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Possible Strelets releases in 2009

Dear Strelets

I met you a few years ago at the Dartford Toy Soldier Show and I asked you if you would be prepared to release sets for the Spanish Civil War and offered to provide you with information, if needed. You said that you did not want to release figures for periods later than the 20th Century. I note that for possible releases in 2009 you are considering World War Two. Could I ask again if you would be prepared to release figures for the Spanish Civil War? I know that you are reluctant to release your R sets now, although the SCW would be ideal for a range of them, but even your Minis would be useful.

Acting President Spanish Civil War Society

Re: Possible Strelets releases in 2009

Dear Mr.Prockter,

thank you for your message.
Indeed, we may experiment with WWII subjects in 2009 but any further decisions on the XX century sets will be taken upon the results of those experiments.
Having said that we should also keep in mind that some other companies are making SCW sets and several producers for a relatively narrow theme can be a bit excessive.

Best regards,

Strelets

Re: Re: Possible Strelets releases in 2009

Strelets

Thank you. One company only makes Spanish Civil War figures and their product is variable in quality, expensive and, in some cases, fragile and is made with small production runs that make the kits difficult to obtain. This suggests that you would have little competition if your chose to produce figures for the SCW, unlike WW2 where you would be up against another 13 producers, as far as German figures are concerned, for example.

Re: Re: Re: Possible Strelets releases in 2009

Bonjour.very important for me:german staff and allied staff in the ww2,hospital in ww2.it's strelets specificity and speciality (allied chief 1And2,napoleon general staff,union general staff,..)

Re: Re: Re: intersting approach

Andrew. Is there any unterest in this war in this forum. I do not recall we discuss SCW often if at all. Just what figures are you hoping to see made ?

What material have you on club website etc ? What do you have so far re models?

Curious you use a UK government email for developing UK but you seek to develop for Spain, and you write this from Lombardy/Italy to front your own club.
mmmh which way does the wind blow for you ?

Mayve there was alot of Russian military support for the socialists in teh SCW.Perhaps you can tell us.

Re: Re: Re: Re: intersting approach

Hi Hank,

there have been some topics about the SCW in this forum. I myself do have an interest in this period, but I doubt many on the forum have.

Cheers,

Christiaan

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: intersting approach

Christiaan, did teh russians fight in spain perhaps you know.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: intersting approach

I don't know how many people would share this interest but I, for one, would love to see good SCW figures. My interest is based on a number of things - firstly, political - there are still socialists in this world whatever Francis ******** might say! Secondly, diversity - a war that had everything from anarchist militia to Moorish regulars and where flags were still regulary carried would produce some very distinctive units to model. Thirdly, what my friends call the buggerance factor - I like games where AFVs don't dominate and where everything is thoroughly unreliable - tanks that breakdown, machine guns that don't have the right ammunition, units melting away for no reason or alternatively heroic resistance or attacks from ideologically motivated units, much better than wall to wall panthers or T34s!
Fourthly, convertability - A lot of SCW kit was very generic and varied, I think that many suitable figures could also serve as WWII or later resistance or insurgents.

BTW Hank, yes Russians did fight in Spain - no infantry units but tank crews, aircrew and military advisers plus lots of foreign voluteers mostly on the Republican side, although an Irish unit was raised to serve on the Nationalist side allegedly in defence of Catholicism.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Partizans

Hi Graham thanks i look at wikipedia and what a mess of a war and how they work/cordinate strategy with so many factions is frustrating for commanders.

From teh wargame point wow you pose very interesting scenario that would be an ultinate test.Thus fog of war would be a testing game with those obstacles you describe.

a clever s-r Maquis ww2 irregular type set berets and armband could be useful.Also a republican set could maybe used as Yugslavian partizan
.What do you think?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Partizans

Hi Frank

Yes, definitely a war where the politics would make your brain ache! If you are interested read Gerald Brennan's "The Spanish Labyrinth" (but it would have to be quite hardcore interest). As I said before many figures could definitely be used for WWII partizans - in France tens of thousands of Spanish refugees fought in the Maquis - imagine it, 3 years of civil war in your own country, nearly 5 years of occupation and resistance in your "safe haven" and even when WWII is finished your native land remains the sole European Fascist dictatorship and you have to go back and fight a guerilla war for years to come! BTW what a hoot! Apparently the name of the respected academic Francis F, that I mentioned above, is considered a swear word by the moderator! I don't like the guys the views but I wasn't being rude about him - it's just his name!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Partizans

Frankly...if you dare to call Franco a dictator....you should study more about the subject...the person who save Spain from red terror, from WW2, pacified until his death his country, did 'nt allow the rising of Basque terrorists, potected traditions, education, welfare (Spain was before his advent a rural underdevelopped country), respected the Roman Catholic Church ..frankly he could not be called a dictator...his life and politics certainly were more respectable when compared to the disgusting behaviour of the actual Spain'sPM who, until now, was only capable of retiring his troops from the war on terror and allow marriage between pederasts!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Partizans

Folgore I can understand that you are a neofascist. I'm catalan and my family fought in the national side,with Franco.My family suffered the red terror but without doubt Franco was a dictator.He avoided the entry of Spain in the WWII and he prevented the fall of the country in the soviet orbit but Spain didn't belong to the western Europe untill the arrival of the democracy. Basque and catalan cultures were persecuted, and everyone who was not national-sindicalist, supporter of the regime, knew the prison, fear is not a good way to keep the peace. Stalin,Mussolini and Hitler did motorways too but were criminals without attenuatings.
SCW is a very complex conflict,and there were not a good side. Everyone lost in that war.
Excuse me all the forumers for entry in politics but I couldn't be quiet.

