Tihon Figuren - Toy Soldiers

Tihon Figuren is a toy soldier manufacturer based out of Russia. Based on the name, I wonder if there is some type of German connection. They don't describe themselves as a manufacturer per se, but rather as hobby enthusiasts who make figures for their own and their friends' enjoyment. While I just recently discovered them, they seem to have been around for a few years already as they have released over 70 sets. Their choices of figures cover quite a range of periods and genres. I ran into them thanks to a set of Naval Infantry, but they have also released sets covering  American Indians, Cowboys, Pirates, Swiss guards (maybe this explains the German sounding name), Fantasy figures, Aztecs, Russian revolution, or filmed themed such as Braveheart, the Witcher, etc. What's also interesting about some of their figures is that some of them are made to look like cartoons. My focus is WW2, so I won't be featuring all those other sets, but if you are curious, you can check them out here (you might need to use your browser's ability to translate the page as it is in Russian). And if you want to buy their figures, there is a dealer who offers them here. As far as their WW2 set, it is a really nice one. Let's take a look!

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!

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Introducing the PAK 40

 The latest addition is the Hanomak PAK at the bottom of the post.

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The PAK 40 (Panzerabwehrkanone) was a 75 mm anti-tank gun manufactured by Germany. It was initially designed and prototyped during the period of 1939 to 1941, but the invasion of the Soviet Union and the heavier tanks that were encountered there made it go quickly into production. Between 1942 and the end of the war, about 23,500 guns were manufactured, making it their main antitank gun. Another 6000 were mounted on self-propelled guns. It's weight was close to 1.5 tons, which meant that it had to be towed, and in the often muddy terrain of the Soviet Union this could be a big challenge. It could effectively fire rounds up to approximately 2kms, but for optimal armor penetration it was best to fire at about 500m, when it could penetrate armor up to 15cm (6 inches) thick. In terms of scale models we have a couple of examples available.

21st Century Toys PAK 40

This is a nice gun. It comes factory painted and has several moving parts. The muzzle can be elevated/lowered and the carriage can be fully deployed or collapsed together and locked in place so that it can be towed. The downside of this gun is that it was not sold individually, but you had to buy it as part of a set. Luckily, I was able to find several at Toy Solider shows from collectors that no longer needed them.

21st Century Toys PAK 40 with CTS crew

Classic Toy Soldiers recently released an artillery crew set. The set contains an observer/officer and two loaders. They are a welcome arrival to staff the many PAKs that I have without crews.

Britains Deetail PAK40 with CTS crew

This is another nice model from Britains Deetail. Unfortunately I do not have the crew to go with it, so I had to enlist some of the new CTS guys to man the gun. One nice feature of this PAK is that it can actually fire. It has a small lever that you can pull to compress a spring and when released it could fire a round. I don't have the ammo that came with it either, but it should not be hard to improvise some rounds. 

21st Century Toys PAK 40 - Afrika Korps

This is actually the same model as the previous one, except that this one was painted by a fellow collector. It is one of those that I picked up at a local toy soldier show. He did a very good job on the painting. So much that it is hard to tell that it did not come this way out of the box.

Italeri PAK 40 AT gun with 'servants'

The Italeri gun offers what the 21C gun lacks. A good crew. As you can see, it comes with 6 figures. Most of them are ammo handlers. But it does have a man operating the gun and an officer directing the action.  The gun itself offers fewer moving parts and degrees of movement. But once it is setup it looks just as good. Probably a good combination will be the painted Italeri crew with the 21C PAK. One thing that I do find very amusing about this set is that Italeri translated crew as servants.

Forces of Valor PAK 36 with CTS crew
This PAK came with the kfz 70 truck which was used to tow it. The PAK 36 was a 3.7 cm caliber weapon. It was the main anti-tank gun in the German Army until mid 1941, when given its inability to deal with the soviet medium tanks liek the T34, it was replaced by the PAK 38 which fired a 5cm shell. The PAK 36 was initially issued in 1928 and first saw combat in 1936 during the Spanish civil war. It was also used by the Chinese against the Japanese where it was a lot more effective neutralizing the lightly armored Chi-Ha tanks.

