1:32 Finnish Army in winter dress (1942-1944)

The trench years of the Continuation War

Finland entered the fighting against the Soviet Union in June 1941 and by the end of that year had pushed the line as far as the Svir and the Karelian Isthmus. With that, movement essentially stopped. The years 1942 and 1943, which the set is aimed at, were a period of fortified positions, patrol raids and sniper activity rather than of great offensives. The quiet ended in June 1944, when a Soviet attack broke through the defense at Vyborg; an armistice was signed in September of the same year. For a builder it is a rewarding period, because the photographic documentation of it is rich.

How the Finnish soldier was dressed

The winter dress consisted of a white cape or a two-piece camouflage suit pulled on over the field uniform, a fur cap with flaps and felt or leather boots with a high leg. A typical feature was the submachine gun with a drum magazine of Finnish make, which proved itself so well in forest fighting at short range that even the enemy copied it. Skis were an ordinary part of movement, not a sporting exception. The rank insignia was worn on the collar, which is a detail easily overlooked in painting.

Snow in the scene

A snow-covered scene is treacherous in that a white surface swallows contrast. It helps to mix a hint of blue into the snow in the shadows and to leave only the tracks and the edges drawn out. Never paint the white cape with pure white; a dirty, yellowish tone looks more plausible and sets the figure apart from its background. Make the tracks in the drift before the material sets; a groove carved afterward looks like a scratch.