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 - 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 - 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 - 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

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

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

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.

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Click here to check out other German Troops

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.

Introducing the 8.8 cm Flak 36/37

The dreaded 88mm German gun saw its initial designs during the inter-war period. The most popular design being the one from 1937. By the time WWII started it had already seen action and proved itself in the Spanish Civil War. While initially developed as an anti-aircraft weapon (Flak comes from Flugzeugabwehrkanone or gun to defend against airplanes), primarily used by the Luftwaffe ground troops, the 88s were used extensively in the role of anti-tank weapons. This was not initially meant that way, but the appearance of tanks on the battlefield with armor thicker than what other anti-tank guns could deal with, pressed it into this role. What made the 88s very well suited for both purposes, were multiple factors: the high-velocity muzzle gave it a very long range (25,000 - 39,000 ft vertically) and up to twice that distance horizontally when firing indirectly as traditional artillery. When it comes to direct horizontal fire, it could knock out well armored tanks comfortably at a range of 6,000 feet, well out of range of their return fire. Its mobility, the fact that it could fire while still being towed, its quick deployment time (under 3 mins), and that it could depress the barrel below the horizontal plane also made it very effective and versatile. In addition to that, it could fire high-explosive (HE) shells, useful against aircrafts and infantry, as well as armour-piercing, and anti-tank HE shells. This gun was so effective that after a while it was incorporated as the main armament on other tanks and anti-tank vehicles. Before and over the course of the war over 20,000 of them were built. There was another model designed in 1941, but it never became as popular and less than 600 were built by the time the war ended.

Forces of Valor 88 Flak - Towed

Forces of Valor produced a very nice version of this gun. Here we see it attached to the 8 Ton prime mover that would tow it. The factory paint job gives it a weathered look, and as usual, the fact that it's mostly made out of metal gives it a nice feel.

Forces of Valor 88 Flak - Rear View

As you can see from this angle, the attention to detail is substantial. The gun can rotate 360 degrees around the vertical axis and the gun can be elevated up to a vertical position, allowing it to fire virtually in every direction.

Forces of Valor 88 Flak - Artillery Mode

Here we see it already deployed as traditional artillery. There is a scene in Band of Brothers in which the screaming eagles are being shelled with 88mm HE shells while in a forest, causing shrapnel and wood splinters to rain down on them with nasty consequences. Also note that the carriage is actually made of two separate sections. The front and rear wheel axles can be attached and removed independently. It also comes with a nice ground crew to operate it.

Forces of Valor 88 Flak - Anti Tank Mode

Here we see it deployed the way it would be used to fight against tanks. The air and land 'kills' on the shield add a nice touch of realism. FOV also manufactured this gun in a tan color scheme however I did not get around to buying that one.

21st Century Toys 88 Flak - Afrika Korps

21C Toys also produced a very nice 88mm gun. Not quite at the level of the one from FOV but far superior to anything that had come before in plastic. Here we see it ready to be deployed to fight the British in the deserts of North Africa.

21st Century Toys 88 Flak - Grey

Deployed in an anti-tank role. The wheel axles are also detachable. Note how the level of paint detail is not quite the same as the one from FOV, both for the carriage and the gun itself. The crew consists of just 2 figures.

21st Century Toys 88 Flak - Side View

Here is a view from the side. This gun also moves 360 degrees around and from horizontal to vertical, so it is just as functional as the one from FOV. And from this angle it looks just as lethal.

Dinky Toys 88 Flak - Part I

Here is an earlier model of an 88 courtesy of Dinky Toys. Not as detailed as the newer versions from FOV and 21C, but still fairly nice. Made in metal, it has a good, solid feel to it. The round knob/gear visible on the side, allows you to lower and raise the barrel. It comes with three crew members. The crew is made in some very light, stiff plastic, so you get the feeling that they might easily break. 

Dinky Toys 88 Flak - Part II

The gun also comes with its carriages to allow it to be towed. And it also happens to have a few shells that you can fire using a spring mechanism. The sticker on the barrel may or may not be present, as the glue loses its binding power over time. All in all a nice item to add to the collection. Unfortunately there are not many complete sets left, so getting one of these can get a bit pricey or you must settle for an incomplete set. I actually got lucky and managed to get the complete set for the price of what you usually pay for the gun by itself.

