Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Zvezda WW1 Russian Infantry






Okay, I admit these are great figures.  Normally I don't like assembling figures. I say to myself, "If I want a kit, I'll buy a kit." In this case, the arms still have gaps no matter how much I cut the peg down. And they are difficult to paint—painting each piece, being careful not to swamp the parts with paint. But enough complaining. These are beautifully sculpted, well proportioned, researched, etc. But what I really like—the look like what I think WW1 Russian soldier should look like. The running poses are perfect, the officer with binoculars has an air of Tsar Nicolas, the marching soldiers look like contemporary photographs. I've waxed romantic several times over Zvezda figures, but these are deserving.

A few other points—this is the first tree and cow I've painted. The tree is a twig spraypainted white and striped with gray/black to create a poplar. I like the way it looks, poplars seem Russian to me. Maybe its because there was a grove in Bondrachuk's "War and Peace."

The cow is an example of how this hobby makes you research crazy. I didn't know what species of cattle would be found in Prussia/Silesia. I'm aware of the black/white jerseys common in the US but wasn't sure. I googled and found the most common European cow is the Dutch Red Pied. With this hobby you find yourself researching regiment facings, insignia, cows, soil colors, tree species, and color of tile roofs. I guess that's what makes us nerds. Huzzah!

8 comments:

Phil said...

A very nice diorama! Great work!

Rodger said...

Excellent!! Very nice work.

Unknown said...

These turned out great!

Unknown said...

thanks for the comments!

For me the biggest challenge—with all WW1/WW2 Russian soldiers—was uniform color. No matter what color I mixed up it were too brown, too sandy, too green, too field-grey.

They are a little to green-grey in these photos, but that's really a lighting issue which I need to sort out.

Sander said...

Great stuff mate, good to see you're still going strong!

Cheers Sander

Anonymous said...

hello wich color did you use for russian uniform please tell me i got one set of today

Unknown said...

hi! It was a mix of colors—I mixed as I went so some figures are more grey, others more green. But that was true of Russia's uniforms.

I believe I used a mix of Valejo Khaki-Gray and Delta Creamcoat Hippo Gray (if you're familiar with those craft paints) I think I mixed in a small bit of Valejo Stone Gray or some light khaki when it felt like it was getting too dark.

Hope that helps. I you see in my earlier comments, I felt like I couldn't get the colors right.

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