Sets depicting troops in winter clothing have been much in vogue recently, but few armies can have had such a close relationship with the winter as the Red Army during the years 1941 and 1942, the period covered by this set. This small set of figures depicts Soviet soldiers in the regulation M35 double-breasted greatcoat with the triangular collar tabs and of course the standard steel helmet. All have standard webbing and the simple and functional 1930 assault bag, gasmask bag, entrenching tool and water bottle. Everything here is fine and authentic, but in the dark days of '41 and '42 terrible supply problems meant soldiers as well clothed and equipped as these were more the exception than the rule, but as these are game pieces such things are perhaps not important, and they certainly do represent the type of soldier correctly.

As usual we have five figures in four poses, which Zvezda have thoughtfully provided with both individual bases for modellers, and a single 'unit' base for gamers. The poses are unexciting but perfectly suited to the role, and while the arrangement when put together for the game is not the most natural, again it serves its purpose. The sculpting is exactly the same crisp, perfectly engineered standard all these Zvezda game pieces deliver, and as can be seen from the sprue all the figures require some assembly. The parts fit together well without any need for glue, although we found some were tricky to push together properly due to the difficulty of holding the pieces at the correct angles as a result of their small size and awkward shape.

This is a logical addition to the enormous range of game pieces for the Soviet infantry of the Great Patriotic War, and while we would have required more realism from a standard set of figures, as a game piece this works well and delivers some worthwhile models for the wider modeller too.