By 1944 the tide of war had truly turned and Germany found itself retreating on every front. Its forces, already depleted by five years of grueling combat, were being pushed further and further back towards the borders of the Third Reich. By 1945, the frontiers of the Fatherland itself were being breached by Allied units in both the east and west. The latest inspirational 1/35 scale figure set from Dragon depicts four German soldiers tasked with defending the country in the 1944-45 period.

The quartet is notable in the variety of uniforms, accoutrements and weapons that they possess. No longer were they wearing the orderly and well-tailored field gray uniforms of the blitzkrieg period. Instead, the soldiers in this set here wear camouflage smocks, a Fallschirmjager jumpsuit and even one in a special Hitler Jugend ("Hitler Youth") winter uniform. Their collection of weapons also reflects the frenetic late-war period. In evidence there’s an MP 44 assault rifle, Kar 98k rifle, Gewehr 43 semi-automatic rifle and FG 42 rifle as used by elite paratroopers. The HJ member is also carrying a Panzerfaust 100m, a single-shot anti-tank rocket produced in quantity from September 1944 onwards. These varied figures offer unlimited utility for creators of dioramas and vignettes. Sharply sculpted in realistic poses, these well-researched figures reflect the desperate final months of WWII.