore. However I do want to have at least one set of 3D printed figures for each service branch and I still had that gap for the B8A. BTW, I really like that they have grouped all these figures as a set because it is pretty hard to track and buy them individually. In terms of these first 6 guys, not much to comment other than getting two poses of what's essentially the same officer figure just with different head gear seems like a missed opportunity to have crafted some better pose, but with an 18-figure set I guess they can afford that luxury.

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army TS Central - Part II

In terms of the actual figures, I find them just OK. As I've pointed out with other Kozak figures, I find the posing of these guys a bit too stiff. I would prefer to see more bending of the knees, hunching of the back, ducking to avoid projectiles and flying debris, or running faster to find cover. These guys lack a sense of urgency, even the ones who are 'running'. Out of the first two pics, I think the Bickers machine gunner is probably my favorite. Perhaps because he is the one who requires the least intensity to appear to be doing his job well. I do have to say that the variety of weapons is welcome. Having said that, it would have been nice to issue a weapon to the grenade man on the left, perhaps slung across his back? Else he's going to need a lot more grenades! 

Kozak Miniatures British 8th Army TS Central - Part III

This is where the set gets better. The kneeling guys and the prone guys are definitely much better than their standing counter parts. One of the prone guys is firing a Bren gun and the other one seems to be firing a Boys anti tank rifle, aka 'elephant gun', which is a nice choice of weapon. The two kneeling guys in the middle look very similar, but they have different webbing/pouches, and one has a scope on his rifle so that he can snipe better at those DAK guys. One interesting bit is that the bases are not designed by Kozak, but rather provided by the vendor. In this case, they issue circular bases, and if you pay attention you will notice that some of them have a larger diameter than others. You get to glue them yourself, so I allocated the larger ones to the kneeling guys.

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

This set is a bit different because while they are part of the Pacific series, the fact that they are Scottish troops opens up the possibility of using them as B8A guys in North Africa or the ETO. Which is a good option given the few heavy weapons available from other vendors for that service branch. 

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

It is quite nice how just the bonnet makes these guys look significantly different from the other mortar crews in the series. BTW, one small mistake I made was to place the container for the piat's rounds next to the mortar, thinking that it was meant to contain mortar shells. 

Expeditionary Force Scottish Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

In this set I decided to give turn the NCO into more of a fighting figure. Not only did he get a Sten gun which he is using to cover his men, but he also got a highlander's cap instead of the bonnet, which by the way, includes some pretty cool ribbons hanging from the back. Just a little extra touch to make him stand out.

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