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Re: WWI Polish Infantry (The Blue Army)

I've ever seen a huge gap in the total absence of famous WW2 1939 Polish Cavalry.
(probably because it could be decently substituted by WW1 French Infantry and Cavalry and Artillery, but it's not all so obvious).
This set is the nearest thing on the market.

Re: WWI Polish Infantry (The Blue Army)

Some of them look a little too hairy for the period. The simple rule (for most WWI and II) was that soldiers were shorn of the bits of hair that were not concealed by the hat or helmet. The large moustache was quite prevalent in Haller's regiments.
The Legion (if that is what they are)had a strong element of ex German and Austrian soldiers (ethnic Poles) as well as US so they have inherited respective styles,drills from their "parent" countries though the uniforms are French.
They look good for the immediate post WWI Ukrainian and Bolshevik wars. The film the Battle of Warsaw 1920 is a good start for those who know little of the period. Disregard the idiot art work on the DVD as it is about the period. Quite a lot of story (love, revenge)in it as it isn't a documentary. Better still if your Polish is good then it is on the internet in HD. You will notice most of the czapkas post war have peaks like the officer's in the set. The other two cap styles(peakless czapka and fore and aft cap) and Adrian helmet are also evident.

Re: WWI Polish Infantry (The Blue Army)

Excellent.
My period.
My scale.
My favourite army.

Great for all those pulp, Back Of Beyond, Braunstein-like style adventures.

Love it.

Re: WWI Polish Infantry (The Blue Army)

Happy to see more WW1-era toops. As Polish they are of not much interest for me (as they fought only briefly in WW1), but they can double as French etc. after some headswaps.

Some rifles are too thick. I wonder why the sculptor takes the trouble to sculpt the same rifle model ten or so times, instead of doing it once as good as can be done and then casting it for the following figure sculpts?

Poses are great. Sometimes you just want some melee.

Re: WWI Polish Infantry (The Blue Army)

Same for me though I would be inclined the make helmets to replace the hats using a press mould.. some helmets are bit strange looking but I think those are Serbians!

However the biggest problem is the lack of Rifle Grenadiers and Loader/ammo carriers for the CSRG, the only set to date to include a loader is the Airfix WW1 US infantry set...any set of 10-12 figures should include at least one each of these..
Plus the lack of water bottles and gas mask cases(though these may not have been carried post war)

On the rifle I would agree its a bit heavy, from what I've read the Lebel was used by the French and the Berthier was issued to Foreign troops generally, this is because despite its superior loading method the Berthier magazine only originally held 3 rounds(later 5)and was considered inferior as a result, but as it used clips it was quick to load, the Lebel on the other hand could hold upto 10 rounds, but took an age to load and was often used as a single shot as a result especially once the tube mag had been emptied...

Re: WWI Polish Infantry (The Blue Army)

A fascinating historical tidbit about the Blue Army a/k/a Haller's Legion - one of its members was Angela Merkel's grandfather! He was an ethnic pole from the Posen/Poznan province of the German Empire who was taken prisoner fighting for the Germans in France, enrolled in Haller's Legion and served in the Polish-Ukrainian War and Polish-Bolshevik War in 1919-20. He may have also served in France in 1918 against the Germans, but records aren't clear. After the end of Poland's independence conflicts, he married an ethnic German woman from Berlin, took German citizenship and relocated to Germany where he worked as a police officer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Kasner

Re: WWI Polish Infantry (The Blue Army)

Well, I have to say the Poles look great! I love the poses! This is the most lively set that has come out in a very long time by ANYBODY! No standing around here! These guys look like they are in a fight, repelling trench raiders! This is the way all "Action/combat" sets should look & very rarely do! BRAVO STRELETS! I can only hope your Union "defenders at the stone wall" set for Gettysburg look this good!