собаки-истребители танков

The Soviet army employed 40,000 dogs for military purposes during WWII. You'll often read that most of these dogs were anti-tank dogs (собаки-истребители танков; sobaki-istrebiteli tankov), but I'm skeptical about the accuracy of this statement.

I find it more likely that the majority of these dogs were used to haul supplies, as stretcher bearers, for search and rescue, or as guard dogs, while only a fraction were trained as anti-tank dogs, but it's difficult to find out factual information because most English language articles written about them are heavily biased for various reasons.

Soviet friendly narratives focus on the heroism of the dogs and the evil of the Nazis, while more typical Western narratives focus on the failures of the anti-tank dog program, and moralize about the treatment of these animals by the Soviets. Neither type of article give primary sources for their facts, so it is hard to figure out what is true and what is propaganda.

In any event, I picked up the SHQ Anti Tank Mine Dog! and Handler with PPSH (RT18) as a novelty.

SHQ miniatures are true 20mm figures, so they are definitely tiny when compared to 1/72 scale figures. However, I think the dog looks just fine (if not better) next to a 1/72 figure.

The only other model of this type that I know of is the TAS Models 1/72 anti-tank dog, but it is on the pricey side at €7.50. I may end up eventually getting the model because the dog is more typical of the type used by the Soviet military, but TAS Models do not seem to be readily available in the retail market.

Aircam Figures

MBM Models carries a series of figures based on illustrations from the Osprey Airwar/Aircam series. I'm not really sure who the actual manufacturer is, and the product line is just listed as Aircam, though they arrived in SHQ baggies. The sculpting is a bit soft, but the figures are decent, and good representations of the illustrations from the book (though some are more faithful to the original art than others).

The first set of figures is the Luftwaffe Night Fighter Air and Ground Crew (AIR7209), based on Luftwaffe Night Fighter Units 1939-45 (Airwar/Aircam 9). It consists of (left to right) a Luftnachrichten-Helferinnen Führerin, Hitlerjugend Flakhelfer, and aircrew Leutnant.


The second set of figures is the USAAF Fighter Air and Ground Crew, MTO (AIR7212), based on USAAF Fighter Units MTO 1942-45 (Airwar/Aircam 12). It consists of (left to right) a WAC Private, aircrew 1st Lieutenant, and 15th AF Captain.


The final set of figures is the Japanese Carrier Groups set (AIR7221), based on Japanese Carrier Groups, 1941-45 (Airwar/Aircam 21). It consists of (left to right) a Junior Lieutenant in winter flying suit, Petty Officer 1st Class in summer flying suit, and Petty Officer 3rd Class in summer fatigues.


The figures are a bit pricey, and some of them seem to be a bit on the overly tall side (e.g., the Helferinnen and the Japanese), but I'm guessing they're probably intended more for use alongside scale aircraft, rather than with other figures.

Finally, I did a group shot of the Helferinnen with all of the German female auxiliaries that I own. Not surprisingly, there are more WWII German female auxiliaries than 1/72 females from any other nation of this time period. Elhiem figures even makes a zombie version of one.


From left to right are an Odemars figure from Operation Antarctica - Haunebu (CREA04), three Odemars figures from The Last Defenders of Berlin set (PF17), a figure from the Orion Volkssturm set (72017), a figure from the LW(?) Leaders of the Second World War set, a metal Luftwaffe Female Auxiliary (Elhiem LUFT02), and the Aircam Helferinnen.