Strelets Forum

Welcome to the Strelets Forum.
Please feel free to discuss any aspect of 1/72 scale plastic figures, not simply Strelets.
If you have any questions about our products then we will answer them here.

Strelets Forum
This Forum is Locked
Author
Comment
Nearly there

Dear friends,

all going well, we should receive new lot in London next week.
In the meantime we wish you nice week-end.



Yours faithfully,

Strelets

Re: Nearly there

Another tantalizing teaser! Have a great weekend yourself.

Re: Nearly there

More Russians, you ripper!

The ranks of my late Russians will be filled with lovely Strelets figures. Thank you.

I'm assuming more musketeers? The muskets will scale down nicely, but some fixed baïonnettes would go down a treat.

Regards, James

Re: Nearly there

I think these are more Russian Jagers.....at least I hope that to be the case.
They look the same as the Jager masters shown earlier and what with following recent trends, I imagine its more images showing that set.

The short muskets that look like they belong to a much later era as rifles, are annoying enough but at least with Jagers you can forgive the lack of bayonets....just!! Although would still be better to sculpt them on and let the customer worry about keeping them or not.

If they are however line musketeers, then the lack of bayonets is unforgivable. Especially after we went through all this with the very poor British firing line set.

If in doubt, mould bayonets fixed.

Re: Nearly there

Hi Roger,

I am beginning to worry about this set, it seems strange that its not listed on the main site perhaps because of the issues you have highlighted. It seems strange that is due out very soon and yet we are not seeing the finished product. I have money to spend on this set but wont buy without seeing the finished product.

I hope we are both concerned for no reason

bfn
Allan

Re: Nearly there

Dear Allan,

I realise now that I was incorrect in interpreting some of the masters that we have seen (like those above) as being for a separate musketeer set. Of course they could be used as such since they were basically the same in uniform design, differing really only in colour of facings and belts. An oft repeated line in Viskovatov:
"The following directives, described above, for Grenadier and Musketeer regiments were also applied to Jäger regiments:"

That's nine masters that we have seen, from my count. They all look really good to me, so I am happy that I have those four boxes coming.

Hopefully the full line-up, box art and such will be posted soon.

I'm certain that there will not be baïonnettes present on these figures, so it'll be add them on or leave them 'as is' as a special for jägers. Bit of a shame in that case as it is an extra fiddle and limits their flexibility. Plumes for the grenadier and marksmen companies can come from the earlier grenadiers. Mind you, with Strelets' prolific production who knows what we'll see next in the representation of late Russian infantry?

Some Russian jägers (12 per company) had rifles. I don't think any of these are short, so there may be a bit of cutting, if of the order of 12% is to be represented, which is easy.

Regards, James

Re: Nearly there

Like you I also like to know what I am possibly about to buy, especially when building a diorama/army as we need to know how many of each box we may need, depending on poses and how many of that pose there is. Will we end up with an entire box being useful, or will we end up with a lot of wastage for just a few useful poses? It matters both for the planning of the modelled regiment/army itself & of course the financial implications involved. Plastic is meant to be a cheaper alternative to metals, but at times I have decided it has been better to go with metal due to costs, & less hassle of not having to buy extra sets just to cannibalise them to make a set work.
Its why I decided against many of the recent Napoleonic cavalry sets. I had a few suitable spare horses but not enough to keep replacing the awful attempts in the Strelets sets. Buying sets just to pinch the horses, just to be able to use Strelets troopers was not a viable option. The troopers so far haven't excited me much anyway, what with looking like they are more on some sort of sponsored funride than anywhere near a field of battle! The Uhlans were the exception, looking much more like they were ready if called upon.

To be honest Allan, I have been concerned with certain design issues within the Napoleonic range for a while now.
Dont get me wrong, the quality overall in terms of sculpt/detail is fantastic at times, a far cry from Strelets early days.
But that all counts for nothing if silly mistakes are made with the design of a set.
Muskets looking too short or too bulky, yet nothing is done about it, bayonets missing when they should be attached, then we have the same repeated dreadful horses in cavalry sets, and most recently, a set of British Highlanders in square but with only 3 kneeling poses, and probably only 3 of each of those. So 9 kneeling figures when there are loads of standing. So not a balanced set for trying to build a realistic square. If more "in square" sets are made, I hope they are much better balanced than that.

