Dragon 1/16 Military - Obersturmbannfuhrer (Ardennes 1944) 1/16 Figure - D1620

This 1/16 scale figure depicts a Waffen-SS Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) as he would have appeared during the Ardennes Offensive of December 1944 – the desperate German attempt, better known as the Battle of the Bulge, to punch through Allied lines. The rank and winter dress correspond to the senior armoured commanders who led the fast-moving SS panzer spearheads of that campaign, most notably Obersturmbannführer Joachim Peiper of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler", whose armoured Kampfgruppe drove deep into Belgium before running out of fuel.

Cast in Dragon's crisp injection-moulded plastic at quarter-scale, the figure is far larger than a standard 1/35 crew figure, giving space for genuinely fine sculpting of the greatcoat folds, peaked cap, map case and personal insignia. The larger format lets Dragon's tooling render facial features, fabric texture and hardware with a level of definition simply not possible on a 1/35 figure, making it a popular subject for painters who specialise in portrait-style figure work.

The kit is a single-figure assembly with a modest, manageable parts count, supplied with insignia and a display base. As with any Dragon figure it benefits from careful clean-up of sprue gates and mould seams before gluing and painting, and rewards patient, layered brushwork on the woollen greatcoat and leather equipment.

It's aimed at experienced figure painters and WWII German armour enthusiasts looking for a large-scale subject to showcase brush and colour work, either as a standalone display piece or as the centrepiece of an Ardennes 1944 diorama.