introduction

Sergey Traviansky, the creative force behind Evolution Miniatures, is producing some of the finest resin figures on the market today. Being from Russia, Sergey obviously has a soft spot for sculpting modern Russian soldiers - the variety of equipment and very colorful camouflage patterns make these figures very popular among figure painters.

The figure featured in this review, Russian Soldier of Special Troops, FSB (EM-35004), depicts a soldier of Russian Federal Security Service. As with all Sergey's figures I reviewed, this one is also perfect; the anatomy and the pose are superb, the equipment is spot on, the casting flawless and the fit of the parts excellent.

Review

The figure arrived safely protected in a hard cardboard box. The cardboard box is a new form of packing Evolution Miniatures figures; changing the awkward plastic cylindrical boxes was a good move by Evolution as the new cardboard ones are much easier to handle. Furthermore, the new design of the box is very nice and it is quite obvious Sergey pays attention to all the details when presenting his figures to the market. The box features nicely painted box art and lists both the sculptor (Sergey Traviansky) and the painter (Sergey Traviansky).

After opening the zip-lock bags and reviewing parts of the figure I was again amazed by the amount of details on the figure and by the perfect molding of parts. The parts are cast in grey resin and are clean of any imperfections. Casting plugs are well placed, allowing easy clean up with minimal chance of damaging the detail. However, be careful when removing the delicate weapon from its carrier.

The figure

The figure depicts a member of Russian FSB (Federal Security Service) in a simple yet very effective pose. It consists of 4 pieces: full body with the head and the left hand, right arm, left arm and the weapon (with an extra magazine clip included). A small base is also included in the kit. The fit of the parts is perfect.

The figure wears M23 Pioneer chest rig over the T-shirt; the rig accommodates 8 AK magazines (or 4 RPK magazines), 3 hand grenades, number of VOG-25 rifle grenades and a knife. It also has a waterproof pocket for documents and maps. Makarov pistol holster holds the side arm attached to the belt; the holster is made of real leather and equipped with quick-release cord and a pocket for an extra clip. The SF look of the figure is further enhanced by the fingerless gloves and the bandana, a very popular headwear among Russian special forces.

The figure carries RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemjot Kalashnikova). It is a gas operated, magazine fed, air cooled, selective fire squad automatic weapon. The basic action is similar to that of the Kalashnikov AK assault rifle and ammunition feed is from magazines only. RPK and AK magazines are interchangeable; however, the standard magazines for RPK are of extended capacity, the most common being curved box magazines holding 40 rounds of ammunition. Early production RPK magazines were made from stamped steel, but later on polymer magazines were introduced - both types of magazines are included in this kit.

Conclusion

This is a wonderful figure. The anatomy is spot on and the pose is simple but very effective: it could be a great stand alone figure (a small base is included in the kit) but it could also be incorporated in a larger vignette standing beside an armored vehicle. The casting of the parts is perfect as well as the fit of the parts. If you are interested in Russian special forces figures and want to try painting their colorful camouflage patterns, this is definitely a figure for you.

References