FiB Russian Infantry Review

Well today was the day - my Forged in Battle (FiB) fellows showed up!

Russians R-INF01 Infantry  Platoon.

Up for review first are the 15mm Russians R-INF01 Infantry  Platoon. This appears to be a late-war platoon (short collared uniforms, late model rifles). Included are 40 figures in 17 different poses, some with only one of each, others with four.  There is a good mix of helmets and caps and a single officer figure. There are thirty-one riflemen, four PPSH SMG and four DP-27 LMGs.

THE GOOD.
- First impression is that this is a quality product. Well packaged and crisp detail as well as minimal flash.
- White metal is of very high quality. Very strong.
- There is a good variety of poses. Some are quite good.
- Face and hand detail is good. In some cases excellent.
- Uniform detail is accurate and well sculpted.
- Mix well with most BF figures.
- Price of product and shipping are reasonable from England to Canada.

THE BAD.
- Many figures doing the same thing (looking to the right for some reason, while advancing - who farted? )
- Rifle modeled appears to be the late M44 Mosin-Nagant with folding bayonet and the M38. There are no M1891/30 which was the most common model. Rifles all seem a bit too short but this could be from the model represented.
- Most head sizes on figures with caps are much too large. These may need to be replaced...
- Hand size is another issue. We are all used to the paws that BF models on their figures so these will seem tiny in comparison. While they are actually more accurate in size, the fact that the head size is still large on some, it makes hands on the capped figures look like skeletons. May not be as bad with a head transplant...
- Helmets look more like UK paras than USSR. Too rounded and no ear-protection bow on the bottom. Strangely enough, they have modeled the outside rivet detail - while a nice gesture, it is completely out of scale for 15mm. Chin straps are also out of scale. IMHO, these are better left off to be painted in.
- Knapsacks on some figures are a wee bit small.

BOTTOM LINE: 33/40. Recommended!

Accuracy 8/10 - Good overall detail. Helmets and lack of rifle detail bring down a 10/10.
Variety: 8/10 - A few excellent poses. A few duds and repeat poses bring it down a 10/10.
Quality: 9/10 - Strong metal, good packaging, good casting. Base size a bit small.
Scale: 8/10 - Mix well with BF. Large heads, small hands on some figures.

Troy