From Russia: Technolog Toy Soldiers

This all started with an exchange of information about Cossacks and the Ukraine. A friend in the Ukraine had some nice Cossack figures. They were made in Russia. He recommended the brand - Technolog. So it was that I looked for Technolog figures and hit a gold mine.

Technolog makes figures in the 54mm - 60mm (1/32 to 1/30) size. They also make a few 40mm sets. The 1/32 figures come in sets of four to six figures. These are “flat foots”. They stand on their feet rather than a base, like Lido soldiers. Ranges go from Ancients to futuristic Science Fiction. Each set has a handful of poses.

I ordered four sets from a Russian vendor on Ebay who goes by the name Chief Fly. These were the Zaporozhian (Ukrainian) Cossacks, Varangians (Norsemen), Samurai and Varan Aliens (Sci-Fi).

The four sets arrived today. They came in a mall box. Three were packed in small plastic bags, and one set had extra padding .The fourth came in fancier packaging. The Norsemen and Cossacks were cast in green plastic. The aliens were a dark hard plastic, and the Samurai were in a metallic soft plastic. Detail was excellent. The poses were nice, and the facial expressions on figures were amazing.

My first thought: these guys would be great for various OMOG games. Five figures is just about right for a team, with most battles using two to three teams per side. If you had enough, you could also make a very attractive Shambattle unit. Those Aliens would look great for a game of Laserblade, too.  (Neil Goodacre has known about Techolog much longer than me.) The foot figures would also be good for a game like the old Metagaming Melee or a modern version, Legends from Dark City games. I have looked at pictures of other Technology Sci-Fi figures. There is a lot of imagination and detail in them.

Here are the sets I acquired

  Zaporozhian Cossacks: a nice set of figures, the Zaporozhians were wild Ukrainians who gave the Poles, Turks and Crim Tatars many a thrashing. (They deserved it.) These figures are armed for the late 1600s to mid-1700s. I remember seeing Cossacks using flintlock pistols in a movie called Taras Bulbas. The Technolog figures are dismounted.

Varangians: a set of Viking types without the silly horns and wings. Nice detail on their chainmail coats. Ironically, Vikings civilized the Volga river area, built the city of Kiev and were ancestors of the Zaporozhians.

Samurai: it is rare to see one-piece plastic castings of Samurai. This set is exceptional. Good poses and detail.

Varan Aliens - these are bizarre, to say the least. Very detailed rendering of strange creatures.