Hanomak German PAK Gun with Crew

This is a nice set overall. It includes the PAK, the crew and even the sand bags/wall protection. The gun came in several pieces which have to be put together. It does require a good glue to do so, but once it's put together it will stay nicely in place. The crew comes with two loaders, a gunner, and one officer. You can place them in a variety of configurations, although the gunner needs to be sitting and I could not find many places for him to sit while being able to reach the gun. You also get an ammo box which will give the loaders a focal point in your scene. About the wall, I think I would have preferred just the sandbags. The wooden wings seem to be cut off too abruptly and leaves you feeling as though it should be part of a larger trench. Not a big deal and definitely a nice set. 

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Engineer Bassevich - Toy Soldiers

Latest edit: Red Army Continued

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Engineer Bassevich is a Russian firm that I recently discovered. They also seem to have entered the market not long ago as they only offer 4 sets of figures at this time. All of them are Russian/Soviet figures, 3 from the Russian revolution and one set from WWII as you will see below. I find myself a bit ambivalent about these figures. On the one hand, the poses are nicely done, with a good degree of action and they have a lot of nice detail. For instance, the expressions on the faces of these figures are among the best I've seen. The casting however is not so great. The figures come with a lot of flash. Part of it looks like marks left over in the clay during the sculpting, the rest is probably from the mold. Also, the plastic that they are made of is very light. I tend to like figures better when they have a bit more weight. And then there is the price... not only are they very expensive relative to the average new production toy soldier, but you also end up paying a hefty shipping cost. At the end of the day each of them comes to about 5 dollars a piece, which not even many vintage figures fetch. So are they really worth it? We'll have to see how they paint up.

Engineer Bassevich early war Soviet Infantry - Part I

These are early war Soviet Infantry figures. These are some of the few Soviet figures made with a full backpack. Nice degree of action in this first batch.

Engineer Bassevich early war Soviet Infantry - Part II

I could have done without the two guys standing in the middle, in favor of two more action poses. BTW, notice the diversity in the uniforms and headgear at this early stage of the war. The officer leading his men reminds me of an actual WWII photograph that I've seen. Take a look at the next picture. 

If it were printed backwards and the officer had the pistol on the opposite hand, it would be quite a close match...

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Partisans - Part I

A unique set by Engineer Bassevich. The depiction of these partisans strikes a nice balance between showing them as civilians and soldiers. For example, the guys above might have just joined the partisan unit and are still wearing some of their original clothes and their weaponry is lacking automatic firing. 

UPDATE: I had the good fortune of getting some input from Alex, the man behind Engineer Bassevich's figures and he supplied me with a description for some of the figures. For instance, these guys could be used as members of the factory workers Fighter Battalion at Stalingrad during the summer of 1942. If you take out the guy throwing the grenade, who is holding the automatic weapon, they could also be used as members of the People's Militia Division, during the summer of 1941. Automatic weapons were not available outside of the professional army during the earlier part of the war.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Partisans - Part II

These guys however are more rugged and is likely that they are regular army troops who got left behind the enemy lines and joined the partisans, giving them some badly needed training and leadership. As far as the quality of the figures go, I am quite pleased with this set. They don't have any flashing, and the plastic used to make them feels more dense, making them feel a bit more robust. The level of detail in the sculpting as you can see, is really great.

UPDATE: Thanks to Engineer Bassevich we now know a bit more about the source of inspiration for these figures. The man in the middle is the legendary Sydir Kovpak, leader of the partisan units in the greater Ukraine-Belarus area -see picture below-. He was officially recognized by the Soviet military command and awarded the rank of Major General. The man on the right represents Pyotr Vershigora, who was Kovpak's second in command and eventually also rose to the rank of Major General.

Here is a picture of Major General Sydir Kovpak, partisan leader in the greater Ukraine-Belarus area

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Partisans - Part III

These guys are probably a mix of civilians and ex-soldiers, but have been in the Partisan ranks long enough to have more sophisticated clothes and equipment. A very interesting touch is the kid in the middle, holding a captured German sub-machine gun. I actually saw a picture of such a kid, dressed very much the same way, which was surely the inspiration for the pose. 

UPDATE from Engineer Bassevich: The guy on the right, would have belonged to the division of the People's Militia. Maybe a former teacher. He can be used in the Battle of Moscow, along with soldiers from set number 1. The man on the left could have been a regular army officer left behind the enemy lines after his unit was encircled and then he joined the partisans.

