This will be a little log about these figures.
Well I've been working on the Dragon Wiking Winter Grenadiers intending to eventually put them in a little dio with my tamiya panther ausf a (as seen here: oob panther ausf a ) I am only planning on using the first two figures (saving the very nice mg crew for a different project)
I really enjoy figure modelling and trying to get the most out of what you get in the box and having said that I was really exciting to get this set of gen 2 figures, my first, in anticipation of the detail and accessories provided.
As this isn't a kit review I won't go over every little detail about the kit, only to say that the figures themselves consist of at least 16 pieces, not including equipment!! So the build was quite arduous to say the lest. I wish I had taken some photos because I heavily modified the first figure (from the left) including sawing his right leg off at the knee to get a more pronounced bend, increasing the angle of his back (so he was leaning over more) and modifying his overall posture to lean forward more and be more hunched over, both to get closer to the dynamic movement of the box cover, but also because I intend to have him creeping up the side of an embankment. It took me 2 weeks of sanding, filing, fitting, then filling with epoxy sculpt and putty to get his to this stage! The anorak parts were especially difficult as there are 4 pieces for the part of the anorak that falls below the waist and another two for the hood and I had to use apoxy sculpt in order to fill those gaps and simulate the folds (on the first figure I had to sculpt another section in the front because the gap was so big after I modified the legs!! And those damn grenades sticking out of his belt were one of the hardest parts (in all fairness because of my modification to the pose) but they look so good I just couldn't skip them! The second figure I did no modification to stance other than turn his torso and head slightly to give him a more 'gaurded' appearance, and I changed his weapon which meant I had to use some hornet hands for the right grip. There were the same issues with the anorak here as well, and it takes some creative use of the putty to get the fur parts of the hood to blend together!
compare these images to the box:
the two figures basecoated in an approximation of their final placement (note that they are reversed in order from that shown on the box top)
I have to say I feel like the effort was worth it (after all thats why we do this right!) and I am pretty happy with the build. As you can see I replaced the rifle in his hand with binoculars supplied in the kit. The detail of the weapons and accessories is excellent and crisp while parts of the figures seem a little soft in comparison (maybe its just because it is an anorak!?) anyways it will be good enough. And the inclusion of the weapons' straps is really nice.
The second figure from the left on the box top. You can see how stiff the pose is compared to the box top, but for my purpose this works out quite well as he is supposed to be on the lookout while his kamerad scouts the way for them to escape the kessel, and I think it conveys a certain tension!
I have airbrushed a black Tamiya basecoat. I read that Calvin Tan does this, so I thought I would give it a go! Plus I figure it will help add those shadows to the deep folds under the anoraks and trousers, and give the figures an overall darker appearance in the end.
(sorry for the image quality, it was really difficult to take pics of these slightly shiny black figures!!)
Next I will begin brushing on the base colors hopefully with Vallejo (if I can convince my wife it is worth the dough!) I plan on using a combination of acrylics and artist's oils to acheive the effect I am after, which is to try to capture the same kind of style as volstad portrays on the box top.
