1/35 12.SS Pz.Division Grenadier – Rots Normandy 1944

Dynamo Models 35315 – 1/35 12. SS Panzer Division Grenadier – Rots, Normandy 1944 is a historically inspired resin figure based on the well-known photographic series taken in the village of Rots during the fighting west of Caen. Sculpted by Forghi, the figure represents a grenadier in a relaxed but alert standing pose, wearing grey-green trousers with a camouflage field jacket and carrying standard field equipment. Its defining feature is the Karabiner 98k fitted with a Schiessbecher rifle-grenade launcher, making it a distinctive addition to a Normandy infantry vignette. The figure is produced in light-grey resin.

Historical Context & Theme

Rots became the setting for a famous sequence of photographs on 9 June 1944, only three days after the Allied landings in Normandy. Soldiers of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25, part of the 12. SS-Panzer-Division, were photographed resting and regrouping after fighting connected with the German attacks around Norrey-en-Bessin.

One of these surviving photographs shows SS-Schütze Ernst Molter in the foreground carrying a Kar98k equipped with the Schiessbecher grenade launcher, while other members of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 rest in the street behind him. The weapon configuration and pose closely correspond to the subject represented by Dynamo Models 35315.

The 12th SS Panzer Division was a Waffen-SS formation. Its Normandy operations formed part of the German resistance to Allied forces around Caen, and its history also includes documented war crimes against Canadian prisoners of war. The figure is therefore best understood as a reconstruction of a specific wartime photographic subject rather than a generic heroic portrayal.

Figure / Vehicle Details & Realism

DYM-35315 depicts a single grenadier wearing standard grey-green trousers combined with a camouflage field jacket. Ammunition pouches and basic field equipment are represented around the waist, while the soldier carries a Kar98k rifle fitted with the prominent Schiessbecher grenade-launching cup at the muzzle.

The Schiessbecher was a cup-type grenade launcher fitted to the Kar98k, allowing specialized rifle grenades to be fired from the standard infantry weapon. Its distinctive muzzle attachment immediately differentiates the figure from a conventional rifleman.

The relaxed standing posture also matches the atmosphere of the Rots photographs, which show soldiers temporarily resting after combat rather than actively advancing or firing. This makes the figure especially suitable for historically researched scenes based on the surviving photographic sequence.

Diorama & Display Use

The figure is particularly effective in a Rots, Normandy, June 1944 vignette. Stone buildings, narrow village streets, walls, rubble and dense roadside vegetation can reproduce the environment visible in contemporary photographs.

It can be displayed alone beside a wall or doorway or combined with other figures from Dynamo Models’ Rots series, including Otto Funk, Max Wünsche and Rudolf von Ribbentrop. A larger scene can recreate the group of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 soldiers photographed resting in the village on 9 June 1944.

Because the figure carries a specialized rifle-grenade weapon, it also works as a visually distinctive infantry element within a wider Normandy 1944 composition.

Material & Customization

Dynamo Models 35315 is supplied as a 1/35 resin figure sculpted by Forghi and cast in light-grey resin.

The camouflage jacket, field equipment, ammunition pouches and Kar98k with Schiessbecher provide several areas for detailed painting. Period photographs are particularly useful for determining clothing tones, equipment placement and the weathered appearance appropriate to the Rots setting.

Subtle dust, grime and wear can help integrate the figure naturally into a Normandy village environment without obscuring the fine sculpted detail.

Who It’s For

DYM-35315 is intended for WWII figure painters, Normandy campaign modelers and builders interested in reconstructing identifiable subjects from wartime photographs.

It is particularly suitable for collectors building Dynamo Models’ wider Rots 1944 figure series or for anyone creating a compact infantry vignette centered on the fighting west of Caen.