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Review Marshall Konstantin Rokossovsky from Legion Miniatures

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, Feb 11, 2020.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi to all

    Those that know me will know I like a medal or 2 on my resin so I was happy to be sent this release from Legion Miniatures to look at and share my thoughts :

    Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich.

    IMG_9254.jpg

    Let's have a bit of background info on him:

    Konstantin Rokossovsky was born in Velikie Luki, a small Russian town not far from Pskov. His father, a man of Polish origin, was a railway machinist, and his mother was a Russian schoolteacher.

    When World War I broke out he joined the Russian regiment he soon became a junior non-commissioned officer.

    After joining the Communist Party and then entered the Red Army.gaining the rank of battalion commander.

    For his outstanding results Rokossovsky received the Order of the Red Banner, which was the highest military decoration in Soviet Russia.

    In August 1937 Rokossovsky was imprisoned in Leningrad under fals charges for 3 years until released in 1940......meeting with Stalin, Rokossovsky was reestablished in the Red Army and in the Communist Party......soon after he was given the rank of major general
    .
    Rokossovsky was again promoted and became the commander of the 16th Army being honored with the Lenin Order.

    In September 1942 Lieutenant General Konstantin Rokossovsky was appointed commander of the Stalingrad Front (also known as the Don Front).

    For his deeds, Rokossovsky received the Suvorov Order.

    Heavily involved in victory in the Kursk battle he was promoted to colonel general and finally general.
    After Operation “Bagration” had been successfully completed,

    Rokossovsky was given the Diamond Star of the Soviet Union Marshal.

    He was also awarded Hero of the Soviet Union ...twice

    The only marshal in the history of the USSR of two countries: Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland.

    He commanded the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945 on Red Square in Moscow.

    Konstantin Rokossosky died 3 August 1968. He is buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis located on the Red Square in Moscow.

    Lets have some more pictures of him and his awards ( thanks to Martin Rohmann for his help )


    Legion rr.jpg

    IMG_9253.jpg
    IMG_9252.jpg
    IMG_9251.jpg
    legion rrrrrrrrrrr.jpg

    Original Shoulder boards showing Marshal's rank insignia

    IMG_9246.jpg
    Legion rrrrrrrrrr.jpg

    His decorations as on the sculpted bust which depicts him in the uniform he wore a at the Victory Parade in 1945 IMG_9245.jpg

    There are books of course available these are 2 of the very best from Schieffer Publishing and a joy to read and own

    legion rrrrrrr.jpg Legion rrrrrr.jpg

    Of course we have the Osprey series as well

    x.jpg xx.jpg xxx.jpg

    xxxxx.jpg xxxx.jpg

    000000.jpg

    Continued in next post

    Nap
    Edorta, NeilW, Martin Rohmann and 2 others like this.
  2. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Lets have the details on the release that was sent for review

    Title: Marshall Konstantin Rokossovsky ( In Russian on the review box ) part of "The Greatest Men " series

    Reference: LMBT085

    Scale: 1/9th

    No of pieces: 4

    Material: Medium Gray resin

    Sculptor: Alexander Bodunov

    Casting: In house

    Box Art: N/A on Review box


    x.jpg


    Since the release a very nicely painted version has been completed by VLADIMIR GLUSENKOV which makes a great painting reference as well

    IMG_9239.jpg

    Thanks to Vladimir for permission to use the image(s) ...more later

    As with previous and indeed all releases the resin is in a useful laser cut box with stickers on all surfaces except the base .

    Legion Russian Marshall 001.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 002.jpg

    Parts were held in a clear bag and a sandwich of foam , so all was safe

    Legion Russian Marshall 003.jpg

    Parts consist of Torso , head and 2 parts to a base

    Legion Russian Marshall 004.jpg

    Prep

    Torso: Remove casting post and smaller excess resin on underneath , sand around the under edges to remove a casting line, a tiny bit of sanding on the right lower arm where it meets the chest edge

    Head: Remove small casting post from under neck and fit to torso

    Base pieces: Fit "T" shaped to corresponding resin shape on underside and then fit to the circular piece after sanding a small bit of excess resin from the underside....

