1:35 Set of scale models Anti-personal mines PMD-6 (10 pcs.)

The real subject

The PMD-6 is a Soviet anti-personnel pressure mine from the period of the Second World War. The design is deliberately simple: the charge is housed in a wooden box with a hinged lid, and it is set off by pressure on the lid, which releases the striker. A cheap wooden casing made it possible to produce the mines on a large scale and to lay them in enormous numbers; the disadvantage fell above all on whoever then had to find them, because there is so little metal in the mine that an ordinary detector practically cannot pick it up. That is precisely why the picture of a sapper advancing with a bayonet instead of a detector is tied to this type.

What the set contains

Ten PMD-6 mines in 1:35 scale. Such a count matches the way mines appear in a scene: not singly, but in a belt or in a pile ready for laying. A few pieces over will be left in reserve for further dioramas.

Building and painting tips

These are small parts, so work over a surface where you will find them again, and use fine tweezers. Cut the excess material off with a sharp blade a little away from the part and sand the remainder, and wash and degrease the surface before painting. The wooden box comes out best on a light base with a thin brown glaze and slightly lightened edges; one uniform dark color turns a mine into a shapeless block. At the end add a little earth or dust to match the ground the mine is lying on in the scene.

Where it fits

Into scenes with sappers, with infantry and with field fortifications in 1:35 scale, whether it is a matter of laying mines, of searching for them, or of a crate of ordnance by a trench. Paints and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.