This is a project that has been like forever on my To-Do list. I actually built the Verlinden resin figurine in the 1990s, it's a favourite of mine because of the unit and the mix of clothing. Later, upon procuring Osprey's Fallschrimjager book, I discovered the illustration by Mike Chapell which was I believe the source of inspiration. So here's my character study of a 1st lieutenant of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Fallschirmjager, at the Neva River, Leningrad Front in October 1941.
The elite soldiers of the1st Battalion of the 3rd Fallschirmjäger Regiment, deployed as conventional troops, endured the horrific weather, unspeakable living and fighting conditions in the trenches near the Neva River in northern Russia. Outnumbered in men and equipment, they fought bravely and with distinction, never faltering in their mission.
Fallschrimjager on the Eastern Front, sector Leningrad, winter 1941- 42
Researching for more details on the 7th Flieger Division, I came across these comments made by Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard, Orlando, Florida. With thanks to Colonel Lynn, I requote him as follows:
"After the huge losses in Crete, the 7th Flieger Division was ordered back to its bases in Germany for rest and refitting. Operation BARBAROSSA was to start without the Fallschirmtruppe. This break from battle was short lived though. At the end of September, 1941, units of the division were mobilized, ready to be sent eastwards to fight as conventional infantry. The 1st and 3rs Battalion's 1st Regiment under the command of Generalmajor Bruno Brauer and the 2nd Battalion of the Sturm Regiment under the command of Major Edgar Stentzler were sent to the German 18th Army (Army Group North) on the Leningrad Front. Leningrad was situated on the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland; the Neva River ran through it and 30 miles to the east was Lake Ladoga, a huge expanse of water 60 to 70 miles wide. The German forces, backed by the Finns attacking from the north, had partially encircled the city. The Russians held some ground on the western side of Lake Ladoga but their foothold was being pressurized by Finnish forces in the north. Army Group North's battle line was only partially located in the east of the city and the Russians were only willing to exploit this weakly held line.
Facing this line were the troops of the Volkhov Front consisting of several Russian armies. If they could break through the German line, they could link up with forces within the city who were trying to break through the western side of the line. The Russians began the first of several attacks to exploit the weakly held line to link up with Leningrad's forces with the aim of crossing the Neva River.
The newly arrived 1st Battalion, 3rd Fallschirmjager took up their battle positions on the Neva River near Kelkowo and Wyborgskaja. They quickly built fortifications and defended their positions against numerous Russian counterattacks. The paratroopers were especially hit hard by many fierce and bloody assaults. But the Russian assaults were in vain and the paratroopers didn't abandon one foxhole or trench. After weeks of extremely difficult fighting, they were relieved. They had succeeded in holding their positions but at a very high price.
On November 15, 1941, only 120 paratroopers were in formation for an inspection by Oberst Heidrich, with one company losing 130 men to injury, frostbite, and death. They were then returned to Germany to be rested and refitted."
The Figure
While many of the parts are original weathered DML and DiD, the FJ Y-straps and waist belt were scratchbuilt from real leather, then given a whitewash application using acrylic paints. The DML helmet was also whitewashed, if I recalled I used a toothbrush to vigorously scratch away the paint surface. The binocular's leather neckstrap was repositioned and everything was given a distressed weathered look.
UPDATED 21 SEPT 2022
Final fixes done, with the sleeve insignias attached to the upper portion of the jumpsmock with fabric glue. The pose is in homage to the sources of inspiration - Mike Chappel for his illustrations the Osprey German Airborne Troops 1939-45 publication and Verlinden for their resin model kit based on similar sources.
UPDATED 18 SEPT 2022
Some test shots. Still need a little more work before I my final photosession. Thanks for your patience, my friends.
PROJECT WIP
WIP images of whitewashing and chipping application.
Refreshed the old DML headsculpt with a slightly ruddy skintone, using Vallejo acrylic paints.
UPDATED 17 SEPT 2022
Finetuned the headsculpt skintone with some selective speckling with a straight-cut round brush time, finished off with a sponge dab to mute the colours.
Strike that Saturday Nite Fever pose!
Environment- terrain et al, is inmeasurable in adding context to the figure. The thing is to strike a balance and determine what the priorities are - is it figure or environmental scenario... which comes first? In this instance I wanted a scenario which completes the figure's narrative, so its then to show a part of a snow laden trench system.
Got that done. Now to test fit the figure before drilling holes for connector pins.
Seems okay. I retouched the DML MP40, like many early 1/6th scale military collectors, I too have an arsenal of early DML weapons and it would be a waste not to reuse them - got to adopt a sustainable mindset now, and try to create value by using my modelling skills before dementia sets in. Haha... sorry, lame joke. Moving on...
Here's the DML MP40 repainted in Vallejo metallics and then given a light enamel wash. I added a leather strap with bracket to replace the original black elastic.
Here's a better comparison between the original DML MP40 (above) and my repainted MP40. I like the patina of the metallic colours.