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D-Day Miniature Studio goes to the battlefields of Poland in 1939 with tank crewmen of the Panzerwaffe and captured Polish soldiers. Five figures, singles and sets of two. We look at their latest 35th-scale set in our preview...
Preview: German Panzer I Crew & Polish POWs in WWII from D-Day Miniature
D-Day Miniature Studio goes to the battlefields of Poland in 1939 with tank crewmen of the Panzerwaffe and captured Polish soldiers. Five figures, singles and sets of two. We look at their latest 35th-scale set in our preview...
The Subject: The Beginning - Poland, September 1939...
On September 1, 1939, German forces launched an invasion of Poland, marking the official outbreak of the Second World War in Europe. The campaign, codenamed Fall Weiss (Case White), demonstrated the rapid operational doctrine of the German army, heavily utilising coordinated armour, motorised infantry, and close air support to bypass and encircle Polish defensive positions along the borders.
German PzKpfw. I and PzKpfw II tanks massed along the Bra River in Poland on September 3, 1939, two days after the invasion of Poland officially ignited World War II in Europe.
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The Polish military fought tenaciously despite facing a severe disadvantage in modern armour, motorised transport, and air sovereignty. Within weeks, Polish forces were pressured on multiple fronts, a situation exacerbated significantly when Soviet forces invaded from the east on September 17. Despite the swift strategic collapse, individual Polish units staged determined counter-offensives, such as the Battle of the Bzura, before the country was completely occupied and partitioned between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Captured Polish soldiers, 1939.
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The Panzer I light tank served as the numeric backbone of the German armored divisions during this initial campaign. Originally designed in the early 1930s as a training vehicle, its light armour and dual machine-gun armament were inadequate for prolonged tank-on-tank engagements, yet it was pushed into frontline operational service out of strategic necessity. In Poland, Panzer I crews operated at the spearhead of advance columns, navigating the flat Polish terrain and securing rapid breakthroughs while working alongside heavier Panzer II, III, and IV variants to encircle defending infantry.
During these rapid encirclements, German armored columns captured substantial numbers of Polish personnel. These early prisoners faced immediate containment in temporary field enclosures before being processed into formalised labour and prisoner-of-war camps. The interactions between the advancing armored crews and the disarmed defenders captured the stark reality of the opening phase of the European conflict.
A photo that I think inspired this set showing a Panzer I Ausf. A transporting Polish prisoners of war after the Invasion of Poland in 1939.
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By October 1939, active field campaigns in Poland had ceased, leaving behind a devastated landscape and establishing the foundational tactical framework for subsequent armored warfare operations in Europe.
The Figures:
Sold as singles and as a combined set of five figures, these new 1/35th scale figures from D-Day Miniatures offer a detailed representation of the opening campaign of the war based on the painted display models available.
"The Beginning" - Poland, September 1939 German Panzer I Crew & Polish POWs
by D-Day miniature studio
Kit No. 35307
1/35th scale
Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki
Five resin figures included
Price: €85
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This comprehensive five-figure arrangement acts as the flagship release of the group, combining three armoured crewmen and two captured defenders into a single, cohesive historical scene. The package delivers a structured narrative layout directly centring on an armoured vehicle engagement, capturing the tense interaction immediately following a surrender in the field. The figures are tailored specifically to interact with Tamiya’s 1/35 Panzer I kit, allowing modellers to frame them around the turret and side hull openings. The breakdown of parts provides clean placement options across the tank hull and regional groundwork, making it a complete vignette options package out of a single box.
German Early War Panzer I Crew 1939-40
by D-Day miniature studio
Kit No. 3503
1/35th scale
Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki
Two resin figures included
Price: €35
This multi-figure kit compiles the three distinct armoured crew figures into a dedicated vehicle group, focusing on the early operational uniform details of the Panzerwaffe. Each figure is dressed in the functional black double-breasted jacket and trousers that characterise German tank units at the start of the conflict, complete with early-pattern headgear. The set provides a useful cross-section of poses designed to fit the small scale of the Panzer I, with anatomical curves sculpted to rest naturally against flat steel armour panels. The parts breakdown separates the limbs to allow alignment tweaks depending on the specific vehicle variants or hatches chosen for display.
