List of things to get for my Russian impression

Not sure if you REALLY the spade or spade holder

Can I suggest you take a look here: http://www.schuster.ru

Use google toolbar to translate it to english.

You'll get almost all of that, better quality than the places you listed for less money. Yes you have to send the money by Western Union rather than paypal, but I put in a large order earlier in the year and we had no problems.

I'm hoping to put another order in soon as he now does some more stuff I'm after.

(Edit: In fact I've had another look and all the stuff he has just added makes me want to put an order in now... bah, if only I could afford to!)

I don't know if you need the spade or holder

Looking at it now, neither am I

That saves about £23, meaning I COULD get the M43 uniform..

I'd definitely recommend getting the proper uniform sorted before buying extras like an e-tool. If you're going for repro I'd probably recommend you go for an M35 uniform over an M43 if you have the choice. That will cover you for most of the war (M35 the most common up until 44), plus postwar M43 tunics can often be picked up very cheaply and are good for late war.

The Rusmilitary e-tool cover is a cold war one anyway so isn't ideal for WWII. I'm not sure how well an East German E-tool would pass for WWII either.

I'd recommend getting a gas mask bag too if funds can stretch that far; a useful hold all and standard issue to all servicemen.

You might save a few £££s with these breeches if you're skinny enough to fit in them:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Soviet-Russian-WW2-Pattern-M43-Sharovari-Trousers-/360298896223?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item53e37cdb5f

I've also got a pilotka with badge you can have for £4 posted if your head isn't huge.

One request please Komrade; can you put these threads in the Soviet kit discussion section next time please so I don't have to keep moving them.

Edit: In fact I've had another look and all the stuff he has just added makes me want to put an order in now

oooh, yes. Lots more nice things!

Cheers guys. I think that i'll get those trousers, but I can't seem to find any M35 tunics under £55. However they look quite lightly coloured. Is this the picture or are they meant to be like that? Are the trousers and the tunic maybe meant to be slightly different colour?

Lardassmonkey, what size is the Pilotka (head size)? I should be able to get it as long as it will fit. What method of payment? Paypal?

Yith, if you do an order to Schuster, I'd like to tag onto it (sharing postage, obviously) for a couple of items, please?

Sure thing Pete. I doubt it'll be before the new year though.

No worries, plenty of time before the CiA Russian Front game! (Hopefully, someone else will do a Russki themed game next year too!). If you're going to Malvern this sunday, I'll talk to you there about it.

I am, and we should meet up as I'll have craig with me and he's picking up your garand. In fact you'll need my mobile number if you don't already have it!

Oh... do note though that Malvern is NEXT weekend, not this weekend.

Oh... do note though that Malvern is NEXT weekend, not this weekend.

Thank God that you told me that! That could have been embarassing!

Cheers guys. I think that i'll get those trousers, but I can't seem to find any M35 tunics under £55. However they look quite lightly coloured. Is this the picture or are they meant to be like that? Are the trousers and the tunic maybe meant to be slightly different colour?

I had a pair of those trousers to start off with. They're not that light... the colour isn't bad.

I moved on to repro sharovari though because those are not quite baggy enough around the upper legs (they are post war)... Plus they were a bit small for me! I'm a right stickler for doing things right... lol

You'll probably only find repro M35 tunics really, so will have to pay a bit more for them...

Yes you'll only find a repro M35 at a sensible price. It is possible to use postwar M43 to turn into an M35 but its not really worth the effort with the decent repros available now. I just meant if you're getting a repro tunic go for an M35 over an M43 a first choice. Koliya does decent M35s but only seems to have the officer model up right now which isn't what you want. Its worth asking about the EM version as the price will probably be the same as his M43s - £40 (£55 posted).

Of course if money is tight then a postwar M43 is the cheapest option. Can be had for as little as £10 if you're lucky.

Don't get too hung up on colours, there were millions of uniforms produced from hundreds of factories, all using their own slightly different methods so the colours could vary hugely. Plus uniforms fade, get mucky or poor dyes run out; as long as is somewhere close to khaki its good enough and the parts don't have to match.

Those Sharovari are very postwar (60s) so are a slightly different cut as Yith says but if you're on a budget and are skinny enough to wear them comfortably they're ideal. No one will notice once they're under your tunic and puttees and they're much better than M69 breeches.

Pilotka wiseyou have choice of 55 or 56. 56 is a browner M69 type though.

I got the vast bulk of my stuff from the HIKI shop on eBay, fairly cheap, fast turnaround and decent quality repro.

Went for an M43 as I just had to have a pair of jazzy shoulderboards. I can always take them off again.

Second the recommendation for a gas mask bag, the single most useful bit of kit you can get.

I saw sfrankish on eBay has a cheapish postwar plash as well, wooden toggles and what look like stitched grommets.

Cheers
Martin

Yes after some revision of that list here's what i'm ordering/ have ordered

Pilotka side cap
Repro Sharovi M43 trousers
M35 tunic
Mosin nagant pouches
WW1 puttees
Postwar gasmask bag

BIG thanks to Lardassmonkey for all his assistance!

Yes, the order went through without any major issues. Schuster was good to deal with. An ex-pat Russian work colleague helped a load by acting as a Russian speaking go-between.