First Look: QRF SSI01 Soviet Rifles

Note: The “First Look” series are not intended to be in-depth reviews of the products in question. Rather, they are supposed to convey the first impressions I had when I first received the product.

Direct Link: http://quickreactionforce.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/24_32_82_132/products_id/644
Price: 2.00 GBP
Shipping: 30% of order, minimum 3.00 GBP
Contents: 8 figures

QRF(Quick Reaction Force) miniatures are generally regarded to have the most historically accurate proportions and anatomically correct figures. Geoff, the owner of QRF, is also a real nice gentleman and an active TMP member, so I thought I’ll pick up some WW2 Soviets from him to see how I like them.

To be honest, I’ve been hesitant to buy from QRF because many reviewers had commented that their quality “tend to be hit and miss”, and that their infantry “tend to look like stick figures”. After looking at these figure first-hand, I can understand where the latter comment is coming from.

QRF figures come in packs like these:

The pack contains 8 figures, with 6 riflemen in 2 poses and 2 sergeants in a single pose.

If you’re used to Games Workshop and Battlefront packaging, these may look unimpressive and unprofessional. But if you look at it from a different perspective, all that “professional-looking” packaging comes at a price, and the cost of such packaging tend to be reflected in the price of the miniatures you buy from them.

In any case, you’re never going to look twice at the packaging once you’ve torn it away, so let’s move on to the actual miniatures.

Here’s what they look like:

If you’re used to the look of Battlefront miniatures, these guys will definitely look like skinny “stick figures”. But if you set that bias aside and look at it closer, you’ll find that they are in fact modelled with anatomically correct proportions. Having seen the Battlefront miniatures first myself, I’ll have to honestly say that they took a little getting used to.

But one thing I can’t get over is how HUGE those bayonets are. I’ve been a grunt in the army myself, and I don’t recall my bayonet being anything as large as that! I don’t know if they’re historically accurate, but logic tells me it would be impossible to shoot with something like that attached to the barrel.

Another thing I don’t quite like is how “quiet” these figures look. Their poses look almost serene, and don’t really convey the danger and urgency of WW2 combat.

In any case, I know from experience that a bare metal figure looks totally different from a fully painted one. And I’ve yet to find a single picture of a painted QRF Soviet figure on the web.

So, I’m reserving my final verdict on these guys until I have them painted up.

You may look forward to a full review when I’m done!