1:35 Small Arms for the Volkssturm Set III.

Small arms for the Volkssturm - Set III in 1:35 scale

An accessory set of small arms in 1:35 scale from the Czech manufacturer Special Hobby. These are neither figures nor a kit: they are separate weapons that are put into the hands of figures, leaned against a wall or placed around a diorama. This is the third part of a line; Special Hobby also makes sets numbered I and II, so they can be put together.

The historical setting

The Volkssturm was the German home guard set up at the close of the Second World War. From a modeling point of view it is interesting for what it was armed with: a mixture of obsolete, captured and emergency-built weapons of various origins. One scene can therefore credibly carry several completely different types of armament side by side, which with regular units and their uniform armament would be hard to defend. It is precisely because of that variety that sets like this are made in parts.

Painting tips

A weapon usually has two materials and each wants a different method. The wooden stock is built from a medium brown base coat, over which a thin glaze of a darker brown goes along the grain, and finally a dry brush in a lighter shade along the edges. Metal parts are better dark rather than silver: a base in a dark steel shade and only a light polishing with a graphite pencil along the edges of the bolt and the barrel. Paint the small parts glued to a stick, so that the coat is not rubbed off by your fingers, and even them out with matte varnish at the end, because a shiny weapon in scale looks like a toy.

Who the set is for

• Builders of dioramas on the theme of the close of the Second World War
• Modelers of figures in 1:35 scale who are completing sets with armament
• Those who want varied rather than uniform armament in a scene
• Collectors of small accessories in 1:35 scale

This is an accessory set, not figures and not a kit. Paints and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.