Waltersons (formerly FOV) 88mm Flak - Afrika Korps - Part I

This is hands down the most detailed 88mm Flak gun made by any manufacturer. What I mean by that is that when you move the gun vertically or rotate the gun around, there are gears that turn, transferring the movement all the way to the handwheels use to set the gun's position. Super realistic. The only thing that was a bit hard to attach was the gun shield. It's very tricky to slide it into the proper position. But if the gun is not exciting enough for you, the fact that it comes with a crew of 8 should be a nice plus.

Waltersons (formerly FOV) 88mm Flak - Afrika Korps - Part II

Here's a better angle of the crew. There's an observer and a commander. My commander is missing his binoculars, but I should be able to replace those with one of the Airfix multi-pose parts. Then there's a loader, an ammo box carrier, two men sitting operating the gun, another one adjusting the handwheels, and one more fetching the next ammo round from the side of the gun. This is jut a minor detail, but it also comes with about 6 rounds of ammo that you want to make sure you don't drop and lose. Compared to the 21C version of the AK 88, which came without any crew figures, this model is quite superior and detailed.  

Click here to see some German Infantry in action

Click here to see a post about the 8 Ton Prime Mover used to tow these guns.

Here you can see the German Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft guns.

Click here to read about the Nebelwerfer

Click here to read a post about mortars

Dragon Models - Toy Soldiers

Dragon Models is a firm based out of Hong Kong. They got started in 1987 and have been going strong since then. Their initial focus was 1/35 model kits for figures and ground vehicles. Since then they have diversified in many directions. They added aircraft to their model kits, they introduced plastic figures, 12" action figures, remote controlled vehicles, diecast vehicles in 1/72, and many other items. They do not sell directly to the public, and in some cases they allow other companies like Revell or Italeri to resell their products under their own brands. In terms of 1/32 WWII plastic, they have not really addressed that segment of the market. They have released a few WWII plastic figures under the Can.Do brand which are essentially whole figure versions of their plastic kits, but even those are 1/35. However they are close enough in size that they could be combined with some smaller 1/32 guys. Their level of detail is actually very good and they come factory painted. The only thing not to like about them are the bases which are a bit oversized, perhaps because they wanted to make the figures taller and easier to combine with 1/32. I only have a few of the sets which they released. Hopefully I can get a few more sets over time. Let's take a look.

Dragon German Infantry - Approach to Stalingrad

These are the basic 4 poses. There is a 5th pose with each set which is much harder to find. Seems like they intentionally produced it in smaller quantities to make it a more appealing collectible. As you can see, the figures are very well detailed and the paint work is done quite nicely. I bought these guys as a set of 12 figures which had 3 of each pose. 

Dragon German Infantry - Barbarossa 1941

The weapons and the bases have to be glued to the figures. As you can see, some of the bases have a slight grade on them and might make the figure seem like it is not standing straight. Also the thickness of the bases is not ideal in my opinion. These guys do not depict much action, but other sets do have poses in fighting poses.

Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat - Part I

Here's another nice set from Dragon. It is missing one of the basic figures -the man aiming his sub MG from a standing position- as well as the 'special' pose -each set has a pose that is only present about 2% of the time-. I have to say that I really like the detail, the quality of the sculpting and even the paint job. I am still not a big fan of the bulky bases. Will probably replace them at some point. One thing to note though is that the bayonet attached to the waist is a bit brittle. As I was inserting the men to their bases one of them broke off just from me holding the figure a bit tightly. 

Dragon German Infantry - Winter Combat - Part II

I managed to find the fourth guy of the basic poses in the Winter Combat set. Another very well done figure by Dragon. One intersting thing is the lighter color for his leather subMG magazine pouches. It's possible that was done intentionally for cammo purposes. Now I just need some Siberian troops to go against these guys!

Dragon German Infantry - Krakhov 1943 

This time I managed to get my hands on all five poses of the set. To my surprise, the fifth 'special', & rare pose is just one of the other poses in a different paint scheme. He is the second one from the left, wearing the cammo smock. Again, as with the other sets from Dragon, the detail is really nice. The poses could use a bit more action, but they are still a notch better than just marching or standing guys. At least these guys have their weapons ready. About the bases, I won't say anything anymore. 

