"Empress: 28mm Volksgrenadiers" Topic

I am lucky enough to have had a preview and I can confirm that these are very nice indeed.

Curse that Paul Hicks! One of the very few designers that makes 28mms look human.
Handsome!
L

Leon – You do very well in 20mm

One of the very few designers that makes 28mms look human.

Bolt Action (Warlord) figures got a lot uglier after he left the company. The faces, ugh.

Wow, those are nice.

About time some decent 28mm germans were released, so far the era has been a sculpting embarrassment… would of preferred no hoods on the smocks as that excludes the SS paint schemes…anyway very nice figs and I will invest in some.

These look superb. I'm currently building a platoon of their Americans which completely dazzled me and these are definitely next on the list. Please complete this range by next week at the latest! :-)

Well most 28mm stuff is embarrassing to my eyes, as I've said said quite a few times ( Yawn:ed) less a figure size/ scale than a business plan. Why anyone want to increase the footprint ( and incidently the cost)of a very distance/range dependant period has always baffled me. Just gernerations of WH gamers brought up on the idea that if it aint 28mm/32/40mm its not a proper figure?
L

Ha Ha Ha, You old grump Leon. Wait to I see you at Warfare : )

Cheers,
Paul

He he he Paul fortunately Im on the other side of the hall this year :)
And thats THE Grump if you dont mind!
Some of us are destined to be the grit in the clam……..
not that anyone pays the slightest attention to anything I ever say.
L

Sorry what????

: )

I will pop by for a gossip.

They are winter smocks you can paint them as SS or Army.
Very good sculpts- not sure about the write up I would not class the Volksgrenadier units as professional or veteran!

SS did not have hooded smocks..(not that a lace at the front would put me off)

Not the standard SS smock, the padded winter smock. The SS Winterarnanzug available in differing patterns, first issued winter 1943-44. Same cut as the Army version, which they also used in its uncamouflaged issue.
Apart from the guy third from left,in the second/lower picture and its hard to tell which smock the two upper right hand figures are wearing.

Bottom pic 3rd fig is wearing a hooded smock for sure which was not produced for the ss (obvious lace down the chest), at least one figure is wearing a reversible padded winter jacket which is suitable for ss. And as you say the others are not obvious. Kharkov style parkas are ok for ss but I cant paint them..lol

Im just being picky as I prefer to paint ss colour schemes, and I can remove a lace from a smock if I have too.

I only know this as Leon annoyingly did the same with his 20mm figs :-)

Would troops in these outfits have been fighting in Berlin? I am working on a Berlin defense game, and need figures appropriate to that episode.

Berlin defenders would be in all sorts just about anything goes for the last weeks.

God wills it Heer smocks are not annoying just not done very much which is why I did em lol You pea dot fanatics :) !
L

@Bobgnar.

These figures are sculpted for winter 1944 – e.g. Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of Berlin was in April 1945. The weapons and equipment are ideal for defenders of Berlin.

If you paint the smocks, overtrousers and parkas with the Heer Sumpfmuster 44 pattern, they will be perfect.

Mick

Actually what would be really nice would be if Mr Hicks could turn his attention to American infantry in M1941 uniforms. As Leon says there is a dearth of sculptors who can produce WWII figures that look human (and so few who can do the US helmet at all). I'm a big admirer of the Empress figures but would like to do Normandy skirmishing.

At the moment the only other option is Mr Barton's 20mm figures.