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Re: French infantry

Agreed. Italeri was hovering between 25mm and 28 mm figures. Their Prussians also suffered from that indecisiveness, the French chasseurs au cheval had the horse poses wrong with the majority being horses for the elites but a minority of the figures were elites. Waterloo went awry as well with the allied command set tending towards 28 mm as well. Only H en W1815 released decent sets of marching sets of post 1812 French sofar. W1815 also issued some nice line voltigeurs to skirmish ahead of the fusiliers but omitted the line grenadiers of the day so far. Taking away the ringhands, the H 1813 infantry in action was quite decent as well.
Strelets is up there and surpassing the competition with their present style and releases on all fronts, fortunately.
Because of that, I am hoping for Chasseurs au cheval in the same sculpting style as the Prussian cavalry might be considered. They will prove to be popular if Strelets would chose to produce them.

Re: French infantry

Roger W
The French do seem to be troublesome for many companys so Strelets arent the only ones who seem to struggle with the French though.

I remember when Italeri were releasing their new 1812-1815 Napoleonic French Infantry. I was really looking forward to these but then when I seen the images on PSR, my heart sank. Box full of rather chubby blokes with no necks or chins!!! I have no idea if obesity was a thing back then but i doubt any nations troops of the time would of suffered from it!!

I wasnt impressed by their French Light cavalry or the 95th Rifles released around same time either. Too chunky, not properly in scale (the 95th) and some really odd choices of poses, which made the lack of numbers of each pose worse.

At least Strelets dont do this.
I also have been disappointed with Italeri's Napoleonics in the last 5 or so years. Quite how they have managed to move from slim, beautifully sculpted 24mm figures (their French Dragoons for example) to the chunky 26mm+ (with no chins) giants makes me wonder. Their Prussian infantry set must be amongst the worst ever released. Even worse is their 'Prussian Light Cavalry' (actually not 'Light', since they are meant to be dragoons). Compare this truly awful set with the beautiful Prussian cavalry masters that we have seen from Strelets in recent months.

This is a great opportunity for Strelets to corner the market for Napoleonics in 1/72. Italeri it seems are 'out of the game' unless they can get their scaling (and pose sculpting) back on track. Zvezda have an impressive back-catalogue, but nothing new appears to be coming from them. And with releases from HaT now a matter of waiting a very long time from masters to production, that previously prolific manufacturer now appears to be a shadow of its former self.

Strelets gets my vote then...... and most of my spending on 1/72 figures this year (and probably next as well)!

Re: French infantry

Italeri have gone way downhill since I was a kid.
Funny thing is they repackage some old Esci sets such as the French old Guard Foot Artillery, which when placed near their own efforts of recent times, look ridiculous!! This happened when I bought their La Haye Sainte set with the farm provided by Sarissa Precision. (By the way, if anyone is interested, i noticed Sarissa Precision have listed the La Haye Sainte building in 20mm now under their new releases).

If only they had kept to the same old style but just improved on their historical accuracy and details.

Hat are a weird company currently. Their list of sets manufactured is certainly impressive, some being really fantastic.
Then they seemed to disappear into the doldrums emerging with ideas like crowd funding etc. If I remember, the whole crowd funding thing was ment to be a way of speeding up production. Well that didnt happen!!! I feel sorry for those that participated in the crowd funding schemes.

So yes, if Strelets play their cards right, are consistent in terms of accuracy, sculpting and keep a steady stream of sets coming, and maintain existing set stock levels, they are on to a winner. Mistakes do happen, but as long as they are learned from, they will go from strength to strength. Yes they have missed the target with their French Infantry in terms of accuracy, but they have sure hit the bullseye on other sets.

Re: French infantry

"...if Strelets..., are consistent in terms of accuracy,...Mistakes do happen, but as long as they are learned from,...Yes they have missed the target with their French Infantry in terms of accuracy, but they have sure hit the bullseye on other sets."

Definitely, you're on dope. We recommend ... rehab!

Re: French infantry

Err right, if you say so!! 😂😂.
No im not on anything, (unless you count 100mg of the anti depressant Sertraline?!), but if you are going to quote someone, quote them properly, not like some devious tabloid journalist!!!