Engineer Bassevich Yugoslav Partisans - Part I

Another set of partisans. These are supposed to be Tito's partisans from Yugoslavia, but I think they could pass as partisans from any occupied country. Note that many of them feature long beards though, so if you are strict about cultural matters, maybe that restricts your options. I am actually planning to mix them with the Soviet partisans and have a larger unit of unregulated militia guys.

Engineer Bassevich Yugoslav Partisans - Part II

One thing I like about this set from Engineer Bassevich is that most of the poses are fighting poses and we got a lot fewer guys standing around. 

Engineer Bassevich Yugoslav Partisans - Part III

I am OK with a commander standing around, observing the action. The only guy I don't really have much use for is the 'guard' next to the commanding officer. 

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Part I

This set is theoretically an Infantry set, but it is actually a mix of several service branches. The guys in this picture for instance represent a couple of high-ranking officers, and two regular army guys. The officer with the big coat must be some kind of big shot who is probably standing way behind the front lines. 

UPDATE: Added description based on input from Engineer Bassevich. From left to right:

-Ninth soldier in set number four. Just infantry.

-The officer in his uniform is Tymoshenko - Marshal of the USSR People's Commissar of Defense, subsequently commander of the Western Front (Smolensk), and then the South-Western Front (Kiev) in 1941.

-The officer in a field coat is Zhukov - General of the Army, Chief of the General Staff between February - July 1941.

-Officer wearing a soldier's garrison cap. The officers realized that snipers hunt officers. I think this is a Lieutenant. First lieutenants would gets out of the trench and lead soldiers to attack. Lieutenants were killed in large numbers.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Part II

These other guys are the crew of a tank and the guy on the right looks like a downed airman firing off a signal gun, perhaps hoping to be rescued before the enemy gets to him. Certainly not the average poses in an infantry set, however they will come handy in some unique scenes, not to mention that the nice level of detail will also make them look quite good when painted.

Input from Engineer Bassevich. From left to right:

-Courier on a motorcycle (motorbike lost, courier shoots a gun, because the courier was attacked by soldiers from the regiment of Brandenburg).

-Soldier tank crew.

-Tank crewman in a leather jacket.

-Pilot in winter uniform. Maybe his plane was shot down. Maybe the pilot signals "in the machine".

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Part III

The last three poses in the set represent an artillery crew. Here I am showing them manning the Italeri ZiS 3 76mm Anti-Tank Gun, however that gun comes with its own crew, so now I am thinking that perhaps I will use them to man a captured German PAK of which I have several who are still lacking a crew. 

Input from Engineer Bassevich -with minor edits:

Three gunners in officer caps. Officer caps were worn among ordinary soldiers in the border troops and cavalry. Here obviously the border troops. The ZIS-3 Italeri is not appropriate for 1941. Can use PAK36 FOV, similar to Russian 45mm anti-tank gun. However, I think the shells belong to a 122-mm howitzer. For that you can also use WWI British guns (Crescent, Britains). In 1941, the Red Army used a lot of old weapons, including old helmets (analogue French Adrian).

Related picture supplied by Engineer Bassevich.

Engineer Bassevich Finnish Infantry - Part I

This is another nice set from Engineer Bassevich, which understandably has chosen to cover this theater. It contains a total of 10 Finn soldiers, although only 6 of them represent fighting poses. As usual with Bassevich's figures, they are well sculpted with a very nice level of detail. They also represent a good level of diversity on the uniforms being worn, however this might pose some challenges if you are trying to build up a sizeable unit of similarly clad men.

Engineer Bassevich Finnish Infantry - Part II

Of these, my favorite one is the man on the left, standing while firing the sub MG. He is wearing white cammo overalls and a German style helmet. Definitely a great fit for the Winter War scene once he is painted all in white. The officers in the middle are probably some known historic characters, as is the case in some of the other Bassevich sets, but I must say that I would have rather had a couple more action poses than this many officers.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Winter War

Not to leave the Finns without an opponent, this set also contains four Soviet soldiers, although that's hardly going to be enough to mount an offensive. Note also that the set contains two 'border' posts. One has the emblem of the USSR and the other the one from Finland. Again, a nice touch, but I would have preferred to have two more men if I had a choice. Also, if there are going to be only 4 men, why make two of them just stand around? One nice touch is the head gear on the figures. Two of them are wearing the pointed winter caps (I thought they were used by cavalry units) instead of helmets.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Military Women - Part I

