introduction

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on June 22, 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km (1,800 mile) front. In addition to the large number of troops, it also involved 600,000 motor vehicles and 750,000 horses. Planning for Operation Barbarossa started on December 18, 1940 and continued through the Spring of 1941 when Mussolini’s misadventures in the Balkans delayed the invasion.

Barbarossa reached its high water mark when the Red Army repelled the Wehrmacht outside Moscow during the Winter. Adolf Hitler had not achieved the expected victory, even though the Soviet Union's situation remained dire. Tactically, the Germans had won some resounding victories, and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the country, mainly in Ukraine. Despite these successes, the Germans were pushed back from Moscow, and could never mount an offensive simultaneously along the entire Soviet-German front again.

Operation Barbarossa was the largest military operation in human history in both manpower and casualties. Its failure was a turning point in the Third Reich's fortunes. Most importantly, Operation Barbarossa opened up the Eastern Front, to which more forces were committed than in any other theatre of war in world history. Barbarossa and the areas that fell under it became the site of some of the largest battles, deadliest atrocities, highest casualties, and most horrific conditions for Soviets and Germans alike— all of which influenced the course of the war on the Eastern Front.

Master Box LTD has released a set of six figures in 1/35 scale which represent six Soviet infantrymen starting a counterattack.

THE BOX AND PACKAGING

The box the kit comes in is the typical soft cardboard open-end one with artwork of the figures by artist A. Karaschuk on the top of the box, along with a photograph of a Soviet Order of the Red Star medal. The bottom of the box has a very basic assembly guide in the form of photographs of the completed figures, a photograph of the sprues, and a painting guide for Vallejo paints. The two sprues are sealed within a clear plastic bag. There is no separate instruction sheet included, only the basic assembly guide on the bottom of the box. The guide leaves a lot to be desired, and I feel that Master Box could have taken the time to produce a more-detailed one. There are no decals included in this kit.

The kit comes with two tan styrene sprues containing 93 total pieces. Sprue A contains 49 pieces, and sprue B contains 44 pieces. All of them are attached to the sprue with a minimal amount of contact points. I have seen some kits where it seems like the sprues contain more plastic than the pieces that make up the kit; however, that is not the case here, which makes for easy removal and less clean-up of each piece. When I examined the sprues, I didn't find any broken or missing pieces. A couple of the bayonets have a slight bend to them, but nothing that can't be easily straightened. One of the rifles also has a slight bend in it. None of the individual pieces are numbered on the sprue. The only place they are numbered is on the bottom of the box.

THE review

As I examined the individual pieces, I found what I would consider to be a normal to minimal amount of flash, however there are seam lines present. I did not find any push-out (knock-out) marks on the individual pieces. The detailing is nice and crisp, though I did notice that some of the trigger guards on the weapons contain flash that will need to be cleaned-up so the trigger will be exposed.

The kit comes with six WWII Soviet infantrymen sculpted by A. Gagarin. I assembled all of the figures straight out of the box without doing any work on them to show all of the seam lines, flash and gaps. I felt this is a good way to show the work required.

Figure 1: Soviet officer. (sprue A)
The figure is made up of nineteen total pieces (depending on the version you build). The detailing on the clothing and face is nice, and the figure can be assembled in one of several different variations. If assembled with its right arm raised holding a Nagant Model 1895 revolver, the gun is molded in the hand. The figure can also be assembled carrying a Soviet PPD-1934 submachine gun with or without a drum magazine, the PPD-1934 submachine gun with a box magazine, or the PPD 1940G submachine gun with or without the drum magazine. In the left hand, the choice is holding a drum magazine or a pair of binoculars. If desired, the modeler will need to scratch build a sling for the submachine gun(s).

The figure also comes with a drum magazine pouch, a holster for the revolver and a document case. Something that should have been included is a magazine pouch for the PPD-1934 box magazine. The figure is wearing the pullover tunic with the rank on the collar, breeches and belt, boots, and an M35 peaked cap with the star emblem on the front, all of which are correct for the 1941 time frame. The peaked cap is done well, and fits on the figure’s head nicely. The tunic comes with one separate piece which makes up the tail portion. There is also a medal molded on the left side of the tunic, which looks like the Russian Medal for Bravery. There are seam lines and flash present which will need to be removed, but the overall fit of the pieces is good with only a few gaps to be filled.

I do have a couple of issues with the submachine guns. The drum magazine does not fit into the notch on the PPD 1940G. The PPD-1934, without a magazine, does not have a magazine well. This will need to be made by the modeler. These errors can be easily fixed, however I feel they should not be there in the first place.

Figure 2: Soviet infantryman running. (sprue A)
This figure is made-up of fifteen total pieces (depending on the version you build). The detailing on the clothing and face(s) is nice, and this is a nice action pose. There are two head options: one is wearing the M-36 (Model 36) helmet with the ventilation comb on top; the other is the Pilotka 1935 pattern cloth side cap with the red star emblem on the front. The head with the helmet has visible teeth, and the helmet fits on the head nicely. The figure’s left hand has gaps between the fingers, which gives a very realistic appearance.

The figure is carrying a Mosin Nagant rifle with bayonet affixed. The rifle fits into the figures hand well. The bayonet is shown correctly attached to side of the rifle barrel (as opposed to being under the barrel). If desired, the modeler will need to scratch build a sling for the rifle. Also included is the 1939 style backpack with a bedroll, an entrenching tool with the correct type of canvas carrier, a gas mask bag, a canteen, and ammunition pouches. The uniform is the pullover tunic with the rank on the collar, breeches, and boots, all of which are correct for the 1941 time frame. The tunic comes with one separate piece making up the tail portion. There are seam lines and flash present, which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good, with few gaps to be filled.

Figure 3: Soviet infantryman with right knee up and left hand down (sprue A).
The figure is made-up of fifteen total pieces (depending on the version you build). The detailing on the clothing and face(s) is nice, and there are two head options: one is wearing the M-36 (Model 36) helmet with the ventilation comb on top, and the other is the Pilotka 1935 pattern cloth side cap with the red star emblem on the front. As with the other two figures, the helmet in this case also fits on the head nicely. The figure is wearing the pullover tunic with the rank on the collar, breeches, and boots, which are all correct for 1941.

Again, the tunic comes with one separate piece which makes up the tail portion. Also included is the Vesh Myeshok backpack, an entrenching tool with the correct type of canvas carrier, a gas mask bag, a canteen, and ammunition pouch. The backpack has a notch in the back, which lines up with the gas mask bag strap to help position it correctly on the figure’s back. The weapon provided is a Mosin Nagant rifle with affixed bayonet. The rifle fits into the figure’s hand well, and the bayonet is shown correctly-attached to side of the rifle barrel instead of under it. Again, any sling will have to be scratch-built. The seam lines and flash present will need to be removed, but overall, the fit of the pieces is good with few gaps to be filled.

Figure 4: Soviet infantryman prone with rifle in his left hand (sprue B).
This figure is made up of twelve total pieces, and is wearing the pullover tunic with the rank on the collar, breeches, and boots, all of which are correct for the time period. He is wearing the Pilotka 1935 pattern cloth side cap with red star emblem on the front, and carries a Mosin Nagant rifle with affixed bayonet (shown correctly attached to side of the rifle barrel). Unfortunately, I could not get the rifle to fit into the figure’s hand very well. I tried moving it, and the arm into different positions, but it didn’t look realistic. Included is the 1939 style backpack without a bedroll, an entrenching tool with the correct type of canvas carrier, a gas mask bag, a canteen, and ammunition pouches. Seam lines and flash once again will need to be removed, though overall the fit is good with few gaps to be filled.

Figure 5: Soviet infantryman standing and leaning forward (sprue B).
The figure is made-up of fifteen total pieces, and is wearing the pullover tunic with the rank on the collar, breeches, and boots. Again, the tunic comes with a separate piece for the tail portion. He is wearing the M-36 (Model 36) helmet with the ventilation comb on top; the fit is good. The right hand has gaps between the fingers, which gives a very realistic appearance. The weapon once again is the Mosin Nagant rifle with affixed bayonet. The rifle fits into the figure’s hand well. Again, if a sling is desired, the modeler will need to scratch-build it.

Instead of a backpack, a bedroll goes over the left shoulder, an entrenching tool with the correct type of canvas carrier is included, along with a gas mask bag, a canteen, and ammunition pouches. Seam lines and flash will need to be removed, but the overall fit is good with few gaps that need filling. There is an error on the box that misidentifies the legs for this figure with the photo of the sprue labeling them as #92 and #93. The photo of the complete figure labels them as #93 and #94. This isn’t a huge issue, but I thought it should be pointed out. The bedroll also has gaps that will have to be filled, and doesn’t fit flush against the body of the figure, but since the figure is shown in motion, this should be fine.

Figure 6: Soviet infantryman sitting (sprue B).
The final figure is made-up of sixteen total pieces (depending on the version you build). He wears a pullover tunic with the rank on the collar, breeches, and boots. Again, the tunic comes with a separate piece for its tail portion. There are two head options: one is wearing the M-36 (Model 36) helmet with the ventilation comb on top; the other isn’t wearing a helmet or cap, but instead has a bandage wrapped around the head (another difference: the head with the helmet has a moustache). He carries a Mosin Nagant rifle with affixed bayonet. This rifle doesn’t fit that well into its figure’s hand, either, though the bayonet is shown correctly-attached to side of the rifle barrel.

This figure also has a bedroll over his left shoulder instead of a backpack, along with an entrenching tool with the correct type of canvas carrier, a gas mask bag, a canteen, and ammunition pouches. The detailing on the clothing and face(s) is nice, but as with all the figures, there are seam lines and flash which will need to be removed. The overall fit is good with few gaps to be filled, except for the bedroll. As with the other figure, it doesn’t fit flush against the body, and since this figure isn’t in motion, the gaps will need to be filled.

EXTRA PIECES

The spares box will gain the following extra pieces.

- Two submachine guns depending on which one of the three versions is used.
- One drum magazine.
- Three separate heads, depending on which ones are used.
- One right arm. I’m not sure which figure this is for as it is not pointed out in the assembly guide; however, it is located on the sprue next to the standing soldier with the bedroll.
- One F1 grenade pouch.

CONCLUSION

It isn't what I would call a perfect set of figures, however it is a nice product. The set represents early WWII Soviet infantrymen well. I would have no hesitation to recommend it to others, and it could be used to easily create a simple diorama.

REFERENCES

- World War 2 Combat Uniforms and Insignia, Squadron/Signal Publications, #6013 (1977), by Martin Windrow with color illustrations by Gerry Embleton

- Into the Cauldron: Das Reich on the Eastern Front, Robert Michulec and Dmitriy Zgonnik (#6534 Concord Publications)

- The Military Book Club Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of WWII, Ian V. Hogg