Gern's Zvezda 1/72 Soviet Paratroopers

[Gern]

Hi guys. Here's my entry for this GB.

Box



Sprue


One of a set of small Zvezda kits they put together for their 'Art of Tactic' wargames. I have a dozen or so of them floating around in my stash somewhere but this is one I got from John last week. They're really nice little kits, nicely moulded with plenty of detail. They are supposed to be snap-together but I'll be using glue on mine.

They're also supplied with either separate bases or a group base which is used in the wargame. I'll be putting them on the group base which I'll pimp up a little with some grass and stones, but only for the purpose of keeping them together. Hopefully that won't be breaking the rules of the GB.

[Guest]

Zvezda does produce nice stuff and in quite a variety too. The WW2 kits are good as well as the samurai.

[Gern]

I got this far after spending all day swapping between this and my Hercules.





First time I've tried painting figures while still on the sprue. I know I'll have lots of touch-ups to do anyway having 'gone over the lines' in a few places, so the extra ones where the sprue attachment points are shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully there won't be any seam issues that can't be sorted with a blob of paint or smear of putty. I did find the painting much easier as there were a lot fewer bits hidden behind arms. I've not done any highlighting yet, but that will probably only involve a wash of some description.

I'll let the paint set up over night then give them a coat of varnish before removing them from the sprue. Hopefully this will protect the paint while I'm handling them during construction.

PS I've had a browse through some of the entries for this GB. Seems to be some great looking projects from some real talented builders. I hope you guys aren't expecting too much from my little figures. I'm not a figure painter by any means so I'll be well pleased if they look OK from a couple of feet!

PPS If this one turns out OK, I may do more as I foresee a lot of waiting around for paint/glue to dry on my Hercules.

[Guest]

Arm's length is my favourite viewing distance :smiling2:

[Steve Jones]

Looking good from here Dave. I seem to get better results from the smaller figures. Great choice as well.

[Gern]

Got them assembled, but not finished painting yet.

I have to say the poses of these figures are excellent overall. They look very natural and, unlike many figures in larger scales, the limbs fit where they're supposed to. Both the kneeling figures fit just right. The guy throwing the grenade is resting his free hand on his knee and they are actually touching. Similarly the guy kneeling with the smg has his hand cupping the magazine perfectly and the guy lying down has both elbows touching the ground (the carpet monster got his bipod stand so I'll have to cobble one together).

Overall an excellent little kit I'd recommend to anyone who builds in braille scale.