28mm Gebirgsjager Releases from Blitzkrieg Laboratories

[Nostromo]

All the October and November releases for the Blitzkrieg Laboratories 28mm Gebirgsjager line are up on the blog in painted form now-

http://blitzkrieglaboratory.blogspot.com/

And are all in stock from Gorgon Studios

www.gorgon-studios.com

Should be two more packs of these elite Mountain Troops yet this calendar year if all goes as planned.

[Wilkins]

Any plans for a UK distributor? Or even EU? They are lovely!

[Helen]

Fantastic releases Nostromo. I love them all. Some classic poses and loads of character, well done.

I can see both forces being used by gamers wanting a bit more for their genre.

Cheers,

Helen

[CorvetteK225]

Being a collector of Gebirgsjäger specific items, both original and reproduction, I am happy to see more figures on the market. I am also pleased to see them as '39-'42 in appearance. That being said, I am not completely thrilled with these figures. There are many technical faults that could have easily been avoided.

1. GJ commonly did not wear Y-Straps. There are only about a dozen or less known photos where Y-Starps are seen worn.

2. GJ wore their helmets when in campaign. The cap was worn in rear areas, in garrison or during mountaineering operations.

3. GJ were issued the the distictive edelweiss arm badge from May 1939 onward. I cannot tell from the pictures if they are wearing the cap insignia, but that follows the same.

4. GJ wore a wrap style puttee and not a canvas single panel type. (while equally short in height, it was still a wrap).

5. GJ often carried the small mountain rucksack (which looks nearly identical to the artillery rucksack) while on campaign. The large mountain rucksack was issued and seen worn in many photos, it was still in the minority of use.

6.  GJ often carried the non-folding shovel while on campain. It is often seen protruding from small rucksack. Early war photos often show the Autrian shovel in use as well.

Will I order these figures, most likely yes. Would I like to see some changes to the next releases, definitely.

[Nostromo]

@Corvette-
Thank you for the wonderful comments.  We are always trying to improve on accuracy, and your points are an excellent start to what can be done in future releases.  We are always looking for more accurate campaign photos and often wary of Osprey and other artistic sources- so these points are a great help.  Any suggestions on references are very welcome.  We are a very new company and love any direction and comments from collectors.

@Wilkins-
No real leads on UK/EU distributor at this time, but would take suggestions.  Currently Gorgon tries to minimize postage and offer free postage on orders over $100 US, but that does not always help with some of the import taxation issues.  As the lines expand a European distributor will hopefully become a reality.

[CorvetteK225]

I would be quite willing to share information if requested.

Outside of the commonly available books, I own a prized (albeit) small collection of original photos. Many are garrison types as I have a great fondness for pre-war Gebirgs types. I own a number of GJ specific, pieces of original kit to include both the large and small rucksacks. If the collecting hobby were not so darned expensive, I would love to go crazy and buy it all!  

In the meantime, here is a YouTube to whet the appetite. It shows a lot of what I am explaining; the footage speaks volumes to the viewer. You will quickly note that there are no mountains to be seen. That is due to the GJ divisions fighting mainly in the steppes and swamps of Europe and Russia. Sad to think of all that maountaineering talent going unused, but true none the less.

Part I
Part II
Part III

Again, my offer stands that if you need and want some questions answered, I'll be here on the forum.

David  

[David]

The figures will be great for thr Greek campaign
show a picture of Gebirgsjager in greece
http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=208
and i am sure they used these uniforms for Crete
So i am very happy with the new figures

[WuZhuiQiu]

Those are some interesting details, Corvette, which suggest that BF's Gebirgsjager may have some limitations. Thanks!

@Nostromo: That looks like the beginning of a nice range of figures!

[whisperin_al]

Nice looking figures - are they designed for slotta bases or cast on ones?

[Nostromo]

They are cast on foot base- standard historical basing you see with most 28mm historicals.

Mike Owen did these, so they look the same as Artizan if you are familiar with that.

[Dr. The Viking]

Brilliant!