1:72 German Prisoners of War

German prisoners of war in 1:72 scale

The small figure group 1:72 German Prisoners of War brings figures of captured German soldiers. It suits everywhere a scene is meant to tell what happened after the fighting ended, and where the hardware alone is no longer enough for that.

Historical background

Columns of prisoners belonged to the typical image of the years 1943 to 1945, from Tunisia through Normandy to the closing weeks of the fighting in Central Europe. Captured men lost their belts, helmets and personal equipment, so their silhouette differs strikingly from that of a unit in action. It is precisely this difference that makes such figures a rewarding narrative element: the viewer recognizes at once what stage of the story the scene stands at.

Painting and patina

Uniforms suit a field gray-green tone played out into several shades, so that the figures do not merge into a single mass. Dry brushing will bring out the folds of the cloth, and a dark wash the recesses and the shadows under the collar. Dust and mud on the boots and the hems of the trousers tie the figures to the base more reliably than the finest detail of equipment. At dimensions this small it pays to overdo the contrast rather than not, otherwise it is lost altogether from a normal viewing distance.

Who the group will serve

• builders of dioramas from the Second World War
• modelers who want to add a human dimension to finished hardware
• collectors of small figure groups
• makers of cabinet scenes with a story

You determine the cast of the scene and the color scheme after period photographs that suit your own composition.