WWII Polish POWs September 1939
by D-Day miniature studio
Kit No. 33308
1/35th scale
Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki
Two resin figures included
Price: €35
This dual-figure set brings together the two captured Polish soldiers, offering a sombre counterpoint to the armored crews. Both figures wear the standard wz.36 wool tunics and field caps distinctive to the Polish infantry of the period, with gear placement reflecting soldiers who have been disarmed and searched. The posture of both figures emphasises physical fatigue, making them suitable for positioning at the base of a vehicle track or along a rural roadside bank. The casting splits the torsos and legs logically, allowing the modeller to embed them tightly into terrain or dioramas without wide structural gaps.
WWII German Officer in Greatcoat, 1939-45
by D-Day miniature studio
Kit No. 35300
1/35th scale
Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki
One resin figure included
Price: €18
This single-figure release stands upright, depicting a commander or staff officer surveying the area during a pause in operational advances. The figure is clad in a long winter greatcoat featuring clear button lapels and trim details, completed by a rigid peaked officer's field cap that marks a formal contrast to the working uniforms of the crew. The straight stance of the legs and torso makes this figure highly adaptable, suitable for placement alongside a variety of early-war soft-skin vehicles or armored platforms. The kit supplies separate head and arm parts to give clean separation around the heavy collar layers.
German Early War Panzer I Crewman, 1939-40 (For Turret)
by D-Day miniature studio
Kit No. 35301
1/35th scale
Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki
One resin figure included
Price: €18
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Sculpted specifically to balance within a vehicle opening, this individual crewman is posed to fit neatly inside an open upper turret hatch. The arms are positioned to rest on the hatch rim or the cupola casing, capturing a typical posture of a crew chief scanning the terrain ahead during an operational march. The lower half of the figure is modified to slide cleanly down into narrow structural openings without interfering with internal kit walls. This specific optimisation minimises the amount of modifications required when dropping the figure into standard Tamiya interior spaces.
German Early War Panzer I Crewman, 1939-40 (for the Side Hatch)
by D-Day miniature studio
Kit No. 35302
1/35th scale
Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki
One resin figure included
Price: €18
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This individual figure is rendered in a relaxed sitting position, intended to dangle his legs over the side hull or deck plate of a light tank. The slouching angle of the back and hips is formed to match the low silhouette of early armored vehicles, giving an informal look to a field encampment scene. The casting groups the lower legs into distinct parts to keep the drape of the fabric realistic across the hull sides. The separate arm segments allow the modeller to adjust the hands to contact either the track links or tool brackets along the armour plate.
WWII Polish POW, 1 September 1939
by D-Day miniature studio
Kit No. 33304
1/35th scale
Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki
One resin figure included
Price: €18
This individual prisoner figure is sculpted in a low, slouched sitting posture with his legs extended outward across the ground surface. The head is angled slightly downward, conveying the psychological and physical exhaustion experienced during the rapid defensive retreats of the September campaign. The fold details on the trousers and uniform rear are flattened slightly where they meet the ground plane to ensure a flush, stable fit on flat diorama bases. The kit includes standard personal uniform parts without web equipment to match a fresh capture scenario.
WWII Polish POW, 2 September 1939
by D-Day miniature studio
Kit No. 33305
1/35th scale
Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki
One resin figure included
Price: €18
The final single release shows a Polish infantryman sitting upright on the ground with his knees drawn closely up towards his chest. His hands are clasped tightly around his shins, a defensive and compact posture that represents the harsh reality of field confinement in temporary collection sectors. The sculpt manages the overlapping layers of the arms and knees cleanly, maintaining a proper depth separation between the limbs and the torso fabric. This figure works exceptionally well against vertical elements like a ditch wall, a stone marker, or the road wheels of a captured vehicle.
If you would like your own copies of these figures, you can order them via the D-Day Miniature Studio website.