Another unique set from Engineer Bassevich. This time the set is a bit of a mix. 8 Figures represent women across a range of military roles. As with some of the previous sets, some of the figures are inspired by actual historical characters. In this first picture we have Marina Raskova (far right), a pioneer in the Soviet Air Force and founder of 3 female pilot regiments. The next character is supposed to be a brave girl who rushed under the tank with and blew it up using a pack of grenades. This happened in September 23, 1943 near the village of Ivanenko, Ukraine. The sniper figure is supposed to honor women such as Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Rosa Shanina, Elizabeth Mironova, Mary Polivanova, Natalia Kovshova. Below are a few pictures which inspired these figures sent to me by Alex, the man behind Engineer Bassevich.

Elizabeth Mironova and the movie character which inspired the figure with the sub MG

Grenade Girl and Marina Raskova

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Military Women - Part II

On this picture we have Zina Tusnolobova, who lost all limbs helping the wounded in combat. While on the hospital, a tank unit heard of her and named 5 tanks after her. Another famous medic was Valeria Gnarovskaya (far right), a medic credited with saving many lives. In a single battle she is said to have brought from the battlefield 47 wounded, and then went on to defend them, killing over 20 and enemy soldiers. The figure in the left is a road inspector, as were Sonya Petkovska and Marya Shalneva. Below are a few more pictures which inspired these figures sent to me by Alex, the man behind Engineer Bassevich.

Marya Shalneva and women at attention

Medical instructor Valeria Gnarovskaya and medic Zina Tusnolobova

Zina Tusnolobova caring for a wounded man and one of the tanks named after her

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Scouts

These other 4 figures represent Red Army scouts. I like the 3 figures on the left better than the man on the right. He reminds me of the old days sculpting which would favor flat figures for ease of casting and release. I wonder why they made him this way. In terms of uniforms, the head cover and thickness strongly suggests that these are winter troops, although I suppose you could also paint them in a cammo scheme. Notice how they are also equipped with sub machine guns, suggesting that they were used as an elite, shock unit.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Battle of Berlin Part I

Another nice set from Engineer Bassevich to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the capture of Berlin. A set with a nice level of detail and a generous number of poses (12!). Notable among them is the figure representing the man who raised the Soviet flag over the Reichstag. The figures are well proportioned, although a bit bulkier than those from other manufacturers, and the poses show a nice level of action, and are adequate for urban fighting. Speaking of comparisons with other manufacturers, I do like Engineer Bassevich's plastic better. It is harder and therefore the tips of weapons do not get bent. 

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Infantry - Battle of Berlin Part II
 The other poses also represent some of the other service branches, with a couple of tank men fighting outside their vehicles and what appears to be an airman fighting on the ground with his side arm. Another thing I like about this set is that there are no figures standing guard as in many of EB's prior sets. Again, the level of detail on the figures is really good, and the manufacturing process did not leave any flashing. A very nice set, worthy of the event it commemorates. 

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Cavalry

Finally a Soviet Cavalry set. Unfortunately, we only got 4 figures. Three of them seem to be on the march or on parade. One of them is charging at some imaginary enemy. The level of detail on the figures is nice and the sculpting and detailing is good. For example, the medals on the officers gives them a very nice touch, and I also like the mustaches on them. My main criticism about this set is that the choice of poses doesn't really allow to create a real fighting force. It almost feels like it might have been better to not have the charging man and at least have another man riding in formation. In terms of the horses, they come in two varieties. The two larger horses are galloping. The other two are shorter and trotting. Going back to the poses, I think one galloping horse would have been adequate for the charging man. The other three riders just needed the trotting horse. The second galloping horse ended up getting a rider who seems too relaxed for the situation. Anyhow, It's good to finally have some representation for these figures. Hopefully we'll get some more sets / poses in the future, but I am not very optimistic about that. 

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Field Hospital - Part I

This set is addressing a range of characters that you might have run into within a dressing station or a hospital close to the front. Two key figures here are the surgeon and the nurse in their operating gowns. Then you have the stretcher bearers who would do the hard work of bringing their wounded comrades if they lived long enough to get there. These figures are well done. The only unusual thing is that the man carrying the front of the stretcher seems to have a very flat face, without a nose.

