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Crimean British Grenadiers Summer Dress

Looking good. I might have to drop some coin on this one. Thumbs up. Good job Strelets.

Re: Crimean British Grenadiers Summer Dress

normal

Re: Crimean British Grenadiers Summer Dress

Not so impressed with the Grenadiers.
The proportions are not right.
The heads look to big for the bodies. That makes the Bear-skins appear too small.
They remind me of the Crimean British Hussars which are the least attractive of Strelets Light Brigade.
I hope there is time to change these and the 'Winter Dressed Grenadiers'
Regards
M

Re: Crimean British Grenadiers - Summer & Winter Uniforms

Dear S*R Team,

These sets have long been awaited for the Crimean Range. Glad to see them moving forward. My comments apply to both Summer and Winter sets. I recall, the thing that impressed me most the first time I saw these guys in the books in school, was the way the Scarlet Red uniforms or Grey Coats showed off the the beautiful, wide White Cross Belts on the chest area. I can only see very narrow cross belts on both sets. Also the Bear Skins were a particular shape. My critique:

+ Action poses

+ Nice sculpting skills

- Cross-belts on chest way too narrow; need to be wide, wide, wider!

- Bear skins inconsistent shapes, meaning British hats should get bigger at top and more oval-shaped (not straight) - oversized better than undersized (several look French)

- Faces/beards on a few appear to be jutting out, or maybe bear-skins need to be bigger

Great theme, glad to see them, have been waiting for these for a very long time - thank you for making. Hope belts and bear-skins get more final detailing to show-off all their former glory on the battlefield.

Thanks for listening!

Re: Re: Crimean British Grenadiers -)( btw 22 st903 sets )

Yes i agree alot GC. Also teh gards figures should have been taler,trimmer and be seen to be fighting down.

one figure firing looks okay the others look like they been out on the town.Yes bearskins should have been all the same shape which may have carried the rest of the figures which i presume had better tailors in the regiment of gards .scruffy bunch.
has anyone tried painting these yet?

Re: Re: Re: Crimean British Grenadiers -)( btw 22 st903 sets )

Cheers Forum Mates,

I was typing when Mssr Murat posted his comments. Had I seen them first, I would have supported them. Sorry to be redundant. The postings were only a few deep breaths and moments apart. As the cat is out of the bag now, I'm pleased Mr Head for the Guns, Hank et als are getting the same feelings about the Grenadier Masters.

As this is such a monumentally handsome set, still uniformed today in the U.K., and "Bear-skins", forever a piece of past history, then I do hope these suggestions make it to the "drawing board" at S*R before final casting.

Cheers, Mates!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Crimean British Grenadiers -)( btw 22 st903 sets )

Well i am absolutely stoked to have 22 st903 sets only 3 away from objective.So i stroll back and am painting much.

Dave Makes big point that the grenadier unifrom is still on show today .I am trying to compare.Maybe these are regimental greandiers in bearskin and not queens gardsmen. they hurt for the nasty poy belly nco to shove and manhandle the troopers into th egaps in line.

that is teh beauty of teh s-r 48 figure box, more composition.the miniset foramts are okay but yes teh figures need to be sharper as there is more focus on teh little we see.no ?

Re: Crimean British Grenadiers Summer Dress

hi hank
i got last night one more set of turks so now i need 3 boxes more turks to my turkish army

Re: Re: Crimean British Grenadiers Summer Dress

good,am happy for you they are not possible quick to paint so start teh painting soon.

i have 48 base paint i finish today then that is all the first 4 box that arrive i can then make 100 figure battalions.maybe i take a photo but only if i finish my town .i was hoping to see other people work.

i am making balkan "style" town for dio-drama.then i have fort,redoubts and trench, camp so plenty work .soon i do gunboat for river danube battles also.

Re: Crimean British Grenadiers Summer Dress

hello hank
i am tiring but i must keep one box of turks to my children. Is it possible to use zouaves as turkish infantry becuse i look those old style uniforms and they lookd like zouave ones???

back to the Crimean British Grenadiers (sic) Summer Dress

Dear all
Firstly they are not Grenadiers they are Guards and the bearskin plume(red) on the figures right means Coldstream Guards (not Coldstreams). Other regiments had grenadier companies so a grenadier was not specific to the Guards Brigade.
I agree that some are either too big in the head or lacking enough height as some could pass for a drummer boys stature and some are OK. The cross belts are overdone as are most of the details on the figures' chests. It makes it difficult to put the correct width/depth cross belts on when they are like this. The epaulettes should make the shoulders look broader again some look fine some look absurd. Is the sculpting a collective effort as the quality seems to vary? The two bottom right ones make an interesting comparison. I don't like the "Marty Feldman" eyes as on the figure bottom left every set seems to have one of these. There is a tendency to put a lot of very over scale detail on the figures when it could be left off or hinted at eg the chinstraps. Less is more sometimes.

Still it is always hard to tell what a figure is like from photos. I think there is enough evidence there to convince to buy one set to evaluate it "in the round" before buying more.



