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Re: 9 out of 10 Give me a break

The six for the HaT is actually the pose number which to be fair, seems fair to me. Nor do I dispute PSR's score for historical accuracy.

Although The Italeri and ESCI sets may not be historically accurate, they do look like they were sculpted by Italeri and ESCI in the 1990s or 1980s rather than made by Airfix in the 1960s or 1970s. So why do they have the same or lower scores for sculpting?

ponder !! ......(and where is martin macALKA?)

i dont know if you guys ever been under fire but when lead is zipping thru the air you'd be surprised how small you try and make yourself, hunching shoulders and hellfire yes putting chin down to chest.in serried ranks ,colum or extended line yes i'd try and cover down behind the guy in front and let him take the heat, am sure thats what they all did.yup for a grenadier have to do work ,oh boy that means getting a dandy uniform dirty in thoses days.most grenadiers had spent their time as a fusilier.

Lets think about this also.When grenadiers were asked to fight, it was usually as teh fusiliers couldnt do the job. so the grenadiers were probally expected to get thru due to better discipline/bravery of grenadiers.that tells me the enemy were no push over .

Can we look at the defensive point of view...if you saw grenadiers comingat you , you'd want to try and elimenate them before they got within close range in case your line would buckle.morale check.i'd pour everything at those dudes to try get them to cede.
deploy skirmishers on the flanks and order al guns on target(grenadiers).

so i am thinking this is the motivation of teh sculptor.just an opininon but i like to hear what austrian guy Martin Macalka has to say.i'd hate to think he is chewing over some of armand's stuff on hat when he is needed here.lol

Re: ponder !! ......(and where is martin macALKA?)

That is an interesting point of defense and I think that you would make a fine lawyer :). I'm not saying it’s a bad set; it's just not in my opinion, a ninety percenter as far as sculpting goes.

In fact, I love the old Airfix sets. Not in spite of their flaws but because of their flaws. But I wouldn't presume to give them a 9 out of 10 score for sculpting, just because I'm partial to them or like the subject. Unless of course I got a big cheque from Airfix.

A flaw can make a set useful. Many have pointed out Hat's biblical sets make good orcs, or that Airfix first edition Germans, with their small stature and oversized helmets, make convincing child-soldiers good for late war Hitler-youth.

What is a fault to a pessimist, can sometimes be a feature to an optimist

Cheers

Re: ponder !! ......(and where is martin macALKA?)

"In fact, I love the old Airfix sets. Not in spite of their flaws but because of their flaws."

Re: ponder !! ......(and where is martin macALKA?)

giorgio
"In fact, I love the old Airfix sets. Not in spite of their flaws but because of their flaws."


me too. I´ve been trying to paint every fig pose of every set Airfix ever put onto the market....so far I have got 36 sets finished in my quest
One of the most versatile sets is the Robinhood set...great for creating extras for medieval armies.
Cheers
Paul

Wow

You really have done them justice
Great work

Re: Wow

CC
You really have done them justice
Great work

Thanks
Cheers
Paul

Re: ponder !! ......(and where is martin macALKA?)

Paul,
pre-Strelets' Jacobites, I used the Airfix Robin Hood figures for highlanders: heavily converted obviously.

donald

Re: ponder !! ......(and where is martin macALKA?)

ochoin
Paul,
pre-Strelets' Jacobites, I used the Airfix Robin Hood figures for highlanders: heavily converted obviously.

donald

Hi Donald,
I´d like to see pics of those..:-D
Cheers
paul

Airfix Jacobites

Hi, Paul,
After a big break from painting tartans, I've just gone back to working on my Jacobites.

I'm using a mix of metal Irregular figures, the Strelets' figures, Airfix conversions & various other odd Highlanders I've found.

I need loads (to face a medium sized Marlburian army I have) so I don't think I'll finish any time soon.

Give me a few weeks & I'll do a work-in-progress photo or two at Benno's.

donald

Re: ponder !! ......(and where is martin macALKA?)

I think Auguste Rodin is 10/10 so having established that benchmark then these are about 6/10.

HaT's figures vary a lot in sculptural quality and particularly style (for Napoleonics alone). It is difficult to be objective especially with comparisons as Italeri's Austrians have some plus features and some negative ones. They also get a PSR 9 for sculpting but then the style is very different. Very clean lines almost like little Meissen porcelain figures whereas the HaT figures are a little more irregular(like bronzes) with a lived in look. It is essentially a comparison between the Neoclassical style eg David and the Romantic style eg Delacroix and everything those terms embrace. In the end it depends how they are to be used. For example with a battlefield diorama maybe the HaT figures convey the energy and chaos and the Italeri figures are better for the pageant and spectacle. Obviously purchasers buy the ones that appeal to them and those not worried about style get both sets and mix.
It is hard to judge details from photos but the sole firing figure (HaT set) seems to have a left arm far too low. Sceptics just try the pose and see where your elbow comes. Anatomical mistakes (if this is one) are not to do with style and to my mind just make a figure look shoddy when they are wrong. This figure probably is OK in the round but in the scan/photo it has a Quasimodo shoulder and the same in the painted test shots. Looks better in the master figure.
If a figure or figures have anatomical mistakes then this should affect the sculptural quality rating. Style though is likely to be subjective so the numerical value is in the eye of the beholder.

David

Re: ponder !! ......(and where is martin macALKA?)

I HOPE MARTIN IS WELL ,he always has good material.

Re: 9 out of 10 Give me a break

Perhaps a little generous but not desperatly so I would say, a lot of character there I think...

Cheers