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Field Hospital - Part II

Here we have a couple of characters who would have been at the front. Maybe a wounded pilot who crash landed, and a couple of medics supported by a dog trying to reach him to lend him aid. There's also a couple figures who would have been at the field hospital recovering from their wounds, and perhaps trying to make life a little livelier. And then we also have this other figure documenting the scene -the horrors of the wounded, and the high spirits of the man around camp- probably for some propaganda film. All of them interesting and unique characters addressing a topic not covered often. I typically prefer frontline figures, but with the wealth of Soviet infantry figures already made, it seems reasonable to branch out and cover these other subjects.   

Engineer Bassevich Soviet Red Army Continued - Part I

This set came with ten figures. The first five pictured above are a bit unremarkable. Three of them are just standing around. One of them is firing from a standing position - we have many of those, and the other one is advancing or standing pointing his bayonet forward. Maybe their best feature is that they are dressed in winter long coats. So why did I buy this set then? Well take a look below... 

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 previous five figures - 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. 

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Austin Miniatures - Toy Soldiers

Latest addition: US Marines Set 2

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Austin Miniatures is a US manufacturer based out of Ohio, which recently joined the toy soldier scene. They only have a couple of sets at the moment. Some Cowboys and a set of Marines. They come in a couple of colors and the sculpting is of good quality. They also have a couple more sets in the pipeline. Japanese infantry, which makes quite a bit of sense, to complement those Marines and a set of 1930s gangsters. In the process of buying my set of Marines, I exchanged emails and calls with the owner and his customer service is also very good. Looking forward to their future sets!

Austin Miniatures Marines Set 1

This is a fairly recent release from a new US firm. They are made in the style and size of CTS and Conte figures. A nice level of detail and good sculpting. The poses also depict a good degree of action and intensity. And they are all good basic fighting poses. They will certainly blend in well with the rest of the unit. And if you want you can probably paint them as regular GIs, and they will fit right in as well.

Austin Miniatures Marines Set 2

It only took me about 10 years to get my hands on Set 2, but I finally did it! This set gives us a few more poses, but I have to say that most of them feel very similar to each other. Maybe it is because of their stance - they are all standing with legs apart and bent knees. Their weaponry is OK. We get one BAR man, one Tommy gun and the rest are rifle men. Perhaps the most interesting feature of this set is the fact that two of the men give us the option to insert either a backpack or a radio set. You get two of each in the bag in case you want to have two radio men or all backpacks. I recommend you glue them so that they stay in place. In terms of detail, that's also OK, although some of the faces and hands could have used a bit more love and care. Overall, this is a set I value more in terms of filling a hole in the collection than because of the figures themselves. 

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Introducing the German Waffen SS

 The latest addition is the Plastic Platoon Waffen SS (Berlin) at the bottom of the post.

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The Waffen-SS was the armed branch of the National Socialist Party. A large number of its members were volunteers. Many of them were hard core believers in the party ideology; many others saw themselves engaged in a crusade against Bolshevism. In any case, that made them a highly motivated fighting force to deal with. The Waffen-SS also raised multiple divisions with conscripts from the occupied territories, many of them ethnic Germans. The 38 SS Divisions fought alongside the regular German Army and were under control of the German Army High Command. Their legacy has been tainted because several Waffen-SS units committed crimes against POWs and civilians, and because they were part of the overall SS organization which was responsible for many of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. Nonetheless, as a military fighting force, they earned themselves a reputation as elite troops.

The Waffen-SS was often outfitted with cammo clothing. In the pictures below you can see two platoons. One of them is wearing the spring/summer cammo pattern in green and the other one is wearing the fall pattern with orange/brown tones. Towards the end of the war, the uniform code was fairly relaxed, if for no other reason that they were suffering substantial supply problems. I've tried to reflect that in the painting scheme of these figures, who are wearing different types of clothing throughout the unit. You may notice that some figures appear in both sets, while some others appear only in one of them, so if you want to see all the figures produced by a given manufacturer you will need to look at both sets and identify the unique poses. In terms of manufacturers, this is a service branch that was not covered broadly in the past, but has received better coverage recently. Let's take a look. 

Conte Waffen SS

Nice mix of cammo smocks and regular field grey uniform items. Notice also the helmet covers. I really like the second guy from the right. A very dynamic pose conveying lots of action.

Conte German Infantry

These are a few figures taken from the regular German Infantry set and made to wear cammo trousers to give me a few extra poses/weapons to complete the set.

