Introduction:

The PBF is a gas mask that originated in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was intended to be a lightweight gas mask that did not have a heavy metal canister filter or tube. Instead, the PBF uses two smaller EO-19 'cheek' filters mounted on each side of the mask, similarly to the US M17. The PBF was nicknamed the 'gorilla', 'monkey' and 'hamster' mask by Soviet troops.

Live Resin released a number of different 1/35 scale head sets wearing gasmasks. One of these releases is: PBF "Hamster" Russian Airborne (VDV) Gasmask with OZK hood (LRE-35275).

Review:

The PBF "Hamster" Russian Airborne (VDV) Gasmask with OZK hood set comes packed in a zip-lock bag, secured between hard cardboard backing. The CAD box art on the front shows the contents of the set, while the one on the back displays the gasmask from several additional angles.

The set consists of 5 identical heads cast in resin. The resin looks really good with no visible imperfections and all the details nicely delivered.

The heads are wearing the PBF masks and OZK hood. The PBF mask looks good, with its characteristic shape nicely rendered. The level of details on the mask is very high with eyepiece lenses and the voice emitter / exhale valve on the front, and large cheek filters on each side. The OZK hood covers the head; it features an elastic band to ensure the tight fit over the gasmask, and extends downward to the neck area, with the fastener clearly visible under the neckline. The hood captures the baggy feel of heavy rubberized suit well.

And now the big question… how to fit the heads which include a shoulder portion of the NBC suit to the figure? To be honest, I’m not sure what the answer is. The fact that the heads include a good part of the NBC suit suggests that the figure of your choosing needs to have a NBC suit. Sculpting the heavy rubberized suit might be the best way to go, as I don’t know of any figures (resin or plastic) wearing the OZK suit.

Conclusion:

This set provides five 1/35 scale resin replacement heads with PBF gasmasks and OZK hood. The resin looks good with plenty of sharp details nicely delivered. As for fitting these heads to the figure, I would say quite a bit of sculpting/resculpting is required as I know of no 1/35 scale figures with OZK suit on the market… perhaps Live Resin has some in the pipeline?