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Yes, you can see each sculptors style in sets. I'd like to meet the guy who worked for Airfix and made the U.S. Cavalry, WWI Germans, Arabs and maybe some others. Those were my original favorite Airfix. They all have some men or horse poses in common. It was Ron Cameron, wasn't it, who did the larger scale Airfix Cowboys and Indians? It's taken a few years for me, but I was finally able to get a nice collection of the China made copies of them in 1/72 scale. Just like the Giant of Hong Kong copies of the Britains Swoppets Knights and Cowboys and Indians. Regarding Atlantic, I wonder who made the Mao set with the nice Rickshaw and Chinese maiden who rides in it. Those rare finds are some of my favorites.
But these newer sets such as Strelets Foreign Legion and British Colonial Wars sets; these are the new standard made by guys who are shaping our hobby today.
Thank you Strelets and thank you to the others who also helped make our hobby.
For me it has to be John Niblett... never heard of him?...
He produced the first masters for Airfix in the early days, but also had a beautiful range of 20mm figures in metal which I have only ever seen in the flesh once...
I think in answer to Garrisonclay's question, most of what he mentioned may have been Niblett, but maybe not. The horses are the clue for me. Thanks for the link ironsides. I forgot about those figs. I always wondered how would those ECW figs would have sold. They look nice.
And you can see Niblett's iconic horse poses on his sets. The Parliamentarian mounted on the far right has the same horse pose as Airfix's ACW Artillery mounted officer.
While the Cavalier in the middle of that picture looks like he's on the standing horse that was in the Cowboys, Indians, Wagon Train and 1st version Foreign Legion sets.
In the 11th c. and 12th c. knights picture at the bottom of the Niblett page shows the running horse pose from the Cowboys and Indians set on the back/left and on the back/right is the mounted Cowboy horse (I usually put the guy waving his hat on that horse).
So I feel like the horses give us a clue he definitely did those. So Robin Hood/Sherriff of Nottingham, Arabs And US Cavalry have the same horse poses. Obviously all done by the same person, but different poses than the Cowboys/Indians/Foreign Legion. I wonder who that was if not him.
My first soldiers were his atlantic egiptians in 1979 and the last ones made by him the french foot dragoons.
Thanks a lot Strelets for sharing the video and article.
I hope he continues his outstanding work, perfect for the napoleonic soldiers. He has the touch in these period as your new sculptor does in the new napoleonic series.
Many thanks for the link to this most interesting article. Put me in a nostalgic mood. Would love to see one of the war monuments he sculpted.
The hobby has lost several of key figures lately (like the heads of Zvezda, Armourfast and Emhar) so here's hope he is still going strong, and that Strelets' current sculptor will continue to become one of our hobby's legends as well.