Old vs New - Warlord plastic Soviets

Warlord Games recently released a new set of plastic World War 2 Soviet infantry in 28mm. My first thought was 'how do these compare with the old plastic infantry?' This blog explores that question.

As regular readers of my blog will know, I love to make hybrids. So let's see if the two kits are compatible. 

The new Warlord Soviets are all in summer dress, unlike the original set, which were a mix of summer and padded winter uniforms. The main difference between the old and new sets is that the weapons now come attached directly to the arms. There's also an expanded set of heads allowing NKVD, Scout, and female soldiers. A dog is also included, which can be made up as a guard dog or mine dog.  

The newer models are quicker to build - there's no more fiddling around with trying to get the correct arm for the correct weapon. There's also a good variety of extras, so some models can be converted to spotters or artillery crew (by adding binoculars) or to engineers (by carrying a mine). There's also an arm carrying an antitank rifle.

The torsos are slightly bigger on the newer models, but not by much. Some poses reflect the earlier set, but there are six poses in total. The rolled greatcoat is now optional, which is a nice touch.

Head-wise, the newer ones (left) are again slightly bigger than the older heads, but they are broadly compatible. As noted before, the new set has more peaked cap heads, and options for female soldiers (usually either nurses or snipers) and bare heads (possibly useful for Shtrafbats - penal soldiers).

The weapons are thicker on the new sets, which is good, as the longer weapons tended to be a little fragile on the older set. Lengthwise, they are roughly the same (some are shorter, some are longer).

Surprisingly, the equipment tended to be smaller on the new set (identified by being the darker colour). The new set includes backpacks, plus the optional greatcoat rolls (mentioned earlier).

Now comes the fun bit. Can the parts of the new set be used to 'tart' up the old ones? Yes, although modellers may need to shape and fill the shoulders with modelling putty for a clean fit.

The model on the left is a female Atlantic Partizan, who has been given a head, satchel, and arms from the Warlord kits to create a nurse. The arms on the other two do require a little bit of filling to hide the gaps, but are otherwise AOK. I particularly like the guy on the right; he definitely looks like a Shtrafbat soldier.

Of course, I could not resist trying some winter soldiers as well. These are great-coated soldiers and NKVD. All I really need is some of the earlier Ssh 36 Soviet helmets, and these models could serve in the Winter War with Finland.

Overall, this comparison has been a fun experience. I'll be going back to my 'walking wounded' Soviets and replacing some of their broken arms and weapons with the new Warlord ones.