ICM 1/35
Operation Barbarossa 1941

Background

When it became evident that Germany had lost the 'Battle of Britain', Hitler turned his eyes east and soon launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Stalin, under the presumption that a peace treaty was in effect between Germany and the Soviet Union, had been caught off guard by the sudden change of direction in fascist expansionism. Like the United States sudden entry into the war, the Soviet Union needed time to get its own war machine into high gear, to mobilize and train troops, and to repel the German invasion. The task of buying Stalin that time fell upon the forces already in uniform, using anything they could muster to fight the Germans. The greatest burden of stopping the German Panzers fell upon the anti-tank troops and their out-dated guns.

The Kit

When I first saw this kit, I assumed (incorrectly) that this was just another figure kit. What I found inside were four trees, containing four figures, two horses, one wagon/cart, and a 45mm anti-tank gun. The figures, horses and cart are all molded in light gray plastic and comprise three of the four trees included in this set. The fourth tree, containing the anti-tank gun, is molded in green plastic. The molding is crisp and detailed, with no visible sink marks or flaws visible. There is only the slightest flash present on the horses' reigns.

The detailing in the figures alone is outstanding! The officer figure is injured with an arm in a sling and having to move with a walking stick. These details are all clearly represented in this kit. The other troops, with slunk rifles and bedroll draped over a shoulder are also nicely done.

Each horse is molded into two body halves, one separate head, a separate yoke, and, interestingly enough, separate tails and ears. The detailing of each horse is distinctly different, not merely two copies of the same horse.

The anti-tank gun alone is a very detailed model, with choices of barrel length, wheel types, and even two boxes of ammunition. Three different types of anti-tank rounds are also provided, along with a number of spent shell casings to round out the kit.

If you want to build a very nice vignette, representing the tough times these troops endured to stall the oncoming German Army, this set is a must have. If you are one of those creative vignette/diorama builders that stockpiles certain key DML and Tamiya sets to provide the raw material for your next creation, you need to add several of these sets to your stockpile! The gun, cart, horses, weapons and figures are going to make outstanding additions to numerous projects into the future! Highly recommended!