Russia has three platoon types included in the CoC v2 rule book, the Rifle platoon , the SMG platoon and the Motor Rifle platoon. The first two each have 31 figures plus a sniper team (that can be a token or one or two figures) while the Motor Rifle platoon has 25 figures (with no integral sniper team)
The structure of the platoons differ and so each needs a different selection of figures to create in game, however they do include elements common to all. If each platoon is put together separately from the others a total of 89 figures is required, however if figures are used across the three platoons where possible this number can be reduced to 45 - almost half. The biggest impacts of this saving is cost and a reduction in the number of figures that have to be painted. Over time I will aim to build each platoon as free standing units not dependant on sharing figures with other platoons, but to get started I will purchase the minimum number to figures required to build the three platoons.
Peter Pig have an extensive range of Russian WW2 infantry, and a slightly smaller range of scout (Razvedchiki) figures which provide a wide choice of figures that can be used. As far as I can tell Forged in Battle (FOB) offer a Russian platoon with a total of 40 figures in the box, and a Russian SMG platoon again with 40 figures. The latter does not include any LMG's and so is not a good fit for the CoC SMG Platoon despite the name. Flames of War (FOW) look to offer a Rifle Company (if it can be found in stock) which seems to include 135 figures (including 18 LMG's, and 54+ riflemen, along with 50mm mtr teams, anti tank rifles, Maxim MMGs and flamethrowers). Neither firm offer packs that are a good match for the CoC platoons, and so again I will stick with Peter Pig whose figures (in the main) come in packs of eight with three differing poses per pack.
Based solely on the number of figures in a pack and the poses available six packs are sufficient to create all three types of platoon. This is because the "Prone LMG" pack includes an observer figure with binoculars rather than being armed with a LMG, and so that pack will provide five or six LMGs and two or three crew figures depending on the make up of the pack. When these figures are combined with the spare leader, rifle and SMG figures there are sufficient to provide the LMG crews required. (In game these crew figures do not use their personal weapons and so it does not matter what weapon they carry). However Peter Pig offer an "Observation Team" pack with four crackin' poses, and so I can't help but add that to the mix. This means seven packs will provide 56 figures, of which 11 will be redundant. I can live with that as I always find it handy to have spare figures knocking around as they will likely help man heavy weapons when I get hold of them as well as be the basis for the required sniper team. While all this might seem a bit anal (hey we are all wargamers here) I find it helps me determine what figures to order and avoids the frustration of being a figure or two short.
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| Pack 638 - LMGs Prone |
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| Pack 644 - Observation Team |
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| Pack 625 - Russian rifles advancing |
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| Pack 627 - Russian kneeling rifles pausing |
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| Pack 621- Russians advancing under fire. SMG |
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| Pack 662 - SMGs pausing |
The seven packs mean that I will have a total of 56 figures, with no figure being duplicated more than three times which really helps with the aesthetic when on the table. I have deliberately chosen one advancing pack and one kneeling pack for both the rifle and SMG figures as this allows greater flexibility for how the figures are used. The advancing figures will be the bulk of the rifle and SMG teams, while the kneeling figures can be used with the prone LMG teams as crew, as snipers or other specialist roles. Its just a shame that I can't bring myself to mix infantry and Razvedchiki in the same platoon as I do fancy painting some amoeba camouflage.
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