Such things matter when deciding to purchase a set. It can be the difference in wanting 1 box, multiple boxes or none at all.

Re: Nearly there

Sounds good, thank you Mr Strelets!

Have a good weekend!:relaxed:

Re: Nearly there

Dear Strelets,

Great figures, but PLEASE fix the bayonets.

Thanks a lot in advance

Re: Nearly there

The top figure : Water bottle WW2 German , boots, desert, Head gear bowler hat, or at least that was my first thought, probably a sun helmet and a figure for the soon to be released Africa Korps set, the shell however is the wrong shape, not long enough or pointy enough .

Re: Nearly there

or, hopefully, it is simply the angle that we see it, Alan...

Re: Nearly there

Maybe he is preparing to launch an aubergine?!!

Re: Nearly there

:relaxed:

Re: Nearly there

Just wondering if this mortarman might be Italian and not German as the mortar shell looks similar to an Italian 81mm HE bomb. The water bottle could be either German or Italian as they had a similar shape. The boots and round hat are something of a question mark though, as is the ammo box, which as I understand it for the Germans was longer and flatter or the bombs came in their own handy metal square-shaped brief case. Either way he's an interesting and well sculpted figure. I look forward to finding out which set he belongs to.



Re: Nearly there

by the way, a well known British retailer is expecting these items for Christmas:
M152 French Foreign Legion Heavy Weapons Squad WW2
M153 Italian Infantry in Defence WW2
M154 Italian Desert Patrol WW2
M155 8th Army Australian Infantry in Attack WW2
M156 8th Army Australian Heavy Weapons Squad WW2
M158 AT PzB41 with DAK Crew WW2
251 French Dragoons on the March WSS
252 French Late War Dragoons in Reserve WSS
253 French Dragoons in Attack WSS
255 British Regiment of Horse Late War WSS
279 Highlanders Firing Line Nap
282 Obice da 75/18 Mod35 Howitzer with Italian Crew WW2
287 Highlanders in Square Nap
288 Russian Jaegers in Summer Dress Nap
147 Confederates on the March ACW - Reissue
149 US Infantry of the March ACW - Reissue
...:grinning: :grinning: :grinning:

Re: Nearly there

Im starting to get very dispondent with strelets as of late.
They do not seem to take any of our ideas, wishes and criticisum on any thing hence i have not brought a single box of figures this year from them.
HORSES= complete rubish
MUSKETS= To short n stocky plus lack of detail n bayonets
POSES= How hard is it to give the right poses for a said box most of what we are getting are useless
FLAGS= Either get it the right size for said regiment or just supply a pole we will do the rest
The list just goes on and on, so unless they listen to what the people who buy there products are saying it looks as though i will not be buying any next year aswell
Rant over sorry all.

Re: Nearly there

P.J. Ezard Builders
Im starting to get very dispondent with strelets as of late.
They do not seem to take any of our ideas, wishes and criticisum on any thing hence i have not brought a single box of figures this year from them.
HORSES= complete rubish
MUSKETS= To short n stocky plus lack of detail n bayonets
POSES= How hard is it to give the right poses for a said box most of what we are getting are useless
FLAGS= Either get it the right size for said regiment or just supply a pole we will do the rest
The list just goes on and on, so unless they listen to what the people who buy there products are saying it looks as though i will not be buying any next year aswell
Rant over sorry all.
A tad harsh I feel, Horses, improving with room for further improvement , Muskets , could be better and the only point on that I agree ,bayonets easier to remove than add for us , and they should be fixed. Poses, well I would give strelets 8 or 9 out of 10 on most sets. Flags , clear evidence of listening the Russians have a bare pole as requested. I think we all have to keep in mind the limitations of the two part mould and I suspect the process that seems to struggles with thin detail ie muskets and bayonets. If we all took the not buying route because figures are not perfect for us we would very quickly have no new figures being made , and no manufacturers making them. We must not cut our noses off to spite our face, it`s hobby, grown men playing with toy soldiers, with the best selection in 1/72 ever.

Re: Nearly there

"...the best selection in 1/72 ever"

Each to their own perception, I guess, but I am with you Alan.