    .....You could of course remove the underside piece and drill for a brass rod ( that's what I will do )

    On the review item the back looked like it had been sanded before sending ...every bit helps in prep!!

    General comments

    As you might expect the eye is drawn straight to the awards and decorations so out came the optivisor for a very close look at these area's

    I have these comments on the review piece :
    • The star on the right epaulette was missing a corner ...easy to replace with a tiny bit of putty
    Apart from this small area's the detail work on the medals and stars is excellent , you can see the skill in the pictures all details of which will be brought out even more in painting

    The Epaulettes are again very well worked with the "hatching zig zags " very sharply done , the actual badges of rank are well shown.

    The details continue on the actual collar with the laurel leaves , the collar edging is accurate , beneath we have the shirt collar

    Finally we have the buttons ...again detained well ....painting and washes will benefit these

    The neck area has a good deep cutout to take the head itself with ease

    The folds and creases are soft and natural showing mainly on the arms

    Lets have the pictures......

    Legion Russian Marshall 005.jpg
    Legion Russian Marshall 009.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 007.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 008.jpg
    **For larger images click on small pics**
    Legion Russian Marshall 010.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 006.jpg
    Legion Russian Marshall 014.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 013.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 015.jpg
    Legion Russian Marshall 012.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 011.jpg

    A mass of details the sculptor is certainly talented ...and very full of patience !!!

    Head

    This is a very good version of the subject from the facial features , all accurate in shaping , the has well cast nostrils with the eyes spot on in shaping , eye brows in a nice position slightly raised the same goes for the ears as well in shaping

    The resin is perfectly smooth and the hairstyle is very well worked , not a hair out of place ...obviously the subject has a hair dresser close by !!!

    Fit to the torso is simple and secure

    I would personally have liked a cap option as well which would look excellent with the full uniform worn at the Victory parade by our subject , but that aside the bare head allows the modeller to appreciate the character of the man.

    Legion Russian Marshall 017.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 020.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 021.jpg
    Legion Russian Marshall 019.jpg Legion Russian Marshall 018.jpg

    Base Pieces

    A new way to have the base , coming in 2 pieces , fitting together well , when in position the base is just under 20mm in height ...as I said you could replace this with a brass rod ...the choice is yours

    Legion Russian Marshall 022.jpg

    the T piece fits onto this: Legion Russian Marshall 016.jpg

    Making this base: Legion Russian Marshall 023.jpg

    The circular part fits against the curve .

    Final Thoughts

    For me this was the ideal review piece , packed full of details and well cast , a few minor bits of putty work on the review piece but nothing difficult to deal with.
    Painting will be a pleasure to do , the piece will come alive in front of your eyes

    There are others in "The Greatest Men" series .....all are well worth a look at ...both are Napoleonic subjects



    HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

    Legion are members here ( user ID Andrey ) [IMG] )

    ....so you can order direct from him here on PF or via the website which is:

    www.legionminiatures.org

    They also have a FB page:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/214757915731528/


    Thanks to Legion for the review item and to you all for looking in(y)

    Enjoy the bench time...whatever you paint


    Nap



    Edorta, Andrey, Redcap and 2 others like this.
  3. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    As promised some more pictures of the completed version from VLADIMIR GLUSENKOV

    Thank you again Vladimir

    ENJOY EVERYONE

    Happy benchtime

    Nap

    000000.jpg



    IMG_9237.jpg IMG_9238.jpg IMG_9235.jpg IMG_9236.jpg
    Perseas, Scotty and Martin Rohmann like this.
  4. Viking Bob PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    That's definitely one for you to paint Nap.
    Nap likes this.
  5. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England


    Certainly is Bob ...can't beat a medal ...or 3 !!!!

