THE RUSSIANS hi everyone,
here is an update on the russian figures for the diorama. they are all built and here's a review of their assembly from two manufacturers that are new to me:
below is the first of four Tahk figures. someone had previously suggested trying Magic Sculpt epoxy putty when they saw my Milliput sculpting for the Tripwire diorama. i got my hands on some and it does offer an easier material to work clothing than Milliput. it is best descibed as "waxy" in texture and i used it here to make a winter jacket for the trooper.
this second figure also received a new winter jacket. you can work the Magic Sculpt for up to 3 hours from my experience. this figure had some great details like all the Tahk figures but his hands were an atrocious mess so i replaced them with Dragon Gen2 hands.
this figure already had a winter jacket but his gun was broken. i had to fix it and then paint it white so i could check out the repairs. all these Tahk figures got gunslings made from lead foil.
this last figure had damage to the front brim of his helmet so i fixed that with Magic Sculpt and he got a PE gunsling from a Dragon Gen2 set for his Mosin91 rifle. all the Tahk figures would be considered "large" for 1/35th but they will be grouped away from the other figures so it won't be a problem for this scene. to represent the poorly equiped russian troops, this unlucky fellow has no winter jacket.
the last figure is a Doug's Original that can best be descibed as "wow." just a really sweet looking sculpt and a great pose.
all the Tahk figures were not the easiest to assemble so come prepared. the helmets are hollow inside so i filled them with putty as i have no idea what they had planned for a guy to get them to fit on the heads. the gear has superb details, tiny little folds on the ammo pouches and amazingly fine details on the guns. they look like fun to paint and i'm keen to get to this stage.
the Doug's figure went together in 5 minutes and i only added putty to the arm/shoulder joints to be obsessive. the gear looks more smooth (or lacking in all the tiny extra folds) than the Tahk figure but it has uber crisp details and the best PPsh 41 gun of the gang. i would classify him as "slightly small" sized, about the same size as Dragon Gen2 figures. he'll be on the other side of the building so again it won't pose a problem.
writing this figure review was quite fun and hope this helps those who want to check these figure lines out. cheers for now and happy modeling, bd.