Around 25 new offerings a year that are very good to bloody excellent. It's a d@mned golden age on steroids; despite global pandemic, clogged shipping, challenges to value chains, access to plastic manufacturing, and so on and so on...

All lead, by a couple of those beautiful horses' lengths, by Strelets!

The photographed masters or figures give a good indication, but anyone who has bought any of the recent figures will know that they do not do them justice.

I am looking forward immensely to my next batch (unfortunately no. 260 is definitely not amongst them. Ah well, more for next time!!).

Regards,

James

Re: Nearly there

"The list just goes on and on, so unless they listen to what the people who buy there products are saying it looks as though i will not be buying any next year as well"

Oh, ok, then we can buy some - even more - sets, I guess!!
You don't buy, it is your business Mr P.J. but us buying from the best figure producer is ours..

Re: Nearly there

I think with this Russian Jager set, they have left the flagpole bare.
I totally agree with you on the horses & muskets. A musket or rifle of the time was a much more sleek affair than the examples we keep seeing. They just don't have the right look. I notice that at times the weaponry is not quote right for other era's shown. These are often clearly from the same sculptor/team.
We do seem to get some poor pose choices here and there in some sets as you say. Far too many of a similar pose that isn't overly useful or even correct, and not enough of the ones really needed for example. Good poses wasted with silly things like forage caps when none should be present.
The lack of bayonets yet again perhaps indicates they or the sculptor are not listening as you say, or perhaps just not properly. However as mentioned, the new Russians have a bare flagpole which is a better solution.

I have to disagree with Alan about the horses. They haven't improved as its the same ones being "trotted" out as what appeared with the Prussian cavalry.
The WSS horses are far superior yes, but that is a different sculptor.
I also get what Alan is saying about if we all stopped buying these sets etc, but at the same time, they can make as many Napoleonic sets as they want.....but if they do not come up to standard & work out too expensive or too much hassle to get some use out of them, they become pointless sets, to me anyway. I thus end up looking elsewhere or just going without. Something has got to be worth buying.
I mean somebody once thought the Austin Allegro car was worth selling!!! Didn't quite end up as a much loved classic that one!!

I do still harbour hope that they cut out these silly mistakes & poor design decisions, hopefully before any other sets I really want appear!

Re: Nearly there

James I really get what you are saying. If we didnt have Strelets we would be in a bad place within the hobby.

HOWEVER......

Something still has to be worth buying.
Now I can only talk from the perspective of a Napoleonics fan. If Strelets had carried on the promising work of those first newer Napoleonics such as the British/Scots/Polish in marching, attack & at ease, along with the higher quality of the WSS sets, I dare say the vast majority of the Napoleonic sets released over recent times would have made their way into my hands, possibly in multiple numbers. In fact I could quite easily of seen my armies being mostly Strelets.

But then there was the change in sculptor/design team and we ended up with poor choices or mistakes creeping in like forage caps, a rather totally random banjo on a British soldier standing shoulder arms, horses more poor than some of those from the early Crimean sets etc. Bayonets inexplicably left off, a set of "in square" infantry with no where near enough kneeling poses compared to those standing, when at least for British Infantry/Highlanders a much more balanced ratio was required.
A set of Crimean Highlanders wonderfully sculpted......but completely wrong!!! Even though they only had to look at the previous figures to see what they looked like!!
And so on...

Yes the sculpting itself in terms of human form & uniforms has improved drastically, which then makes the mistakes/silly decisions even more infuriating!!

In the case of the British firing line set I bought a box of, out of curiosity, it was every bit as poor as what was previewed. (I have since got rid of it).

But yes, if it wasn't for Strelets we would be in a sorry state of affairs. But if they continue ruining good work to the point of more & more sets becoming undesirable or a pain to fix up correctly, well that will mean people giving up on them as a source of figures anyway. Which I think we can all agree would be a tragedy.
As you rightly point out, the world is in a bad way right now, & Strelets are doing a great job in churning out new sets very quickly (maybe too quickly thus causing the problems??).

But then customers also have to live in this same messed up world & at a time when finances for some of those customers may not stretch as far as they once did. So its thus even more important to produce a product that offers quality & value for money.
Alas, a good few Napoleonic sets of late, for me unfortunately, have not.