International

Dear all

The battle of Jarama and Guadalajara involved the International Brigades which would also make a good set. Many people thought it their duty to fight for the Republican cause for a wide spectrum of political beliefs and countries. This civil war was made international as a result and I am sure many people have read Hemingway or seen the film of "For whom the bell tolls". Additionally many countries have memorials to those who died in the Spanish Civil War eg USA, Germany, UK, Australia, Canada , Sweden.

For Graham
BTW Irish history between WWI and WWII is also complex. Eoin O'Duffy's Irish Fascist Blueshirts fought on the Spanish Nationalist side ( for a variety of reasons and at Jarama) and the well known Connolly Column fought on the Spanish Republican side. The Irish Civil War was the the obvious catalyst for this polarisation of Irish political views.


David

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Partizans

I understand your personal thoughts and believe and respect totally what you said....i apologize if some of my thinking hurt your justified sensibility..i'm not a neofascist but just an amateur (almost)historian that do'nt want to side, for reasons of opportunity, with the politically correct dicatorial way of thinking that rule, after Norimberga, nowdays the word. I'm conservative and anti socialist and admire the persons that you critisiced above all Mussolini whose true history and accomplishments i know better than you and everyone in this and others hobby forums. Said that i understand and agree with your polite and balanced suggestion to avoid politics. Finally, most important i think that SCW is a very interesting and complex period which could be succesfully reflected in the production of model soldiers. Everybody will like them but beginning to produce them will a bvery important and time consuming burden for Strelets and this subperiod would not be linked, in term of miniatures, with other ones like WW1, WW2....While the WW1 soldiers to be produced by Strelets open a wide scenario with possibility of employing them in different fronts and in RCW of which Strelets could be a leader in producing and above designing top, well researched minis.
thanks

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Partizans

Thank you for your answer. I can understand your point of view and I agree with the necessity of more figures for the SCW like Requetés,Falangists,Moorish troops,republican regular army,italian troops,international brigades, sovietic,italian and german assistants,ect...
Best regards.

Re: Possible Strelets releases in 2009

The Spanish Civil War (along with the Russian Civil War) is my main area of interest and I'd love to see more figures and vehicles in 20mm plastic.

There have been threads about the SCW on this forum before including this one with some conversion possibilities for existing figures:

http://pub33.bravenet.com/forum/2833323740/show/859629

I also see that Frank Domingo from BUM/Ger-Man is on the forum ("about PSR" thread) so perhaps we could let him know our thoughts as BUM is the only manufacturer of a specific SCW range at present (and likely to be in future?).

I have the La Legion, Republican Army (Popular Army - also good for International Brigades) and Militia (Republican) sets. Each have 36 figures and are in "normal" soft plastic. The first two sets cost me £6.50 GBP and the last £7.50 from Harfields mail order (£1 GBP = 1.27 Euro = $1.62 USD at the time of writing but GBP has recently dropped alot!).

As for quality, I pretty much agree with PSR's reviews. The anatomy and poses are mostly pretty good but the detail on the Militia set dropped off from the standard on the previous two. The rifles sometimes look like featureless broom-sticks and the firing poses have the butt resting on top of the elbow in a most unnatural way.

I like the look of the sculpting on the SCW Security Troops and Winter Infantry but the number of figures has dropped to 22 and the price hiked to £9.50. That's quite apart from the crumbling plastic warned about not only on PSR but also the Harfields site. Much as I want them; sorry no way...

BUM really need to sort this out or sell the molds to someone who can. I can buy a set of 53 Imex foot figures or 48 Strelets, HaT, Zvedza or Italeri for £4-£5 so why not from BUM?

Re: Re: about BUM SCW ecc...

I second you .....and support also you courage to said things how they really are....BUM should change completely his trend,,,and also retailers who did'nt refrain to buy his recents products for maximum and shameless profit...and .proposing products from a manufacture whose 90% of products seem to be "piratised" ..i say seem because i don't know if license were given....i say those retailers should stop to do so...and apologize with all their customers...hope somebody agrre with me...but i could'nt anymore resist to say the truth!

Re: Re: Re: about BUM SCW ecc...

dear mr FOLGORE
first of all, salute you as maker......
I also must suppose the involvement on the costings and process also you know, or not.....

then you ask for our figs on box, as all people know, we ahve a very good deal with 99% of producers that authorize us to use partially part of their rpoducts mixed with other to us in some of our boxes for example
HAT in artillery SCW
Strelets on French nap boxes Victory or sword
odermars on peninsular war
LW on sword
Orion for pavia theme
all SCW tanks by UM and our figs, or full resine tanks from our makers,
all SCW figs are to us, no one from any, same as all GER-MAN & VICTORY new figs.

when we put a figure on our brand boxes, we has the previous aproval of the maker of the fig if are not our.

and seems me that you are Italian, just for your info
italian shops are the ones that knows very well our policy and the prove is that is one of the countries that we sell much.
and in our introductory letter to any shop that ask us our product we relate all above with more details if posible.

waiting anwser you properly and waiting that you can understand how "easy" is our work.
yours sincerelly
frank domingo
BUM & other brands

Re: Re: Possible Strelets releases in 2009