I do stand by what I said. Where it is the case other manufacturers have let standards drop, Strelets, while maybe making some small historical mistakes here and there, are progressing the right way. They are improving all the time. Yes their Napoleonic French have not really made me want to get the wallet out, but what cant be denied is the sculpting is superb. For me its more the design of the set as a whole that put me off. If strelets had made their French marching, order arms sets etc with a proper balance of fusiliers and flank companies, it would of been fantastic. Regardless of the French Infantry, they have grown and matured as a company. They are looking more and more as the market leader.

Instead someone would have to be on drugs to deny it!!! 😉

Re: French infantry

There are very few sets that I am 100% happy with, but that's life. And if I was to wait until these pesky manufacturers did exactly as I demand I would have a very small collection.

Re: French infantry

Good point James.
There are some sets i think "wow", some im a little less enthusiastic about but see its merits & uses and some i just look at and think "WTF no thanks!".
Ultimately, it is entirely up to the customer. Its your money. If you think a set is worth purchasing, great. If your not impressed well then nobody is making you buy it.
I am not a fan of Italeri's French or 95th Rifles sets. So i do not buy them. Others however have done, going by pictures of dioramas etc. Fair play to them and i hope they enjoy them. Not for me but heyho.

So as said, for me Strelets have not grabbed me with their Napoleonic French Line Infantry offerings so far, but boy did they grab my attention with the British/Brunswick & Prussians. The other non French Napoleonic sets are also very eye catching.

Re: French infantry

French Infantry Summer Order Arms

I could never understand why, decade after decade, every manufacturer takes its turn in failing to produce an accurate and usable set of the most ubiquitous soldiers of one of the most popular period; Napoleonic French infantry.

This is a beautifully sculpted and useful near miss. I shall buy a couple of sets. Near miss inasmuch as order arms is not perhaps the pose you'd want your whole army in, and, of course, these appear to be elite company soldiers only. Not the first time Strelets have done this, and HaT has done it too.

What's so **** difficult about making French infantry?

2 sets, preferably marching, one 1808-1812 and one 1813-1815, with both fusiliers and flank company soldiers in the correct proportions and a full set of tête de colonne figures.

Given the riches that come our way from Strelets, such a wealth of subjects, such generous treatment of many of them and so many unexpected pleasures, it seems nothing short of perverse that there is no real answer to the wargamer's French infantry needs.

Re: French infantry

Well said

Re: French infantry

Think you hit the nail on the head Edwardian.
A box of Marching, Advancing & in action (firing/reloading etc) for both pre 1812 and post 1812 would serve everybody, wargamer and diorama builder alike.
Get the sculpting top notch (like Strelets), uniforms accurate, and a good ratio of fusiliers to flank companies in those boxes and youve got yourself boxes of French that would sell like hot cakes.

Putting in the correct ratios of centre to flank companies for the other nations would be fantastic too.

Re: French infantry

Gents,

Aside from the box (and possibly the title if you are being really picky), what is wrong with this set?

- They are in campaign uniform so the trousers and range of headgear is appropriate.
- The range of headgear is appropriate for the reasons that I gave above (Rousselot makes a similar statement a few pages later).
- The flag is falling, so looks to be correctly sized to me (80 cm x 80 cm plus a 2.5 cm fringe)—look particularly at the rear view. It is beautifully sculpted, as you said Roger.

The shako on the fellow in the first row, second from the right, might appear to look a bit more Prussian, but it matches well with the one in Bucquoy of a sergent-major de chasseurs (16e légère) en compagne.

If the above is actually about 'the figures that I most desire', fair enough.

While I like them and am buying them for additional variety, I agree with others that the standing pose is not the most desirable, but it does add greatly to the mix of what is available at present. Strelets have provided marching, in attack and at ease poses In other troop types, so no doubt will 'deliver' for the French too. If they all end up being elite companies, all the better. Fusiliers to follow, I hope and further ability to mix and match...

If I am to throw in my version of 'what I want', the great 'missing link' in 1/72nd French remains those in full dress, into which they were often dressed prior to battle.

