Alert Line AL100044 - 1/6 WWII German Waffen-SS Nachtjäger

[Asta]

Alert Line AL100044 1/6 WWII German Waffen-SS Soldier

1. Head Sculpture ×1
2. Body ×1
3. Hands ×3
4. Helmet ×1
5. Leather Helmet Lining ×1
6. Helmet Cover ×1
7. Field Cap ×1
8. M44 Uniform Coat ×1 (M44 Feldbluse)
9. Pea Dot Trousers ×1
10. Reversible Winter Parka ×1 (SS-Leibermuster camouflage)
11.M45 Uniform Coat ×1 (SS-Leibermuster camouflage)
12.M45 Uniform Trousers x1 (SS-Leibermuster camouflage)
13. Sweater ×1
14. Genuine Leather Boots ×1
15. Leggings ×1
16. Leather Belt
17. Canteen
18. Mess Kit
19. Breadbag
20. Canvas Y-Strap
21. Frame Carrier x1
22. Battery Pack ×1
23. MP44 Assault Rifle ×1
24. "Vampir" Infrared Night Vision Scopex1
25. Magazine ×7
26. Magazine Bag ×2
27. Fixed Strap ×3
28. Bayonet ×1
29. Bayonet Holster ×1
30. Shovel ×1
31. Leather Shovel Set x1
32. Cap Badge ×1
33. Medal ×3
34. Eagle Emblem ×2
35. Epaulette x2
36. Collar Badge ×1
37. Ribbon ×2

 

[Asta]

Some are wetting themselves over the ZG 1229 Vampir, but the boots don't look good and he has a Heer belt buckle.


SS-Leibermuster camouflage was intended to replace all previous patterns used by the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS, and was manufactured using special light-absorbing dyes to counter observation by infra-red night vision devices. The pattern was intended primarily for the manufacture of winter clothes and zeltbahnen, but very few soldiers seem ever to have been issued with it. (Waffen-SS Camouflage Uniforms, Daniel Peterson, 1995).

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Some are wetting themselves over the ZG 1229 Vampir, but the boots don't look good and he has a Heer belt buckle.

My first cursory guess is the Vampir must have been a late war development. ( Imagine what Germany could have developed and deployed if they had another two years....)

Maybe you are seeing what I'm seeing. To make this effective, you'd want a longer barrel, a shorter magazine, as you'd want the shooter to be prone as much as possible, and you'd definitely want a bi-pod. But again, if this is late war, then you have to work within your limitations. Should the night vision have been made at all? Or deployed on another platform, etc, etc.

 

[Asta]

My first cursory guess is the Vampir must have been a late war development. ( Imagine what Germany could have developed and deployed if they had another two years....)

Maybe you are seeing what I'm seeing. To make this effective, you'd want a longer barrel, a shorter magazine, as you'd want the shooter to be prone as much as possible, and you'd definitely want a bi-pod. But again, if this is late war, then you have to work within your limitations. Should the night vision have been made at all? Or deployed on another platform, etc, etc.

The Wiki page on it is short, but this is the last paragraph:

Vampir gear was first used in combat in February 1945. However, introduction of infrared devices for small arms began in early 1944. 310 units were delivered to the Wehrmacht at the final stages of the war. Eastern Front veteran reports consist of snipers shooting at night with the aid of 'peculiar non-shining flashlights coupled with enormous optical sights' mounted on their rifles. Similar infrared gear was fitted both to MG 34 and MG 42 machine guns.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zielgerät_1229



When you mentioned the barrel, it reminded me of the StG-44 adapted to shoot round corners:

 

[Asta]

Alert Line have taken note of the Heer belt buckle:

Thanks for the correction, the relevant personnel have been detained!

 

[Asta]

 

[Asta]

https://onesixthkit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=5179

 

[Asta]

 

[Asta]

He's in stock with Kit now, so I've started researching which units wore Leibermuster.

It was an extremely rare camouflage and by the war's end only a few small units were equipped in this pattern. All known original images depict Wehrmacht soldiers stationed in Czechoslovakia in May 1945, wearing both Leibermuster jackets and trousers. (Specifically north-eastern Bohemia).

There are apparently no known images of Waffen-SS members wearing Leibermuster.

The only references to specific units I've seen are 100. Jäger Division, who were stationed in Hungary and Czechoslovakia in 1945, and 1. Gebirgsjäger Division though I'm not sure the latter is correct since at the time they were further south in Hungary.



If wearing all Leibermuster plus the helmet there isn't any identifiable insignia, so it would be just as well to have the figure represent a Heer soldier.


Another consideration is the ZG 1229 Vampir equipped StG 44, of which only 310 units were built according to a Wikipedia reference. So that's another rarity that very likely makes the combination of Leibermuster and Vampir an virtual impossibility historically.


My original plan was to use the Vampir with the Leibermuster figure, but due to the unlikelihood I'll make the prime figure Waffen-SS in this configuration:

The second figure can be from the Heer 100. Jäger Division wearing the Leibermuster and helmet, with extra boots, Heer belt, holster and a map case. He'll have to lose the Waffen-SS helmet cover, which looks like SS-Palmenmuster.