First to Fight Sd.Kfz. 247 Diorama Build in 1/72 Scale

A surprising subject in 1/72 scale are these sets of Polish Uhlan cavalry from 1939. These are from First to Fight, a Polish company which focuses on subjects from the September 1939 invasion. I thought they would be interesting as part of a diorama featuring the Sd.Kfz. 247 scout car.

Each box contains six figures and six horses on four sprues, you get two of each pose per box. The second box (1939-072) is interesting as one of the “mounts” is actually a pack horse, so there will be two extra figures from this set.

First to Fight also produces a box of dismounted Uhlans which complements the cavalry figures. Pretty thorough coverage for such an obscure subject, but their entire range is composed of obscure and unusual subjects.

You get three sprues in the box for a total of fifteen figures. The “horse holder” figure is duplicated on each sprue, so only four unique poses.

Of course, there is nothing stopping the modeler from re-posing the figures to suit a particular need or to widen the variety. Here is the stock dismounted Uhlan officer on the left, and one with replacement arms from the spares box on the right.

The horses were also dressed up a bit. The pack horse on the left has received additional loads. The horse on the right is a spare from the old Hasegawa M3 Stuart kit with his tack modified to better represent the Polish pattern.

Here are two of the horses under a coat of Mr. Surfacer 1000. There are held in clamp stands from TacketZ, a new company which produces a wide variety of holders for modeling tools and supplies for the workbench. TacketZ here: https://tacketz.com/

Here are the completed Uhlans, ready to mount to the base.

The base is a simple dirt road with a few trees for interest. Vegetation is from Woodland Scenics.

This is the general layout. The Sd.Kfz. 247 has been abandoned by its crew and is being inspected by the Uhlan officer while other cavalrymen stand by. The vehicle is in disarray with open doors and various articles strewn about the interior.