Preiser’s many WWII sets are clearly aimed at the action on the Eastern front, and naturally that suffered from some ferocious Russian winters. Therefore a set of German infantry in winter clothing is a natural progression, although unlike so many Preiser sets this one is also unusual in being entirely fighting men rather than soldiers in more relaxed mood.

A set of winter Germans might lead you to expect a range of clothing including greatcoats and coats of all sorts, particularly for the winter of 1941/42, but in fact all these figures are dressed the same. All wear snowsuits which fitted over the normal uniform, or reversible snow parkas and overtrousers. All have a hood, which was often worn underneath the helmet, but here the hoods are all down, and the men wear the tubular balaclava that was current throughout the war. There is no sign of improvisation or non-regulation clothing, so in a way all these men look very neat, although they do seem to have been well supplied as it is. Naturally they wear their belts on the outside, and all the normal kit items are either present or available as some of the numerous little extras included in the box, so you can burden your men with pretty much anything you want.

All the figures have some element of assembly – usually arms and sometimes the head. This is to make the best possible pose, and it succeeds very well. All the poses are wonderfully energetic and natural, with not the slightest hint of flatness. The men carry an assortment of rifles and MP40s, and there is also a machine gun and even a captured PPHs41, all of which are perfectly accurate. The officer figure (end of the second row) holds his weapon in the air as a signal, and all the men really give the impression of being in a fight.

The sculpting is very good, with good detail, although there are a few mould marks in less conspicuous areas which is disappointing. There are no real options in terms of varying the poses or figures apart from the kit they carry, but everything is very lifelike and the proportions are great as usual. There is no flash (and no bases) but the weapons are lovely and slender, yet the hard plastic means they are not particularly fragile.

This is another terrific set from Preiser, and although in a rather small scale compared to most on this site and with a somewhat dull uniformity of costume, the energy of the poses alone would recommend this fine set of figures.