Italeri German Elite Troops

Notice how Italeri shied away from calling them Waffen-SS. I wonder if it really makes a difference in terms of sales. Anyhow, some of their figures are wearing extra layers to keep warm which suggests that these men were fighting in the very early spring. You will see why that matters a bit further below.

TSSD German Elite Troops - Part I

Toy Soldiers of San Diego also called them elite troops. Nonetheless, they came out with a very good set. First manufacturer that I am aware of to produce mounted WW II troops. The machine gun team is also very well done.

TSSD German Elite Troops - Part II

Some more nicely sculpted poses. The guy on the left offers a bit of drama to any scene he participates in. The  man with the sniper rifle is wearing one of those tent quarters (Zeltbahn) which could be joined with another 3 parts to make a tent in the form of a pyramid to get some protection from the elements.

TSSD Germans in Long Coats

Well, these guys are not really Waffen SS, but I threw them in to get a few more poses and also to further relax the uniform code in the unit. Since we are assuming they are fighting in the early spring, a coat might have come in handy.

Conte Waffen SS - Part I

This is the first set of the fall cammo pattern. This one contains the commanding officer, which can actually be used to command the spring troops as well. The guy who is looking back is wearing field grey trousers in this set.

Conte Waffen SS - Part II

This set contains two figures that were not present in the spring cammo set. Can you find them?

Conte German Infantry

As with the green set, I recruited a couple of regular army guys to complete the set, and also because your squad can always use an extra MG-42. The guy who is leaning/running as he fires is one of my favorite Conte figures, so he was easy to include.

MPC and CTS German Infantry

These two guys also came with regular infantry sets. The green set already had a prone guy with an MG-42, so we had to balance that out. The CTS sniper man is wearing cammo clothing which made him an ideal candidate for this unit.

Italeri German Elite Troops

Nice inclusion of a panzerschreck figure. This was the German equivalent of a bazooka, but with a more powerful 88mm round, which earned it its nickname 'panzer terror'.

TSSD German Elite Troops - Part I

This picture is showing the second mounted figure, including a different horse.

TSSD German Elite Troops - Part II

Showing the same figures from the spring set from a different angle.

TSSD Germans in Long Coats

Containing two new guys that were not painted for the spring set. Note also how underneath the coat you can see a bit of the cammo pattern in the guy who is running. Again, assuming they were fighting in the late fall, coats would have been appropriate.

Classic Toy Soldiers German Assault Troops - Part I

CTS just released a new set of German 'Assault Troops'. Considering that most of them are wearing cammo smocks I am going to paint them as Waffen SS, to go along with the other figures depicted on this post. I like that some of the poses are a bit different from what has typically been done in the past for such weapons. For instance, the panzerschreck is held by a prone guy and the man operating the MG 42 is not actually firing it, but urging on his comrades.

Classic Toy Soldiers German Assault Troops - Part II

These other poses are also nice and interesting. Note the guy with the flamethrower on the right, and the guy pulling the cord off the hand grenade. The guy surrendering is not my favorite as I prefer fighting poses, but even that is original.

TSSD German Infantry expansion set

These are some recently released German guys that complement the TSSD German 'Elite Troops'. They will paint well as SS guys in cammo gear or as regular Landser wearing winter gear, as they go well the Germans with long coats, with the nice added touch that they come with a different head gear. You can't see well in the picture, but the man on the right is holding/throwing a grenade also. The only thing to complain about is that they only released four poses.  

Mars German Elite Division (Waffen SS)

I love that Mars has thrown its hat into the WWII 1/32 ring, and are coming up with sets that had not received as much attention in the past. As far as this 'Elite Infantry' set, I have to say that it is just OK. For some reason the way the clothes look on the legs of these figures seems a bit artificial. Either too baggy, or the men's legs are too skinny to fill them... not sure what's going on. I also found it amusing that they preferred to avoid calling the set Waffen SS and went with 'Elite Division'. Anyhow, the poses are dynamic enough for my taste, and they could easily be used as regular infantry if you also wanted to avoid depicting Waffen SS troops.

