When looking at most people’s collections, it’s safe to say that Western SOF units make up most of them. However, for players looking for something different to bring to the table, the Russian Spetsnaz provide an elite force with some changes that make them visually and doctrinaly distinct. Spectre currently have a large range of Russian Spetsnaz available, and with a new group coming soon, now seems a perfect opportunity to look over the current range.
Please note there is a pretty big jump in painting style between these figures so expect to see some paint schemes done back in 2015.
The current Spectre Spetsnaz can be split roughly in half, with the first wave of release designed for general field operations while the second is more focused on urban operations.
The general operators look a little similar to their Western counterparts, with fast helmets, modern BDUs and plate carriers. However, there are plenty of changes to make them stand out. Some of the figures are wearing Russian designed helmets while all the load bearing equipment (plate carriers and vests) is slightly different from those on the Task Force Operators range.
The close quarters operators share much of the same basic kit but have a few additional items more suited to fighting room by room. The most obvious is various operators with different helmets, including several equipped with visors to protect the users face. Another addition is that several models are wearing fragmentation protection suits designed to protect against blast fragments – a useful bit of kit when clearing rooms. Finally, more of them are wearing armour protection that includes a pelvic plate. Basically, these are the guys kitted up for kicking your front door in and then working their way through every room.
Riflemen
As always, the bulk of your force will be your riflemen. These guys, armed with assault rifles and carbine are most of the figures you’ll need when assembling your force. For the Russians, the riflemen are armed with a selection of AK variants from the AK-74SU up to various AK-100 series weapons. These guns are kitted out with a selection of red dot types, lasers, torches and suppressors. They also have rail kits and stocks that look like Zenit products to make them look even more Operator. Overall there are 6 riflemen in the first release (4 with assault rifles and 2 with carbines) in a selection of moving and shooting poses.
For the second release there are only two riflemen, both with assault rifles, but both are also wearing the additional protective gear (including one of them in a frag suit).
There are also a selection of Russian figures armed with SMGs. In the first wave, there are two figures equipped with suppressed SR-2s. These are great for pointmen on covert operations, taking out targets at close range quietly.
The second wave also has two SMG figures, but these are not armed with tiny SMGs designed for room clearing. Instead, these two are armed with AS VAL, an integrally suppressed rifle firing the specialised 9x39mm round. The round is subsonic (so perfectly for use with a suppressor) while also remaining capable of piercing armour at a reasonable range. Both of these figures have pretty well modified VALs, with sights and torches. These actually present a pretty interesting weapon seeing as they can easily fit the role of assault rifle (especially in terms of lethality) at close ranges.
Support
When thinking about support, the first stop is suppression. Wave 2, more foucsed on urban operations, doesn’t include a machine gunner but Wave 1 does. This figure is armed with an RPK which is great for a putting some extra fire down as part of a rapidly moving force.
Of course the other way of suppressing is to start blowing things up. The Spetsnaz range includes three figures armed with explsovie weapons. The first is an AT Gunner, armed with a RPG-18 with a slung Vityas SMG as backup. The RPG-18 won’t kill an MBT but is perfect for taking out technicals or busting structures.
The other figures are equipped with one of my favourite bits of Russian kit, the GM-94 grenade launcher. With a minimum distance of 5m, this launcher is designed for use in urban fighting, letting the user throw rounds into rooms in the same building as them. The Wave 1 launcher figure is also carrying an AK for backup (for example when you don’t want to wake the neighbourhood) while the Wave 2 operator just has a pistol, relying on his team to engage the enemy once they are reeling from the blast.
As you’d expect, the CQB operators have a few more interesting options for specialists. As useful as the SMGs are at close range, a shotgun really can bring the pain. Wave 2 includes a breacher armed with a red-dot equipped Saiga 12, a semi-automatic magazine fed shotgun perfect for room clearing. This figure also has breaching tools ready to go. In other words, this is your go-to guy for FISH-ing.
As a bonus, thanks to the Saiga’s design, this figure could pass as someone armed with an assault rifle – just in case you find yourself needing another rifleman.
One piece of kit that is more practical for the close quarters fighting than most battlefield is ballestic shields. The Spetsnaz range includes three figures using them. The first two are using partial length shields (the BZT-75T). These only cover the users upper body but makes room entry slightly less risky. Both operators are armed with small compact PDWs (one with a SR3 and the other with a PP2000) perfect for use handed
The final figure is equipped with a full length shield, leaving only his boots exposed. This shield has a vision slit and torch modeled letting you easily lead the team into darkened corridors while still being able to see possible threats. For self protection, the operator also carries a SR-2 SMG.
Of course, the GRU are not just about kicking doors and going kinetic. The range also includes a few lower profile operators, perfect for your special operations. There are 5 figures in civilian clothing, complete with packs full of equipment or ready to hide your firearms from the locals.
The first three figures are more lightly armed, perfect for a crew moving covertly. These three are armed with SMGs including a suppressed AEK-919K perfect for being very quiet. Of course, on the other hand , you can just go loud. For this, the last pack has a pair armed with AKs
As well as being covert operatives, you could use these figures as part of a criminal group. They also fit together well with the Agents and Deniable Operators for more special forces shenanigans.
So what do I think of the range? Overall, pretty great. There is a large variety of kit for players to pick from, with everything from covert agents up to heavily armed door breachers. It also gives players the opportunity to collect a Special Operations range that isn’t just fast helmets and railed M4s – now you get a chance to do some fast helmets and AKs! By combining the different waves together you could build some really cool scenarios utilising the different focuses such as clearing a town with the more mobile operators before the heavily armoured force assaults the stronghold.
I think the only downside I can see is very minor and it’s regarding several of the wave two figures. There are several with quite obvious mould lines down the centre of the helmet which are plain to see even after I attempted cleanup and painting. These won’t matter from gaming height and I’m sure I just needed a bit more elbow grease to remove them but they are definitely there. Apart from that though, the rest of the figures are Spectre usual great casting style, with plenty of detail in the webbing and on the guns.
When it comes to painting, I decided to go for SURPAT, as something different from all the multi-cam. Honestly, I’m not sure I was successful. The massive time difference between painting the two waves doesn’t help (although good to see I’m improving). This is definitely a case where the camo is there to mostly give the impression of camo rather than trying to replicate it exactly at 28mm. On the other hand though, these figures are very visually distinctive when put next to my Task Force Operator models.
Of course, just as I finish this range the next one is coming up. As you can see from the preview above, we’re looking at some brand new weapon systems and updated gear. The new range seems to be based on AK-12 pattern guns in the various roles (assault rifle, LMG and DMR) as well as the PKP Medium Machine gun for extra firepower. It will be interesting to see how the range continues to evolve from here – the Russian arsneal is packed full of strange and unusual kit and the sheer variety of roles they Spetsnaz find themselves means we could see a lot of exciting stuff for years to come.