Hi to you all ,

Its always good to see another release come from , a small but perfectly formed company set up and run by Sverre Melleby who I had the pleasure to meet at a Euro a couple of years ago since then he has released a couple of very nice busts both which I reviewed here on PF .

Its good to see that he has again been at his bench burning the midnight oil no doubt to bring us a full figure as seen here below.

The release was announced by Recon here : http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...y-release-1-9-shisbr-east-prussia-1945.76407/

Soviet Assault Engineer

The figure is wearing body armour this was also in use in WW1 by all nations and indeed was seen in various forms in WW2 with today's soldiers having the very latest .

Details on the armour: it was called the SN-42 Stalnoy Nagrudnik 42 , weight 3 kg, being 2 mm thick it was said it could stop a MP40 9mm at 125-150 metres ...don't think I would want to test that!!!

These troops were often issued camo clothing often in the "Ameoba" pattern

of which there were many variations

You can view about this armour here on You Tube

Images of this armour can be seen with research here are a few:

The model is armed with the PPS 43 and carries the ammunition pouch

Books on Russian uniforms are easy to come by with details on Camo also being available here are a couple from my library.

Continued in next post:

Nap

Onto the resin now:

Details here :

Title: ShISBr (Soviet Assault Engineer), East Prussia, 1945

Reference: RP09-03

Scale: 1/9th ( full figure)

Material: Gray Resin

No of parts: 13 plus painting instructions and historical notes

Sculptor: Sverre Melleby

Casting: YS Masterpieces

Box Art: Sverre Melleby

The review model was received in a well packed cardboard box with all the parts in plastic bags all surrounded by shredded paper strands , there was a wrap around paper cover in a satin finish with full color on top and sides.

Also included is an information and historical sheet which also has painting notes

I will look at the resin in 2 parts , this one will cover the torso, arm and legs

Prep

Torso: Casting plugs to remove from lower arm and back of armour

Legs: Bottom of boots has casting plugs to remove and fit together ( 2 holes have been provided in boots for pins )

Left Arm: Sand a small plug from the shoulder and fit to torso

Hands: Cut away small plugs from wrist and fit to arms

Head: Sand remnant from top of head

Helmet: slight sanding on edges at front and fit

Pouch: 2 small plugs from top to remove and fit

Weapon and stock : Remove from formers and fit together

Before I commence the resin I would like to say that all the rein is super smooth with no air holes or the like to deal with ...nice to see the casting matching the sculpting.

Although this is a full figure you can quite easily make it a bust by simply leaving the legs off , filling the 2 holes underneath and sorting a base out ...easy stuff ...so Sverre has offered a release to both full and bust modellers...thumbs up from me .

Beginning with the Torso , as the figure is wearing loose clothing this is shown by the heavy creases , I like the effect achieved , its looks as it should ...baggy and comfortable , seams are well shown , with 2 locating holes being thoughtfully provided for the left arm , we continue at the back with the folds but this time we have the straps from the armour pulling into the clothing all very well done

The armour itself is again as research shows with the rivets all showing correctly , spot on for the shape as well , leading up to the neck which has the protection for the wearer on the edge , straps are nicely done and look like they are being worn.

The armour is not damaged but it will be easy to give it some battle effects ie bullet indentations , scratches etc , the amour gives a good chance to get some nice paint effects on it as well .

Now to the Left Arm again we have the baggy sleeves matching the others nicely, fit to the torso is great , no filler needed

Onto the Legs , I really like the way they fit together , the left almost wrapping over the right , very well done fitting plug and hole is provided, fit is excellent, the folds are again full of volume and well worked , fit of the legs to the torso is easy , lining up with the provided resin pins matching the holes in the torso, the trousers blouse into the boots as they should, again these are well sculpted in shape.

Continued in next post

Nap

On now to the final resin parts:



Firstly the Head , this is clean shaven , looking straight ahead , good features are achieved around the eyes and ears making painting easier , he has a determined look on his face , mouth shut tightly, with some strands of hair showing from under the helmet when fitted , the actual fit to the torso is clean and nicely done.

Now to the Helmet this is the distinctive shape of the Ssh-40 , again good work on this , the strap is fitted over the rim at the rear , buckle work is shown well , fit to the head is again easy but with no plugs so make sure you clean off the casting remnant on the head.

The Hands , both very good in shape on the fingers , the left is holding the magazine , the right the weapon handle , a nice representation of the magazine as well , I would suggest you dry fit to get the right position of these before committing.

The Metal stock is in 3 pieces the 2 sides and the shoulder piece , these are quite fiddly to fit , some might be tempted to make replacements out of a modelling material, but if you don't want to do this these are fine to use just take care on fitting.

The Main weapon is very well detailed with all the bits in the right places , as expected with Recon of course , Sverre ensure's this.

Finally the Magazine Pouch , again as in the original complete with the toggle fastenings

Final thoughts

This is one big model from Recon , and a subject I have never seen , its well sculpted and presented with care and attention to all parts in both sculpting and in casting , of course you have the 2 options of either a full figure or a bust ...nicely thought out .

Its good to see a Russian subject as well as an unusual one

Highly recommended

Lets have a couple more pictures:

As always , thanks to Sverre for the review piece for more details on this and others both available and WIP ( there is some intersting stuff coming along) get yourself onto the website at :

www.reconprod.com

or e mail to: info@reconproductions.com

of course he is also on FB..well worth following

Thanks to Recon and to you all for looking in

Nap

Thanks for an as always very detailed and excellent review. A must have for me I wonder what to do with the legs.