Friday, 19 April 2019

Two RCW Snipers

Several months ago, my colleague Rick made me a gift of a couple of WW1 French snipers that were surplus to requirements for his WW1 French collection. They have been sitting on the painting table ever since, but with the lead pile at precariously low levels, I was finally motivated to paint them up. I decided from the outset that they would be drafted into my Russian Civil War Bolshevik collection - the distinctive "Adrian" helmet of the French army did make an appearance amongst the forces engaged in the struggle for Russia, so I thought I could get away with this "repurposing"!

Not much more to say - being RCW, I decided they would have no uniformity whatsoever, so coats, packs, webbing, even helmet, are all painted different colours on each figure.







And below, some evidence to back up m y claims re the helmet.....


The French supplied their Russian allies with Adrian helmets during the First World War. These were used following the Russian Civil War by the Soviet Red Army. Produced in France during World War I for the Czar, these helmets were used by the Soviet army in the 1920s, featuring the Communist Red Star.
Also known as the Soviet M28, these helmets that were in service in WWI were repainted and rebadged in the late 1920's, hence the M28. The large star was stamped from a thin piece of brass, this helmet has been known as the "Big Star" to collectors for obvious reasons. These helmets remained in service until 1936.






8 comments:

  1. Nice work on your snipers! I have always liked the look of the French Adrian helmet.

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  2. Thanks Jonathan - I think you must be my first commenter just about every time I post anything!

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  3. Lovely pair of snipers! Adrian helmets make sense to me!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain - I thought so too - and in any case, I had no other use for them!

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  4. Lovely snipers, great job on the bases!

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  5. Nice work Keith, and I'm yet another fan of the Adrian helmet after my first box of Airfix WWI French back in the seventies.

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  6. Thanks Lawrence - ah, yes, I remember that set well - there was a vignette of a carrier pigeon being released from its wicker basket!

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