Thanks, James. You are a knowledgeable gent and any opinion of yours is worthwhile.

I currently field 2 regiments of French SYW dragoons - using the Swedish and Russian GNW dragoon sets.
I asked my pal, Al* the same question after I posted the query above.

Al* searched the web for 1/72 & 20mm figures that might match the unit & period. He even found a metal manufacturer I hadn't been aware of (- I didn't like the figures: squat & ugly). He ran an analysis of the Strelets' sets, the Zvezda sets, & also the possibility of modifying Napoleonic sets. This was cross referenced with Kronoskaf (the best online resource for the SYW imaginable).

There was a lot of data supplied by Al*; very specific to aspects of the uniform & he rank-ordered the sets/figures for me, with cogent reasons, needed mods and a % match with the period and unit I wanted.

Al gave the Zvesda Russian GNW figures a 90% match: if I trimmed the cuffs and the top of the boots & substituted a bonnet du police for the tricorne, found smaller horses & painted the figures appropriately, a near perfect match. The Strelets figures were applauded for their modelling but scored lower/needed more work to historically fit the target. Your conclusions were fairly similar as to the Strelets' sets.

So, I am OK now with the 90% match & may replace these GNW proxies only if Strelets makes a French SYW set of dragoons.

donald

*BTW....Al is my pal, Artificial Intelligence. Not perfect - Al didn't like poses that were too active & gave the Strelets "On the March" pose credit for this. But Al is a useful resource.
NB I didn't invite him to take a command at the EXPO.

Dear Donald,

Interesting, but then again, not that interesting. As with everything AI, it seems clever until you look a little bit deeper. You coulda come to the same conclusions and I suspect had done already.

The output, esp. from the large language models is akin to a senior student's essay in your former world or a first year's essay in mine. Seems really good, but then you realise that it is a whole heap of phrases cobbled together (words in the case of AI), that there is not depth to it, no understanding behind it.

"Neither artificial nor intelligent", as one expert notes with caution. It's a great tool for rapid screening of info. Some labs have used it to generate potential new proteins. Around 95–99% of what was produced was junk, but the small percentage of good stuff was worth pursuing—by intelligent monkeys who knew something. Not surprising really for a computer model that searches info in conjunction with stochastic sampling.

There is great potential as a tool: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03246-7
There are many potential negatives to be aware of and to guard against: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03222-1

Let's bring this back to the subject of this forum!

AI has never painted a figure, it does not know what a figure is, let alone a paintbrush. It has never had the thrill of sending a cavalry charge across the table, of seeing a carefully constructed plan crumble before one's eyes, packing up the figs afterwards and sharing a beer and a laugh with friends before, during and/or after a game! You definitely would not want to offer it a command.

I am honoured that you did to me. I can't make it over your way in the short-term, but it is on my long-term plans and we'll catch up for game/beer/banter about figs, wargaming and history when I do.

Now, time to head to the shed to do some painting. I may even have something worth showing here in time...

Best wishes, James

Hi, James.

I linked your reply to Al & he told me not to believe you.:stuck_out_tongue:

Seriously though, AI is just one more tool for the hobby - like contrast paint or 3D printing.
Overall, I agree with your overview of the phenomenon.

I often like a range of opinions on things I am not sure of. In the past there was a miniatures forum that had many erudite members of whom you could ask about WW2 British Armoured Division composition or Thirty Years War flags or if the Sea Peoples had bowmen etc. Sadly, nearly all of those people have left that forum over the unhinged political spoutings that regularly engulf it.

The Strelets' forum is, of course, quite small but there are several here whose opinions & knowledge I respect. And the forum concentrates on the important things in Life: small, plastic figures.

donald