    Happy benchtime

    Nap
  6. Gary_81 Active Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Really great review Nap, all the research you have added will be invaluable to anyone wanting to paint this. And although this probably isn't a subject I would paint I can still appreciate the quality of the sculpting especially on those medals, top quality work all over.

    Gary
    Romariogendalf and Nap like this.
  7. red tom Active Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Mine is already on the way. Like the pics but I am not sure about the light blue uniform, surely the Russian uniforms were green.
  8. theBaron A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Outstanding piece! Thanks for the review, Nap!


    I had the same thought, that the Soviet army uniforms were green (the Russian army, under the Tsar, had other colors alongside green). Though in the painting and in what appear to be colored postcards, the color of the uniform is definitely a dark blue color. Hopefully someone will speak to that.

    Prost!
    Brad
    Nap likes this.
  9. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi Guys

    A interesting point about the uniform colour here are some original uniforms actually worn by Marshalls at the Victory Parade in 1945 ( first 3 are from The Sinclair Collection )

    image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg

    This is the uniform worn by Marshal of the Soviet Union Timoshenko at tge Vicyory Parade

    image.jpeg

    I am unsure what reference was used for the painted version

    Nap
  10. Martin Antonenko A Fixture

    Country:
    Germany
    To put a little order in the tangle of colors:

    The parade uniform of a Marshal of the Soviet Union was light blue until the end of 1942!

    [IMG]

    Fhe Field uniform was in a blueish looking grey (the right one in the photo above!)

    The uniform at issue here was specially designed for the victory parade in June 1945 and had to be produced in a hurry.

    It consisted of a medium blue - the material from which it was made, however, had a relatively high proportion of green, so that the uniform looked greenish under certain light (artificial light!)...:

    [IMG]

    But it was blue!

    [IMG]
    [IMG]
    The light blue chasm in which the bust is painted did not exist! Someone consulted the wrong sources!

    There are a number of paintings depicting Soviet marshals in such a light blue/light grey uniform - even Stalin himself...:

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    This was the Parade uniform M 1943, produced in the middle of the war - the gray could differ significantly!

    Here are three of these M 1943 uniforms:

    [IMG]
    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    Additional confusion creates the fact that Stalin had other personal uniforms made for himself between 1943 and 1945!

    He wore this field brown uniform...

    [IMG]
    either with trousers of the same color (1943)...

    [IMG]
    or blue ones (1945) ...

    [IMG]

    He also had a summer uniform, which he wore during the Potsdam conference. It was not white, as it often looks in photos, but kept in a very light gray - here the original ...:

    [IMG]

    From March 1945, Stalin no longer wore the rank of a marshal to the uniform ...

    [IMG]

    ...but the shoulder pieces of a "generalissimo" ...:

    [IMG]

    This rank was unique for the whole of Soviet history!

    If there are any mor questions - ask please!


    Cheers
    Andrey, NeilW and Nap like this.
  11. theBaron A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks for your reply, Martin! I wondered when you'd respond, because I know this is a favorite area of yours.

    Yes, the cloth in some of the photos has a definite greenish cast to it. I couldn't decide if it was my eyes, if it was a case of the photograph, or if it was a faithful rendering of the color of the object.

    Prost!
    Brad
    Martin Rohmann and Nap like this.
  12. eddie_C96 Member

    My 2 cents:

    The mongolian award is not the Order Sukhbaatar which he goot only in 1961, but t the Order of the Red Banner of the II type:
    [IMG]

    https://nagradoved.livejournal.com/35201.html

    For the correct cloth color you have two nice photos in Wiki:
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe.../Рокоссовский_1.jpg/1840px-Рокоссовский_1.jpg
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Zhukov_1945_E010750410-v8.jpg
    theBaron, Nap and akaryu like this.
  13. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Thank you Eddie appreciate the update

    Nap

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