Regards,

James

Re: French infantry

Hi James
I do understand what you are saying.
On the whole, my comments have been more a general view about French Infantry among all the manufacturers.

On this particular Strelets set, I have complemented Strelets on their sculpting for sure, its wonderful. I personally need more post 1812 uniformed French, but I will definately buy a box as I really like the officers and eagle/flag bearer.
However, what I dont need is boxes and boxes of Grenadier/Voltigeurs with no Fusiliers to go with them. A French Battalion had 4 companys of fusiliers and 1 of each of grenadiers and voltigeurs. So the fusiliers are more numerous, even more so when you take into account French regiments often fielded more than one battalion.

If Strelets are going to do the Fusiliers in the same Marching, Standing etc, great, but that means a customer will probably still buy more of those compared to the flank company sets. Why? Simply because in terms of ratio, they would need more fusiliers to flank companys when building battalions. So for me, it makes more sense to design any French Sets with the correct ratio in a box already. Hat did this with their 1808-1812 set and their pre 1812 and 1815 marching sets. The quality of these sets is however not particularly great.

The Strelets French Marching sets also look to be more on a march to or from a battlefield rather than in a formation on a battlefield, (compare with the other Napoleonic nations marching sets) so again, for me personally, i have limited use for them.

Strelets is definately getting the quality right, of that there is no doubt. However I cannot justify buying sets from any manufacturer just for the sake of it. If they serve my needs, yes, but alas currently, as stand alone sets, these French do not. Simply my point of view, thats all.

Re: French infantry

Roger W
Think you hit the nail on the head Edwardian.
A box of Marching, Advancing & in action (firing/reloading etc) for both pre 1812 and post 1812 would serve everybody, wargamer and diorama builder alike.
Get the sculpting top notch (like Strelets), uniforms accurate, and a good ratio of fusiliers to flank companies in those boxes and youve got yourself boxes of French that would sell like hot cakes.

Putting in the correct ratios of centre to flank companies for the other nations would be fantastic too.
Yes, I completely agree. A quick count of 'French Line Infantry' sets on PSR indicates that there are something of the order of 50 sets already released or due for release. Granted that some of these are for 'specialist' niche applications, but even so this is a lot of French infantry sets. Some of these are in production, some not, and the range of styles, scales, sculpting, historical accuracy etc is increasingly bewildering.

However, none of these 40+ sets adequately fills the significant and continuing gap flagged up by Edwardian and Roger, that is: a set of classic French Line infantry with suitable poses for the tabletop, and with the correct proportion of fusiliers and flank companies, plus a suitable number of command figures.

HaT tried to do this with their 'big box' 1808-1812 infantry, but this set has quite a number of shortcomings, not least the strange sculpting quality and style and, for the earlier production sets, dreadful plastic. It is also not suitable for the last three years of the Napoleonic period.

So the 'perfect' set of 'late' Napoleonic infantry still eludes us. A complication is of course the change in 'regulation' uniform in 1812-13. But, if Strelets were to produce a set each of 'French Line Fusiliers (summer dress) in march attack', together with a set of 'French Flank companies (summer dress) in attack', the latter set including some skirmisher poses together with some advancing poses to mix in with the 'march attack' set, then that would go a long way towards the ideal. To do this properly the sets (and duplicate poses) would be issued in a 'pre-1812; and 'late war (post 1812)' format...so actually, four sets in all.

Re: French infantry

Bring on more French.

I like Minuteman's plan.

I like the variations of poses and boxes.

I don't actually care if they are perfect. The mistakes add charm to me. Its human. We have to strive for it, but, talking about the all mistakes is fun too.

I love the variety of poses in these units they look great. 10 marching poses, 10 standing, etc unique command squads these are so fun.

I noticed one of the Russian infantry has a small hatchet. Like that.

Re: French infantry

Im not sure we want more French that are either inadequate or suffer from noticeable mistakes. After all the whole point in calling for more French is because we already have sets like that, which we want bettered.

I think French infantry for both pre 1812 and post 1812:

Marching: (in a battlefield formation)

In attack/advance: (like has been done for the British, Bavarians etc),

And in Firing lines
Covers most eventualities.

Yes variety is always good in sets, so long as its believable.