David

Re: back to the Crimean British Grenadiers (sic) Summer Dress

yes these are to far scruffy and small for gardsmen i think i would only use them for grenadiers.but i am sending my brittush away. they are dismissed as the mighty ottoman turkish army is facing the russians.

if the greatcoats were tight the figures would be much better.sculpt the coats down smoother and pinch the waists at the back where the greatcoat hangs.the bearskins need reworkingg.

okay back to building oltenitza.

Re: back to the Crimean British Grenadiers (sic) Summer Dress

Glad to see you jump into the fray, David. I hope, as you say, the Cross-Belts are overdone. Meaning I hope the wide cross-belts are under other details. Even with my old eyes it only takes me a moment to notice something that is off. But again, in all fairness, unless S*R explains something here, I can only guess there is more that meets the eye.

Bear-skins ... No consistency! Half look like French Guards and the others closer to British. It's an art to make good British Bear-skins, like the Britain's and Crescent 54mm sets, the best ever. I've got about 35 1/72 Hong Kong Copies of the Crescent sets as Swoppets (Top half Red Color; bottom half Blue Color), and the the details are impeccable, absolutely impeccable, just like the other Giant of Hong Kong copies. I'd like to see S*R correct this.

BTW, love your conversions on Contributions - always!

Bearskins

Dear Dave aka GC
I have a surviving lead Guardsman figure from the 1950s in a grey greatcoat. I am not sure of the make as it does not have any mark on it but about 54mm. I think it was made by somebody who did it as a hobby/small business, casting from older 1900 Britains figures. Apart from its general crudeness the bearskin is the correct shape. I also have a red plastic Kelloggs Corn Flake freebie which is a very well sculpted figure indeed.
The bearskin must be the most photographed military head dress in the world so no excuse.


David

Re: Bearskins and scruffy gardsmen

the turks 1,2.3 sprue light inf and both sets of guards look very much teh same pose with onnly uniform the difference.the height varies the base varies.

yes davids both no excuse,

is horse gards is going to put the sculptor on house arrest until BEARSKIN fixed. ?I'd give him 20 kourbashi to

S-R please Stop this set from being printed and fix.

I exepct better to see Queens Victoria best men. these should be evryone wanting but look all scruffy.
bad fit clothes.

Please edit the gardsmen/grenadier masters and relaunch tall proud more upright bearing figures. S-R Is only because we care we ask or say ,with concern as friends.

Re: Re: back to the Crimean British Grenadiers (sic) Summer Dress

It looks like a different Sculptor is employed on the Grenadiers than some of the previous Crimean War British sets.
One only has to look at the bearskins and large faces to see that.
Perhaps the Sculptor is the same one that made the British Hussars which, in my opinion, is out of kilter with the other Crimean sets.
Strelets have a Sculptor that can get the Heads and Bear-skins just right; Just look at their Scots Greys.
'Plastic Soldier Preview' gave them a very good review.
I sorry, but I have to say that I am disappointed with the British Grenadiers. These to me are what the Turks are to Hank; something I have been waiting for, for a very long time.
I suppose if Strelets do not have them resculpted I might buy a few sets and execute some Scots Greys for head-swops.
I hope Strelets take note of Hank because the Turks being so good he is buying up nearly all their production.
I have had to order more before he gets the lot.
'Make good sets and make good money'
Regards
M

Scots Greys' heads

Dear Murat

Yes the the Scots Greys have good Guardsmen's heads. The Hussars have lots of detail but poor underlying anatomy- narrow shoulders,largish heads though the wounded/dying figure is good.
I have adjusted the proportions using Photoshop and the Guards' heads are about 20%- 30% too big and the legs/thighs need about 10-15% (2-3mm) of lengthening. The top right figure looks OK in the Summer set and seems to have the right bearing for a Guardsman at the time of the Battle of the Alma.

When there were 42/44 poses it was possible to take the rough with the smooth but with only 12 poses they need to be good ones. The sets can't be judged on the other 30 that might have been. What is frustrating is that when you look at some Strelets figures they are magnificent, for instance the "Charge of the light Brigade" dismounted British Lancers and Hussars struggling back to their lines. They are not only good but they also have the "Wow" factor.

David

Re:The Guards turned out drunk for inspection

Murat ,sorry i buy so many i will stop when i get my 25th(3 more) but somehow i over order and 32 are coming to end up with me. I will photo send if you not belief me. If they were sold in s-r single set 44-48 in a box i would have got 2000 turks.(50 boxes)but hey i got 900 more russian infantry now.

I thought the grenadiers be a very cool set,But They look like the guard turned out drunk for inspection.

I am so very sad surprised these got this far.
As David say 12 figures get under microscope, 44 figures yes we can wing it.

I think these could be fused at base as casualties
from teh Sandbag Redoubt battle at Inkerman.They figures lookk so roughed up and maybe on well ...porter.Shameful.I learn again from film is only copy in english.

Sorry This grenadier set needs to come off the market
and reconstruccted.