Rest Models' latest 1:48 kit is a set of German soldiers, complete with a surrendering Soviet pilot.

The set comprises 42 x grey resin parts to construct:

A German officer riding a trotting horse.
A dismounted trooper wearing a steel helmet, standing hand on hip, holding a rifle (cast as one with his right arm).
An infantryman walking past, wearing a forage cap, rifle slung over his shoulder.
A grazing horse.
The unfortunate downed VVS pilot.

As we've come to expect from Rest Models, the casting is quite superb, with minimal pour stubs and very little clean-up required. Quite how the horses have been cast in one piece each defeats me! The sculpting is equally good, with the figure displaying fine details and natural poses. The VVS pilot is a one-piece casting, but the German figures are multi-part, with separate arms and heads in some cases, and individual items of equipment to add.

My set contains a couple of spare items; an extra stirrup and a rifle. The latter seems to be missing the tip of its barrel but, seeing as it's a spare, one can hardly complain.

No instructions are included, which I think is a slight shame, but the set arrives in a cardboard packet adorned with useful colour photos of the figures both unpainted and finished. Using these, it's not difficult to see what equipment goes where, and further photos can be found on Rest Models' website.

No details of the horses' harness are provided and, in fact, the main illustration of the prototype officer's horse on the box front seems to show bridle bits that aren't included in the kit, so a look at photos of full-sized harness is advisable to help cut reins from thin foil.

Conclusion

Rest Models' Wehrmacht Mounted Infantry group is a great little set that instantly conjures up ideas for a WW2 Eastern Front vignette and is highly recommended for both armour and aviation modellers alike. It's not cheap, but hand-casting of this superb quality inevitably comes at a price. I'm already looking at my stash of VVS aircraft to decide which would make a good "victim" for a belly-landing.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.