Introduction

If you like browsing figure dedicated websites, I’m sure you remember seeing this kit coming to life on planetFigure sculpting forum. Sergey Traviansky was still a fairly new name in sculpting back then but these figures were a definite proof of his talent… the action poses of the figures jumping through a window are wonderfully balanced and convey a great sense of motion. The figures were initially released under Imperium Models tag, but the kit is now available under Evolution Miniatures label as “Russian Special Troops in Fight” (EM-35016).

The review

The kit is safely packed in a very sturdy box. The front of the box features a nice box art picture and lists both the sculptor (Sergey Traviansky) and the painter (Sergey Traviansky). The box is packed full with parts; besides pieces for two figures, the kit consists of a quite large and elaborate base.

Each figure is packed inside its own zip-lock bag. Closer inspection reveals perfect casting of the parts: cast in gray resin, the figure parts are completely clean of any imperfections… there are no air bubbles, no flash or seam lines. Casting plugs are well placed, allowing easy clean up with minimal chance of damaging the detail. Main part of both figures sports a large plug with several protrusions which facilitate casting process of such a complex pose, so you might need some time to remove the casting block completely. You should also be patient while cleaning the weapons as they are very delicate. Once again, the fit of the parts is excellent… there is almost no chance of misalignment due to small protrusions and recesses in corresponding parts. Placing the parts correctly leaves no visible gaps between the pieces so minimal putty work is needed. This is the case with all Sergey’s figures I had the chance to work with as he obviously pays a lot of attention to figure break up while making a mold.

The figures

The kit contains two figures depicting Russian Special Forces operatives in action. The anatomy of both figures is perfect and the dynamic poses of the soldiers jumping through the window are beautifully rendered and very natural. A large base showing a part of a destroyed house with lots of debris and rubble is also included in the kit.

The first figure just jumped through the window and is about to land. The figure consists of 6 parts: full body with head, right arm, left arm, the weapon with right hand attached and two separate ends of a bandana. The figure is wearing Gorka uniform, BVD assault airborne loadout and paratrooper combat boots. I found reference pictures of BVD (Boevaya Vikladka Desanta) vest but couldn’t find much info other than it is usually worn by Special Troops soldiers. The sculptor did a great job replicating BVD in scale… all the pockets and strap details look amazing; one can even feel the sense of movement of a heavily loaded vest in the sculpt. The figure wears fingerless gloves and a bandana on its head, a very popular headwear among Russian Special Forces soldiers. As for the weapon, the figure is armed with SVD (Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova, or Dragunov Sniper Rifle), a semi-automatic sniper rifle. Dragunov SVD was not designed as a “standard” sniper rifle in the Western meaning of the term. In fact, main role of the SVD is to extend effective range of every infantry squad up to about 600 meters and to provide special fire support. SVD is a lightweight and accurate rifle, extremely reliable in all conditions. It can use any type of standard 7,62 ammo. The standard telescope sight of SVD is the 4X fixed magnification PSO-1 with range-finding reticule; the PSO-1 enables effective engagement of targets up to 1300 meters.

The second figure is stepping onto a window ledge, balancing his body to jump through the window opening. The figure consists of 4 parts: full body with head and right arm, left arm, the weapon with right hand attached and weapon buttstock. This figure wears a KLMK (Kamuflirovannyi Letnyi Maskirovochnyi Kombinezon) camouflage uniform. The uniform was designed to be worn over regular field uniforms giving the KLMK a distinctive saggy look. Sleeves and cuffs of the uniform are secured by elastic or drawstrings while the non-detachable hood can fully cover the helmet. The 'sun ray' camouflage pattern (as it was known amongst soldiers for its similarity to sunlight passing through leaves of a forest) can also be reversed for use in snowy terrain. The sculptor captured the baggy nature of the uniform perfectly. Over the KLMK suit, the figure wears Grad-2 tactical assault vest featuring 4 magazine pouches (each fitting 2 AK magazines) and 2 grenade pouches, while additional pouches can be attached to webbing belt using ALICE clips. A special touch on this figure are Russian-made copy of Adidas sneakers, often worn by Soviet Special Forces operatives. The figure is carrying AKMS, the folding buttstock AKM version, with 75 round RPK drum magazine.

The base supplied in the kit is quite large and it accompanies the figures very well. It consists of 3 pieces; two parts for the groundwork and a part of destroyed house wall. The groundwork parts are completely filled with rubble (tank wheel and used RPG are also incorporated in the debris) and the destroyed part of the house looks very convincing with all the shrapnel holes and shattered facade revealing the brick structure of the wall.

After reviewing this kit, I can’t shake the impression the sculptor made this figure set so it can be used in combination with Battalion Models modern Russian Special Forces sets (BAT-35011 and BAT-35014) reviewed here:
BAT-35011
BAT-35014
The figures from all these sets wear similar equipment, suggesting the same historical timeframe for BAT-35011, BAT-35014 and EM-35016. The figure poses are very dynamic suggesting the action moment of the battle well and I’m really thinking of placing the figures from all these sets in an action packed vignette.

Conclusion

This kit is great in all possible ways. The figures are extremely well sculpted; the anatomy is perfect while the action poses seem well balanced and very natural. The details on uniforms and the equipment look very sharp: I particularly like the BVD vest with all the intricate pockets and straps, the baggy KLMK uniform and the flying ends of bandana, which add to the dynamic pose of the figure. The head sculpts look very nice too. With the base supplied in the kit this could very well be the best looking modern Russian vignette on the market today.

References

Camouflage Uniforms of the Soviet Union and Russia (Schiffer Publishing); Dennis Desmond
http://www.tridentmilitary.com/Russian.camouflage.htm
http://www.russiancombatgear.com/
http://www.soviet-propaganda.com/
http://www.russianarsenal.com/
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as01-e.htm
http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sn18-e.htm