First look at the new WWII Polish!

[John Cook]

It must have been painful - the ejector straight down the front of your shirt. It's done for street fighting - so you can hide behind both left and right hand corners.

IanS

Yes it was, I think, but with the SLR ejection wasn't an issue as the breach was far enough forward.  The SA80 was originally designed so that ejection could be changed from left to right to accommodate left handed soldiers.  Production models couldn't and ejection, with a breech well to the rear of the weapon, meant that firing left handed was problematical, for the reasons you describe.  Digressing! 

[John Cook]

As to your previous, photo, I would suggest that there are two actions being carried out there. One is the charging forward, rifle held across the body, and the second is bayonetting a figure on the ground (which makes a fool of my Airfix ACW comment.)

I would also submit that soldiers very rarely sprint, and when they do they make awful poses. Trotting / walking seems a more appropriate stance, and there the range of movement is far less, particularly with similarly encumbered soldiers.   

I would humbly suggest that there are four "phases" that one could use for figure poses.

1) Moving forward in a non-hostile environment. Walking poses, rifles slung. Brits on patrol these days seem to have the rifle held across the body, barrel down.
2) Moving forward into contact. I would suggest that is the time that rifles are held at port, or from the waist, or at the trail. I watched a training video of he US Army in the early '60s. Their advance basically had two positions - one firing from the hip, the second firing from the shoulder. Watch modern US troops and they all seem to adopt a shouldered weapon, and that funny short stepped run. 
3) Firefight. Firing poses standing, kneeling, prone. Loading. Grenades. Or if we are to believe all we are told, one firing and 20 cowering in a foxhole.
4) Hand to hand. Bayonetting, clubbing, entrenching tools etc.

My preference is for 2). I would also suggest that just as in the US training video, there is probably a prescribed way of holding the weapon during this phase, and if not, there is a "natural" way of carrying it.

I do agree that within that prescribed way, there is variation. I like the fact that the Pendraken ACW has two or more poses in each "advancing" pack. I would also say that the Polish offerings from Pendraken suggest to me street fighting rather than say advancing over open country.

However I don't think Pendraken will be launching a "Polish WWII - hasty retreat" range soon.

I'll be honest, the poses in the Polish range are not my preferred. Will that stop me buying them? Probably not.

However, this (hijacked?) thread has made me think about the way troops move.

The picture of the Scots was tongue in cheek but I agree, sprinting is less characteristic I think.  Walking on the other hand..............   To persevere here is another picture of walking poses to further illustrate what I mean about variety of poses.

[Leon]

This month the designer has finished off the main list of figures for our upcoming Polish range.  All we need to add now is the artillery pieces themselves and we should be good to go!

In this batch we've got:

Cavalry -  Walking / Charging  Labourers - With pick / With shovel


AT Crew - Commander / Gunner / Loader   Artillery Crew - Commander / Standing / Walking with shell


Casualty



We'll add the artillery pictures as soon as they arrive.

[paulr]

 

[Techno]

 
Cheers - Phil

[Orcs]

Brilliant

[Steve J]

Excellent stuff once again. I can't wait for these to be released so that I can get the Polish campaign sorted out .

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Superbness!

[fsn]

I especially love the charging cavalry!

On a slight side note, figures with picks always seem to have the at the high point of a swing. Figures with shovels always just stuck it in the earth. Sort of a meme.
(Not a criticism, an observation. These figures could be quite useful in a number of situations.)

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Maybe it's because it's the same figure, just wiTh a different coat and trousers! 

[Dave]

Maybe it's because it's the same figure, just wiTh a different coat and trousers! 

It is, its away of getting around the costs for figures that we only sell acouple of packs a year.

Dave

[Sean67]

You should sell more than a few packs of the Engineers!
It's the only way brave Poland will hold out !!
Dig for Victory!!!
Regards
Sean

[Szymon]

Great stuff 

[Leon]

We'd mentioned getting some extra sculpts done for the riflemen and they duly arrived here this month!  We went for a few similar yet different poses to what we'd already had done, so we should now be able to put together three separate packs, covering firing / advancing / walking.



All of these, plus the WWII French, will be moulded over the Christmas/New Year period and we'll get them ready for release in late-Jan or early-Feb hopefully.

[Steve J]

Lord have mercy on my wallet .