1:35 Lyže s hůlkami

Two pairs of skis and poles to go with them

For mountain and northern units skis were a means of transport, not a sport. Where both the wheel and the track failed, a soldier got through on boards, and that is why skis turn up leaning against the wall of a cabin, tied onto a sled and loaded on the side of a vehicle as part of ordinary equipment.

The buying decision is simpler here than with anything else. A ski is a long, thin and curved shape. Making one out of plastic means sanding a strip that should be barely half a millimeter thick in scale and bending its tip without cracking it. Anyone who has tried knows that the first three attempts go in the bin.

A casting solves this problem for you and the poles, which are even more delicate, come as part of the package. Two pairs are then enough for a pair of figures or for one figure and one pair set aside, which is pleasing from the point of view of storytelling: skis set aside suggest that somebody is there without your having to add another figure.

• A mountain cabin, a post in a pass, a snow-covered trench
• Equipment tied to the side of a vehicle or onto a sled
• A pair set aside leaning against a wall as the trace of an absent figure

When painting, do not forget that the running surface tends to be darker and smoother than the top side and that snow sticks mainly to the bindings and to the tips of the poles. The white surface under the skis also behaves as a reflector, so lighten the underside of the parts, otherwise they will look as if they had been cut out of another scene.

The set belongs to the entry level of the brand's range, where the largest part of its diorama offering lies. Two pairs come in one package, and this is the shape whose home-made version costs the most nerves of the whole group.