Plastic Platoon Waffen SS / Elite Troops

By now it should be clear to anyone reading this blog that I love Plastic Platoon's figures. They've set a new standard in the Plastic Toy Soldier world with their amazing level of detail and the energy and high level of action in their poses. That's mostly true with this set as well, except that in this set the faces have gone off the rails. They definitely over did them. I don't know if the intention was to depict these men as evil, but their expressions resemble that of possessed zombies or something along those lines. Other than that, this set is just as exciting as any of their prior ones. Just look at the man firing the machine gun a-la-Rambo. Or the man on the right with the Stg 44. Really well posed and detailed. The sniper is also very nicely done, although with that big rock underneath him, it limits the places where he could be posed. Still a great set and looking forward to set 2 of PP's Waffen SS figures.  

Hanomak 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 company called 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. 

Plastic Platoon Waffen SS Heavy Weapons

PP's second set of Waffen SS Troops has not disappointed. It's only five figures, but they are all very well done. The faces are not as extreme as in the previous set, although still a bit in that sharp style, particularly the machine gunner. The machine gun is probably the crown piece in this set, and I am pretty sure that's why there are only five figures in this set. The machine gun by itself with its elaborate base was probably more work to make than a figure. That's how detailed it is. The man firing the gun, is actually cast separately and placed on the base by hooking up his hands to the machine gun's handle. The ammo holder is a separate figure, and the base of the gun has a notch that fits perfectly with the ammo box so that you don't have to guess where to place him. The panzerschreck team is also very well posed and detailed and it's definitely good to have a loader with it. The fifth man is interesting because he seems to be firing a captured Bren gun. In terms of gear you can tell that these guys were late war guys. They are wearing a mix of cammo smocks and regular uniforms, helmets with and without covers, most of them wear puttees and shoes, although the panzerschreck loader is wearing leather boots. And the ammo loaded on the MG team is carrying an StG 44 assault rifle, which as the model name suggests, came out in the last phase of the war. This set is now very hard to get, so I was very happy to be able to get my hands on one.

Plastic Platoon Elite German Winter Infantry Kharkov - Set 1

And speaking of German winter troops, Plastic Platoon has recently come up with this really nice set! The level of detail on these figures is exquisite. You can even see the fleece lining on the hood of the coats, and you can make out the helmets' insignia. The uniforms are all very authentic, the thickness of the figures is consistent with all the layers of clothing they are wearing, and the captured subMG is a nice touch. The most interesting pieces in this set are the two guys making up the MG team. The reason for that is that the MG itself, along with the hands of the man firing have been sculpted attached to the man where the MG is resting. This means that when you assemble them together, you really need to make sure they line up perfectly. Luckily they do. The other implication is that you can never deploy them separately, unless you took the time to perform some delicate conversions. Another great set from Plastic Platoon!

Plastic Platoon Elite German Winter Infantry Kharkov - Set 2

These guys are a good follow up complement to the previous set. The winter gear is just right. I really like the details like the sheepskin on the inside of some of the coats, or the cloth wrapped around their heads. Another interesting detail is the guy wearing the cap with the ear flaps. Initially I couldn't tell if that was a German or a Soviet cap, but upon closer inspection I realized that it has a German eagle insignia on the front. In terms of poses, I usually prefer fighting poses over wounded guys, but in this case, since these are part of the second set, I am OK with this wounded pose, particularly because it goes well with the medic moving towards him with the bag. Interestingly enough, the medic is holding a pistol just in case. The pose I like the most is the man exchanging the magazine. We don't get many of these, so it is a nice touch. The two other guys, are just good, solid firing poses. Overall a nice set.

Plastic Platoon German SS Infantry, Battle of Berlin

These guys will go well with the Volkssturm as they make a last effort to prevent the inevitable fall of Berlin. The first interesting bit is the presence of an Indian soldier, likely from the Indian Legion recruited from British POWs. This guy had to fight to the end or face tough consequences if captured. Another thing that they did well is the bases. I know that some folks find them too bulky or constraining in terms of the scene where the men can be used, but in this case, I find them quite appropriate. One of them is standing next to a grandfather clock, and another one is standing next to a broken gramophone, not to mention the several sections of brick wall. The weapons are all good choices for urban fighting, with a panzerfaust and a panzerschreck, plus other automatic weapons. And similarly to the Soviet guy in the Kursk set, we have a guy handing over his ammo pouches with sub machinegun magazines to a Kamerad. Overall, a good, intense set. 

Click here to take a look at WWII Toy Soldiers by Country

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Click here to check out other German Troops

Here's a post of the Waffen SS in action defending the Siegfried line.

Here are some pictures of the Waffen SS fighting the British in Normandy.