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Re: US troops in attack masters up!

Whats with all the marching figures??????????? I love that your making civil war figs, which are much needed in the market, but this latest batch has nothing to do with attacking. No shooters or skirmishers, no lunging forward with bayonets, or even some running towards the enemy's works. The sculpting is good, but the choice of poses is very lacking with any intensity. None of these figures will be in my front line on the battlefeld, but on guard duty.In short, I might buy 2

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

I'm going to say that I'm disappointed with the Union troops thus far. Not necessarily from a pose or sculpting style perspective but because they are all in frock coats. This may have been in more use at the early part of the war but the most common coat in the Union Army was the sack coat.


Union soldiers are Fredericksburg


42nd Ohio Volunteers


7th Wisconsin

The sack coat length was just above the crutch area. The figures all have coats that are lower than that being just above the knees. This limits the use of these figures and their marketability. Officers would wear frock coats as seen in the photos, but the regular infantry (as also seen in the photos) in most cases wore sack coats apart from the odd unit or two.

So before people start berating me for saying this or not being grateful for finally getting decent figures in an era that I'm passionate about. I'm not saying don't have frock coat figures but what I would say is keep them minimal unless you are trying to depict a particular unit that wore them. To not have one sack coat figure in all the Union figure poses currently shown in the two boxes of figures is totally incorrect.

Now if Strelets are going to do a completely separate box of figures that are all in sack coats then fair enough but if the artwork is anything to go by the third box in preparation will also all be in frock cocks. IMO Strelets will be limiting their appeal if they don't fix this if they can.

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

You're right Neilad, I'm getting a bit worried that we're gonna see entire battlefields crowded with troops in frock coats, but I'm guessing Strelets is too far in the production process to change anything now. This set could be titled "early Confederate infantry marching" rather than Union infantry. What we need are figures rushing, running, charging, preferably in sack coats but hopefully this comes in later sets. I also agree this limits the sets marketability, why buy a set with frock coats when HäT release a set with mostly sack coats? I fear that Strelets might lose sales over this, though it's unlikely that HäT will release their sets anytime soon.

Here's a painting which match this set:

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

The frock coats are fine - they were very prevalent in the early war for the Union, but use continued throughout the war. Pretty much the entire III Corps is described as wearing the frock coat at Gettysburg, and both pictorial evidence and returns from quartermasters indicate that frock coats remained fairly popular with New England regiments.

After Gettysburg, use of the frock coat slacked off considerably (with the notable exception of Heavy Artillery Regiments). Essentially, I see these as great figures for Eastern Theater fighting right up to Gettysburg.

Sack coats would be welcome, but any claim that frock coats have no place on a Gettysburg (or Antietam, or Second Bull Run, the Seven Days, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, etc) is misinformed.

So don't worry, outfit your III Corps and early war units, and patience ought to bring sack coats. Strelets seems responsive, so let's give them the breathing space to get it done.

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

DaveWoodchuck
The frock coats are fine - they were very prevalent in the early war for the Union, but use continued throughout the war. Pretty much the entire III Corps is described as wearing the frock coat at Gettysburg, and both pictorial evidence and returns from quartermasters indicate that frock coats remained fairly popular with New England regiments.

After Gettysburg, use of the frock coat slacked off considerably (with the notable exception of Heavy Artillery Regiments). Essentially, I see these as great figures for Eastern Theater fighting right up to Gettysburg.

Sack coats would be welcome, but any claim that frock coats have no place on a Gettysburg (or Antietam, or Second Bull Run, the Seven Days, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, etc) is misinformed.

So don't worry, outfit your III Corps and early war units, and patience ought to bring sack coats. Strelets seems responsive, so let's give them the breathing space to get it done.


exactly.

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

GarrisonClay

Ironsides - Thank you for embedding the Fredericksburg / Irish Brigade video. The poses of the running men really helps to clear up how each of the Strelets sets will fit into a full-scale charge!


In case your wondering the clip is from "Gods and Generals", the music a cover of Kate Bush "Running up the Hill" by Placebo..
Thanks should go to "sixdeucemma" for the Vid on Utube, but your welcome non the less .-)


Theres still hope for those who want the Sack coat as theres at least one more set to go for the Union, hopefully Strelets will round of with a couple of artillery sets.... and maybe we'll see some more in the future...

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

And hopefully firing lines for both armies.

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

Ian Bruce
And hopefully firing lines for both armies.
.... and that is when I will get really excited

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

DITTO!

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

OK! But no one can say that this is not another sculptor...compared to the ww2 Indian inf. these ACW sets are of another hand.

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

marco zappa
OK! But no one can say that this is not another sculptor...compared to the ww2 Indian inf. these ACW sets are of another hand.



To be honest a lot of the WWII stuff by Strelets is better than other periods, but that seems to be the case with every brand.

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

marco zappa
OK! But no one can say that this is not another sculptor...compared to the ww2 Indian inf. these ACW sets are of another hand.

Like the sculptors at Airfix who's very same toy soldiers they designed in the 1960's are still popular today. I still buy the US Cavalry, all of the WWI sets, the Wagon Train both original and reissue, Barbarians and others when they are rereleased in new colors. Strelets sculptors are now above and beyond anything Airfix ever made and will go on to influence another half century of fans.

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

Looking at the scenes from Fredericksburg, it seems that a missing pose is the half crouch half run of men advancing into a hail of shot and shell, instinctivly trying to make themselves small. Hopefully smaller than the guy on front!

Re: US troops in attack masters up!

Not sure if the sculptors intent was to make a coat that could work both as a frock coat and a greatcoat like the Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg, but from a distance and painted in light blue why not? But apparently there are sets with greatcoats coming eventually.

I'm putting the images of the figures here in this thread.