- Overview: This set depicts a group of Soviet naval infantry in naval-style Square-Rig uniforms from the Great Patriotic War. They are appropriate from the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa to about 1943, when naval infantry switched over to using khaki army-style tunics and trousers, with only their naval-style caps and shoulderboards as well as their striped telnyashka undershirts differentiating them from their Red Army counterparts. They are equipped with a variety of small arms, including Moisin-Nagant bolt-action rifles, Tokarev semi-automatic rifles, PPSh submachine guns with drum magazines, Degtaryev machine guns, and one sailor is equipped with a captured German Mp38/40. In addition, most have stick grenades in their belts, and the commander (wearing a pea coat) is holding binoculars and has a holstered pistol. Following the norm for Soviet forces at the time, equipment is fairly minimal, with most sailors wearing belts with a single ammunition pouch, a bayonet, and a gas mask pouch slung over their shoulders (once it became apparent that there was no threat from gas attacks, most soldiers and sailors repurposed this into a small haversack). The standing machine-gunner has belts of ammunition which he is wearing bandolier-style. They are wearing calf-length leather boots, probably the sapogi that were also standard-issue for the Red Army for most of the war.
- Sculpting: Overall, the sculpts are excellent; the poses are dynamic and varied, with attention payed to particular details like the cap ribbons on the running figures flying back. Faces are also well-sculpted with realistic expressions. The figures had their arms molded separate from their torso, which made painting somewhat easier when painting the body parts that would have been behind their weapons. The only design flaw I noticed was that some running figures had balance issues, and fell over easily.
- Molding: The figures were made from a somewhat brittle dark blue hard plastic, which unfortunately somehow managed to have a "worst of both worlds" situation; that is, the plastic was both prone to breakage (although I think only one rifle sling was actually broken) and the arm pieces were quite warped, requiring many straightening sessions that involved dipping the pieces first in hot water, then bending them to shape, then dipping them in cold water afterward in order to keep their proper shape. I also found it somewhat difficult to figure out which arms went to which torso after they'd been cut from the sprue; I realize this was partially my fault, but they could have also molded numbers on the bottom of the figure bases, not just had them next to the figure on the sprue.
- Packaging: The packaging was a straightforward cardboard box, and did a good job keeping the models free from damage. The printing on the packaging was simple but well-done, with a photograph of the painted figures against a scenic backdrop on the front cover and a photograph of them against a white background on the back, along with a short paragraph about Soviet Naval Infantry. There are no other guides or manuals included in the packaging.
- Selection: The group makes for a believable naval infantry squad, with a good cross-section of different weapons and poses. None of the poses are re-used, and there's a good balance between standing, kneeling, and prone figures. My biggest disappointment with the selection was that only one figure was wearing machine gun ammunition belts, when it was far more commonly-worn early in the war and a really iconic look for early-war naval infantry.
- Scale: They seem a bit on the smallish side compared to Airfix figures (let alone Toy Soldiers of San Diego 60 mm figures), but scale well with Mars 54mm figures:
Left to right: Airfix Afrika Korps, Pegasus Naval Infantry, TSSD Red Army Infantry
- Overall: Despite a few niggles, I found this to be a visually interesting and well-made set of a rarely-depicted aspect of WWII, and think that these would look right at home storming the beach!
My naval infantry in action:
