DML 1/35 Soviet Infantry Winter 1941 First Look
By Cookie Sewell
| Date of Review | August 2013 | Manufacturer | DML |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Soviet Infantry Winter 1941 | Scale | 1/35 |
| Kit Number | 6744 | Primary Media | 292 parts (228 in grey styrene, 56 etched brass, 6 clear styrene, 2 DS Plastic track runs) |
| Pros | Nice new mold kit of Soviet infantry in greatcoats, nice new generic Soviet weapons | Cons | So-so box art and painting directions |
| Skill Level | Experienced | MSRP (USD) | $16.95 |
First Look
When winter arrived in 1941 the Germans were ill prepared for it, whereas the Russians had a variety of useful clothing for their troops to permit them to fight under the conditions of "Father Frost". This new set provides four Red Army soldiers advancing into combat: an infantryman in a semi-prone position with DP magazine carrier; a DP machine gunner advancing with weapon at the ready; his loader carrying extra magazines kneeling beside him; and an officer apparently checking a compass. The three enlisted men are in greatcoats with standard wartime helmets, and the officer is wearing the sheepskin winter hat and officer's short coat. All have tall felt boots.
Each figure has six basic parts – head, torso, arms and legs – as well as two to four supplemental parts for the skirts of the greatcoats and sheepskin coat. Accessories for each individual include canteens, bread bags, and ammunition pouches.
The generic weapons include two Moisin-Nagant Model 1891 rifles with separate bolt assemblies and six clips for each one. The neat little DP machine gun comes with separate bipod legs and hinge and drum magazine. The PPS submachine guns come with only one folding stock between them and the PPSh submachine gun has two drum magazines. The two rifles, DP and PPSh all have hollow bores via slide molding.
The artwork is in the less than impressive partially Photoshopped style DML seems to use more and more on their figure sets, and as a result tends to let the set down as it is not the best source to use for finishing or assembly of the figures. Some of the DML figure sets with separate skirt parts have been fussy to assemble, and here there is no mercy for the less experienced modeler.
Overall, however, this is a very nice set and should prove popular with BT and other early war Soviet tank fans.
Thanks to DML for the review sample.
Sprue Layout:
- WA 18 Soviet Generic Weapons - 2 x Moisin Model 91 rifles, accessories
- WA 15 Soviet Generic Weapons - DP machine gun, 2 x PPS, PPSh, helmets
- ‒ 7 A and B figure coat skirt
- ‒ 8 C and D figure coat skirts