Flames of War - New Plastic Soviets

Have you ever wanted play a Soviet Mid war army but because you are weak there's no way you could transport 50kg's of lead from place to place?

Well have I got news for you the new Mid-war Soviet range is all plastic. Battlefront were nice enough to send me some samples I was expecting maybe a sprue or two but imagine my delight/horror when this arrived...

Well shoot now it looks like I have to start a Soviet Army...again. 

Affordability

Back in 2003ish Battlefront released the very first Stalingrad book for Version 1 I splashed out and purchased a full 1500 point army boxset I think it set me back about $370 in the day but I got a lot of stuff.

Did you want an army or a hernia? Why not both?!

Now to get the equivalent in the new plastics would cost around $290 (I substituted SU-122 for SU-85's) giving me saving of about 30% so not bad on savings also we're comparing 2003's buying price with 2019 and I'm not going to get into inflation. So the new Soviet army ticks the affordability box however it's always going to be more expensive than it's German equivalent simply because you need more but a sub $300 army to choke the guns of the fascists is worth it!

Quality

A scary man once said the quality of quantity has a quality of it's own which is a Russian for they'll run out of bullets before we run out of bodies. I had the chance to open and assemble the Storm Group box as it contained a bit of everything.

Coming to an occupied building near you!

Firstly we should compare them to the first lot of blue plastics the British Infantry ( Video ) figures are light years a ahead in detail and crispness they even have paintable faces! 

Clean up is a breeze using the hard edge of my scalpel it was a simple matter of light scraping and the excess plastic came off for larger bit the blade is used but go lightly as a sharp scalpel is likely to bite and gouge.

One issue I did happen upon was bending and this was with a few of the PTRD teams their guns because of the way they're packed have a tendency to bend.

 It's for shooting tanks around the corner!

The great news however a quick dip in hot water and a small bit of manipulation and they're shooting true again compared to the orginal metal PTRD's which were prone to mold slippage and a thin barrel that would bend and never be able to be put straight. You also get more 6 large bases for $18 vs $13 for 4 medium bases so bendy barrels is a small price to pay, or lack thereof.

How do they compare with my old Soviets?

To be honest great actually really well so much so that from a distance you'd have trouble figuring out which were old and new. I painted up a base to show as a comparison below. 

Asides from one being made of metal and the other plastic is that there is a coat of matt varnish on the metal one.

Final Thoughts?

The new Battlefront Soviet flexible plastic infantry are a vast improvement over previous offerings. The details are solid and they take paint exceptionally well and are great value for money. Although they may be prone to bending this is easily rectified and they only thing I dislike is that I have to paint so many. Definitely worth the money.