Dragon CanDo Tiger Aces

This is a special set from Dragon. They represent famous Tiger commanders such as Michael Wittman (in black standing on the turret). There's also Hans sitting up front, Georg stand off to the side wearing an officer's cap. Kurt (Knispel) - the most prolific Panzer ace-  standing opposite him with a regular cap (that's the only difference between him and Georg), Woll to the right of Wittman, and Karlheinz resting his arm around the tank's gun. These guys are now not so easy to find and they can be a bit pricey of you do run into them. That's particularly true of Kurt who was only manufactured 4 times out of every 100 figures in the set. If you can find them they are a great complement to the FOV and 21C panzers.

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Introducing the Indian Infantry

Latest Edit: Added Expeditionary Force Sets

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India, a British colony during WWII contributed a substantial amount of manpower to the Allied cause. Between 2 and 2.5 million men volunteered to serve. They fought in places like North Africa, Burma, and up the Italian boot. I actually started looking into Indian troops after I read a book on Monte Cassino, where they also fought. A less known part of history is that Indian troops also fought on the Axis side. Both Japan and Germany formed several divisions mainly from prisoners of war whose motivation was to seek independence from the British. The guys in these pictures represent the men who fought on the Allied side. Indian troops are sometimes also referred as Sikh Infantry because of many of the men's religion. However, not all of them were Sikhs, many were Muslim. Apparently, the way to tell them apart is by the head dress. The Muslim head dress has two parts. The Khulla is a conical cover for the head, which is then wrapped many times with a Pagri. The Sikh troops on the other hand wear a turban that does not have the conical Khulla in the middle.

Atlantic Indian Brigade - Part 1

These are really the only WWII Indian troops that I have come across. They are nicely done, however their uniform seems better suited for the jungles of Burma or the North African desert, than for the cold and damp mountainous terrain of Italy at the time of the Monte Cassino campaign which is what I originally wanted them for. But I guess they will have to do. Note that these figures have been manufactured in several different shades of brown. But don't worry, each set only includes figures in one color. The machine gun in this set is a nice touch that provides the unit with a good dose of fire power.

Atlantic Indian Brigade - Part 2

The most interesting part about these figures is that three of them offer the possibility of inserting swords and large knives into their hands. Depending on what weapon you use and whether it points forward or backwards, the figure can be stabbing with a knife or striking a blow with his sword. You can also give them other types of accessories (if you have spare weapons from other manufacturers), for instance, the guy in the middle can also be carrying a bazooka across his back and holding the handle in his hand.

Charbens Punjabs - Part I

These guys are supposed to be from around the turn of last century (1900), but given the scarcity of manufacturers tackling these figures I have decided to recruit them into this unit. The main thing is that they are wearing a similar head dress -albeit Sikh- and the rifles and swords don't look that different from what the Atlantic guys are carrying.

Charbens Punjabs - Part II

Here is the original, vintage officer. Still in decent shape, with most of the original colors on him. And he is a bit larger than the clones pictured above, which is no surprise, as there's often shrinkage when the figures are cloned. 

Cherilea 60mm Sikh Infantry

Here are a few other guys that I recently found. Being 60mm, they are indeed on the larger side, but I think they will still blend in once they are painted. The poses are well sculpted and dynamic, plus they provide the only prone guy that I have come across. Too bad I could not get a hold of the whole set (usually 6 from Cherilea).

Cherilea 60mm Sikh Infantry - Part II

Here is another guy from the same set. I got it after the initial post. Unfortunately the tip of the gun is missing, but overall it is a nice pose. Will need to give it a good scrub before painting it.

Cherilea 60mm Sikh Infantry - Part III

Here is another guy from the set. I've had to get the missing figures individually.

Cherilea 54mm Sikh Infantry?

This guy came with the other 3 above, but I suspect he is from a different set as he is a bit smaller, plus the shape of the base is slightly different, not to mention the slightly different material. I have to say however that I don't know for sure if Cherilea also released a set in 54 mm, so maybe they are from an entirely different manufacturer. If you know, let me know!

