Tropical Fallschirmjäger Made in Proper German Gray

Mars Figures makes one of the best 1/32 plastic sets of German paratroopers on the market — the Crete, North Africa, and Sicily kit that collectors have wanted for decades. There’s only one problem.

They’re molded in bright green.

Anyone who grew up with Airfix, Matchbox, or other common manufactures knows the unwritten rule of the hobby: Germans come in gray. It’s how you tell the sides apart on the carpet, on the wargaming table, and in the display case. A green Fallschirmjäger looks like he wandered in from the wrong army. For diorama builders, wargamers, and collectors who display these figures unpainted, that single choice keeps an otherwise excellent set on the shelf.

What we’re doing about it

We’re funding a dedicated production run of the Mars Tropical Fallschirmjäger set in classic German field gray plastic. The molds already exist — this is purely a matter of meeting the factory’s minimum order quantity for a custom color run, which is 500 units. That’s more than any one collector or shop can absorb alone, which is exactly why we’re asking the community to go in on it together.

Where the money goes

• Factory minimum order for the custom gray run

• Freight and import costs from the manufacturer

• Packaging and fulfillment to backers

• Any overage goes directly toward a second custom-color set — we’ll let backers vote on which one

What you get

• Any multiple of $25 — Boxed sets in German gray, shipped to your door, based on the amount donated ($100 translates to 4 sets for example), $10 cheaper than the final price of $35 per set plus shipping.

• $50+ — Influence in suggesting the next toy soldier project

Why trust us with this

We run War Prints Store, a WWII-focused scale model and wargaming business. We work with these figures every day, we know the collectors who want them, and we’ve got the manufacturer relationship and the logistics to actually get this done.

Toy soldier collecting survives because a handful of people are willing to put money behind the things they want to exist. Help us put these paratroopers in the right color and get them into the hands of the people who’ve been waiting for them.

Fundraiser picture is conceptual art created by myself based on the original figures. Gray pigmentation may be slightly different on the final product based on plastic at the factory.