1:35 Dogs and cats

Dogs and cats for a civilian or a military scene

The set brings small figures of domestic animals cast in polyurethane resin. The animals are not tied to an army or to any particular period, so they serve just as well on the green of a wrecked village as in a postwar city scene. According to the supplier the set also includes an open suitcase with fabrics, which makes a natural companion to a scene with refugees.

Animals as a storytelling element

Dioramas with military equipment suffer from the fact that a viewer has nothing to relate the action to. A dog lying in the shade of an armored vehicle or a cat on a low wall gives a scene both scale and pace. In period photographs from 1944 to 1945 stray animals appear in almost every shot from a liberated village, because they stayed where the inhabitants had left.

Small objects under the brush

It is practical to glue the small castings to a skewer or a block of wood and paint them in the hand. Fur comes out with a dry brush over a darker base coat, and the eyes are done at the very end with the finest tip. A damp glaze in the recesses suggests the shadow under the belly and between the paws. Plan the light patches in the fur in advance, because white paint added later over a dark base needs several coats before it starts to cover.

Who the set suits

• builders of civilian and village scenes
• for bringing scenes with equipment and infantry to life
• as an accessory for figure modelers who want movement in a scene
• for practicing the painting of fur in a small scale

The animals are supplied unpainted; paints and glue are not in the package.