Crescent Sikh Infantry - Part I

These are some guys that I have been trying to get for a while. They are 54mm figures. I believe the set contained 6 of them, but I have only been able to find 3. They are also pre-WWII figures, but as you can see, they should blend in.

Crescent Sikh Infantry - Part II

One more from the set. I actually had to get a batch of 20+ mixed figures just to get this one extra pose. I find the figure a bit puzzling. On the one hand he appears to be leading a charge, but in that case, you would expect his expression to be more lively. Perhaps he jut got hit? But then he would be losing his balance, wouldn't he?

Crescent Sikh Infantry - Part III

And one more, with a good deal of original paint left on him.

Crescent Sikh Infantry - Part IV

This is the last one. An action pose, rallying his comrades to move forward. This guy's paint has been touched up by the previous owner, which actually makes his beard look pretty good.

Armies in Plastic WWI Indian Army - Part I

I had been looking for Indian troops for a Monte Cassino scenario and was pleased to run into these guys which were recently released. The poses are nicer than some of the previous AIP figures. Less bulky and with some good movement in them. The level of detail is good and the turbans and beards make them unequivocally Indian. The uniforms and weaponry are close enough to make them pass for WWII figures. 

Armies in Plastic WWI Indian Army - Part II

The first picture shows some of the more active poses. This other five guys are in a more static or defensive stance. Both are needed to depict a good battle scene. All in all, a nice and useful set from AIP. Will paint up well next to the Atlantic, Cherilea, Charbens and Crescent guys. 

Expeditionary Force Indian Assault Section - Pacific War

This is a very welcome set, as there haven't been any recent WW2 Indian Army sets. Considering that they are assembled using the same bodies as the Expeditionary Force British Infantry figures, I had some concerns about the ability to make them look like their own set just by giving them a different head, but once they are assembled, they look just fine. I only have two bits of criticism. The first one is that you only get two different types of heads, and they are very similar to each other. The only difference is that one of them has the mouth slightly open. The end result is that all your men look like clones of each other. The second observation is that the body build of these guys is a bit robust and Indian men tend to be slimmer. But I am totally happy with this trade off. Much better to have these strong Indian guys than none at all. Lastly, you do have to get a bit creative to pose them in ways that are slightly different from the other Expeditionary Force Commonwealth sets, although that's probably not a big deal anyhow unless you plan to deploy them on a scene side by side. 

Expeditionary Force Indian Defense Section - Pacific War

And here we have the Indian Defense section. In this case the man behind the stump is firing a Bren gun, which sets him nicely apart from the other two Defense Section sets. Other than this difference and the head gear, the rest of the men are equipped very similarly as the British and Australian sets. A couple of sub machine guns, although one of them is a Sten gun, and the rest are regular riflemen, and one officer. And there's also the grenade thrower. You can play with the positioning of the heads, and arms to provide a bit of variation. 

Expeditionary Force Indian Machine Gun Section - Pacific War

The third MG set is for the Indian Army. Again, a nice degree of differentiation is achieved simply through the headgear. One thing that you do have to pay attention to when gluing the MG teams together is that the cooling box may easily end up being pulled upwards when you glue it to the side of the Vickers gun. You need to hold it down so that the base does not end up lifted up in the air. And you also want to make sure that when you set the arms of the loader, the back leg of the MG's tripod is resting on the base of the gunner. Else, the ammo belt will not line up properly with the slot where it is supposed to fit in. Lastly, the bodies of the ammo loader and the gunner looks similar, but they are actually different so make sure you glue the correct set of arms to each, or else the bases will get in the way of each other and the ammo belt will not reach the MG. Yes, I had to redo my first set because I did not pay attention to these small details the first time. 

Expeditionary Force Indian HQ Section - Pacific War - Part I

In the case of the Indian HQ section, I also gave them a kneeling sniper and a kneeling man with the sub mg at the ready at the waist. The other 3 poses are the standard ones, but if you pay attention you may notice that for some reason the sun decided to highlight the radio man. It only happened in this picture. Maybe he has some critical message to relay in his upcoming battles? 

