Empress Moderns

[84 Sqdrn]

Thank you 84 Sqdrn, I thought I was up to date on modern small arms but somehow this one has passed me by. Had asked the question elsewhere but no one seemed to know.

I must be honest and say I didn't know either, I found what it was, with a lucky google search when I first saw pictures of the figures 

[Centaur_Seducer]

Great minis!
And our complaints about few releases is all about us wanting to invest even more

[Paul @ Empress Miniatures]

Don't worry you should have little to comlain about this year if its moderns releases that you are after

However I'd best stop now or I will be accussed of teasing 

Paul

[Lawful Evil]

I've just purchased these, and I can't wait to see what else you have planned for the moderns range. On a side note, your English/Zulu range is extensive and very impressive!

[Legion1963]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VSS_Vintorez

Lovely. Now i know what to ask for my birthday.

[commissarmoody]

The fun part would be finding ammo for it.

[Legion1963]

The fun part would be finding ammo for it.

Well, it's all just a bit of fun.....really.

[akodo]

Actually, I do believe that is the AS-Val, an extremely similar weapon.

The two share a lot of parts commonality, and can even take each-other's magazines.

The AS-Val has the same skeletal style buttstock as depicted on the models here, and uses 20 round mags as standard.  It is often encountered without a scope.  It is designed first as a silent assault rifle.  It's cousin the VSS is designed with a sniper roll in mind.  It has a 10 round mag to make firing from prone easier, and has a Dragunov style buttstock, and is always issued with a scope.

[Hobbit]

Going to feel like a real rivet counter here but...if you look closely at the stock (on the model) it more closely resembles that of the VSS than of the AS-Val (comparing online images). And according to a well known online encylopedia the VSS was exported to Iraq whereas the AS-Val wasn't. I know that doesn't necessarily mean a great deal, but it would mean the VSS was more likely to be in the hands of Iraqi insurgents.

As always, I'm very happy to be proved wrong if someone has more info