1941-42 Red Army, 28mm

[Truscott Trotter]

Morning EC ( from a rather warm Tassue)
I hear ypy re BTD even when I got my Soviets years ago it was always a fraught experience with little or no comms so col Bills is best bet.

As for Westwind woild not exactly call all of them blobs , heres a quick n dirty photo with an Artizan or Dixon figure in the middle.

[Eclaireur]

Ah TT, I envy you the warmth and long days down there.

Many thanks for the pic, and those figures do seem quite interchangeable in terms of size and quality. I had a negative experience with Westwind late war British infantry - huge helmets, tiny packs, odd (blobby) proportions. I suppose each range has its high and lowlights.
I've been pleasantly surprised with the sample Russians I've acquired that several ranges (GEG, BTD, TAG, Crusader, Warlord, and Artizan) seem pretty interchangeable size-wise.
EC   

[SJWi]

I would agree with the view on Westwind. Some sculpts are very nice, others pretty poor. There is seemingly no consistency between ranges or even packs within a range. I find a similar issue with Old Glory.

[Truscott Trotter]

@SJWi I think with Westwind it is a recent thing if you choose the Separate Head System stuff they are 28mm and reasonable sculpts.

@EC the sun went down here tonight at 9.30pm it was still 24 deg C. 

If you have my luck just after you finish putting together your 1942 Russian lopk alikes someone will sculpt a perfect and complete range! 

[Poiter50]

Damn you and your Daylight Saving, our lot keep voting against it.

@SJWi I think with Westwind it is a recent thing if you choose the Separate Head System stuff they are 28mm and reasonable sculpts.

@EC the sun went down here tonight at 9.30pm it was still 24 deg C. 

If you have my luck just after you finish putting together your 1942 Russian lopk alikes someone will sculpt a perfect and complete range! 

[Eclaireur]

TT - bask in that sunshine mate, it's grim up here!
and yes, those beautiful, Paul Hicks sculpted early war Russians will be unveiled just as I finish my mongrel force 
EC   

[aphillathehun]

Stalingrad - yeah.  Someone should persuade Paul Hicks to sculpt a range of Soviets for that, and Germans.  Would be awesome.

This thread made me remember a kickstarter from a few years ago about the Winter War.  I think it was Baker Company.  Seems like Baker Company disappeared perhaps as a result of that?  Last post on their facebook page was November '15 and it looked like mostly people wanting their money back from the kickstarter....

[Wyrmalla]

Didn't Black Tree Design do a Winter Soviet range Kickstarter?

[Eclaireur]

Having acquired figures from six manufacturers during this quest I thought it might be worth an update on this, just in case others search and find this thread.

- my summer 1942 platoon is being built from Great Escape Games (GEG), Warlord (plastics) and Black Tree Design (BTD). The odd Crusader figure might find its way in there also. It's a mongrel mix and the size matches as well as a few other things aren't perfect, but if you want the tunic (gymnasterka) worn at that time, with larger collar and no shoulder boards, that's the way to go.

- for the winter Stalingrad fighting, you're best off using the Warlord plastics (just three out of the eight figures on their sprue are in winter gear...), Artizan, Crusader, and GEG.       

- if you want the tunic that came in from February 1943 (with shoulder boards and high collar), ie post-Stalingrad or late war, things are much sweeter because there are two excellent ranges in the shape of The Assault Group and Eureka.

- if you like a slimmer, more anatomically correct look, you've got Wargames Factory plastics and Rubicon. These guys have smaller heads than the other ranges but are both best for the late war period.   

What's remarkable to me about these ranges if how many are marred by mixing up of those tunic styles - GEG NCOs or Crusader officers wrongly have shoulder boards with M35 pattern shirts. BTD has some lovely, characterful, figures but also random mixing of styles and rather odd shape for M40 helmet. Eureka has the later, high, collar on its summer tunics, but no shoulder boards. If it comes to making improvements, removing the boards with craft knife and file is easier than adding the larger collars with green stuff.

Last random thought - the sales or deals offered by several makers are well worth waiting for.  BTD used to have its ranges on sale intermittently through much of the year, but most people have given up with them due to the long waits for delivery. The best deal I picked up during recent purchases was Warlord KV1/KV2 kit that comes with a sprue of infantry + weapons, mine for £13.33 when bought with two other plastic vehicle kits.

Just hoping for the day the perfect range for 1942 comes out!

EC   

[cuprum]

During 1943, it was often possible to see soldiers and even officers in an M1935 tunic, but with new shoulder straps. Until the previously made uniforms were used up, the old-style tunics continued to be used.

[Eclaireur]

Excellent! thank you for that Cuprum. So some of the 'mixed' figures do indeed work for 1943. Should add Ive also seen example of M35 with collar cut down like M43 but no shoulder boards (this will my excuse for fielding Eureka figure in gymnasterka  )
EC

[Wyrmalla]

How suitable would Parkfield Miniatures range be for your project? They're mostly in Greatcoats - but perhaps could be mixed in with the temperate uniforms for variety?

https://www.parkfieldminiatures.co.uk/winter-war-1939-40-russian

Tiger Miniatures also seem to do interwar Soviets.

https://www.tigerminiatures.co.uk/soviets-1920-1940

[Eclaireur]

thanks @Wyrmalla I'll give them a look 
I've a feeling, if I wanted some real early war guys or even Mongolian campaign, I'd go for the Brigade Games range which look pretty nice to me. But it's great to have some extra choices,
happy new year!
EC

[armchairgeneral]

Read this thread with interest as I have been considering getting some WW2 Russians. Probably more late War but not that bothered. The Crusader range looks favourite as nice sculpts and they have the support weapons as well. May supplement with Bad Squiddo sniper teams.

[aphillathehun]

Just hoping for the day the perfect range for 1942 comes out!

EC   

Someone needs to get Paul Hicks working on that....