Expeditionary Force Indian HQ Section - Pacific War - Part II

The rest of the HQ section is ready to move forward and complete its mission. The officer and the NCO are issue instructions and the other two guys are ready to neutralize anything that moves. What's nice about these Expeditionary Force figures is that the headgear really makes them look different from the other sets.  

Expeditionary Force Indian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part I

These guys are setup the way they were originally meant to be assembled, with the standing guy dropping the shell, and the kneeling one handing over the next one. In this case, the targets are being relayed to them by radio.

Expeditionary Force Indian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part II

This one is a slight variation on the previous one, with the standing guy reaching out with his left hand to perform some adjustment on the mortar before dropping the shell. And they also got the NCO to direct their fire.

Expeditionary Force Indian Mortar Section - Pacific War - Part III

I had to get a bit more creative with this last crew. I made the man on the left stand ready drop the shell with two hands, and in this case the kneeling man is performing some adjustments, while holding another shell on his right hand. The officer is in charge here.

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Click here to see a description of the Gurkhas, who fought next to the Indian troops at Monte Cassino.

Introducing the Canadian Infantry

The Canadian army leading up to WW2 was very small and ill equipped. The standing army numbered only a little over four thousand men, and the reserves just over fifty thousand. As the War broke out in Europe, Canada intended to supply one division to help in the ETO and one division to defend the homeland. As the war evolved, so did Canada's commitment. Out of a population of a little over 11 million, close to 10% of the population ended up serving across all branches of the military. Canada's ground troops initially took on small roles. During the battle of France one brigade was attached to the BEF, and another battalion was sent to help, however the collapse of France happened so rapidly that it arrived too late and it was also withdrawn. Canada also sent a couple of battalions to help defend Hong Kong 1941. Most of these men were captured, with as many dying in captivity as had died during the battle. The Canadian army also supplied 5,000 men for the disastrous Dieppe raid in 1942. They went in along with 1,000 British commandos, suffering 60% losses. Their next contribution, of increasing significance, came when they helped with the invasion of Sicily in the summer of 1943 and the subsequent campaign up the Italian boot. This cost them an additional 25k casualties. The next major engagement happened when fifty thousand Canadians participated in D-Day, landing at Juno beach. The Canadian troops made the greatest gains that day despite the Juno area being only second to Omaha Beach in German defenses. These troops continued to fight in the Normandy campaign, eventually helping to encircle and destroy the German army in the Falaise pocket. In the fall of 1944, Canadian troops helped liberate the heavily fortified Sheldt estuary, which was key in order for the allies to be able to ship goods through the port of Antwerp. There is a recent movie from 2020 called 'The Forgotten Battle' that shows the challenging circumstances of the Canadian attack. Canadian troops then helped liberate the rest of the Netherlands during the winter of 1944/45, which was badly needed as the Dutch were starving at the time. Throughout the course of the war, 730,000 Canadians served as ground troops, with 42,000 of them paying the ultimate price. In terms of toy soldiers, there have not been any manufacturers that have released sets explicitly meant to represent Canadian troops. Most recently Mars released a set representing Commonwealth troops, which many of us would like to think of as Canadians. Let's take a look. 

Mars British Commonwealth Troops

This release from Mars portrays British Commonwealth Troops, which I guess means that you could use them as any number of nationalities. I know many collectors would like to use them as Canadian. What's nice about them is that a couple of them are wearing a leather vest, which I gather is called a jerkin. Another nice touch is that among their poses they have a prone piat firing team. As far as I recall, only 21C had made a prone piat firing paratrooper, but it did not have a loader. The set is pretty good overall, with almost all figures in good action, fighting poses. My only disappointment is the figure on the left, which I find very poorly sculpted. Like several other Mars figures, his arms are tucked next to his body as if he were trying to hold something with his arm pits. He actually looks worse when you look at him directly from the front. I really wish by now Mars had figured out how to properly sculpt arms in more natural positions. Other than that, it is a pretty nice set, and a welcome representation of a unique nation/service branch.

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

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Click here to see more British Commonwealth Troops

Click here to see the British Infantry in action against the Waffen SS.

Click here to see a post about a special British guy