I applaud Strelets for making the French Cavalry set with a casualty. As another member excellently pointed out, would you have a famous battle painting without casualties? Never, of course. Almost all of the famous paintings, of which my favorites are the British Squares, have many casualty poses at various stages of enactment.

The sculpting and details of this set are nice, and as was previously requested, the sabre's sheath doesn't stick out and poke the guy next to him. Good practicle design detail.

But for those who complain about wasting poses, this set is trying to be in the tradition of 12 mounted troopers going back to the Airfix days, but statistically has far too many repetative poses.

The Airfix U.S. Cavalry set did a fairly good job of not repeating poses, so that everyone got something ... (1) an Officer, (2) a Bugler, (3) Guidion, (4) a Seargent tough guy, (5) one with a carbine, (6) a riding casualty, (7) a fallen trooper still fighting on foot, (8) and several who should be wielding swords, shooting carbines or shooting pistols.

The Airfix U.S. Cavalry has almost all, except the pistol shooters are missing (and blatent mistakes like no pistol holsters, and carbine belts cut like bandoliers). Not the best uniform accuracy, but mighty fine poses for their generation.

Still, a good selection of different poses so that everyone got/still gets something. What I criticize about the French set here, is the waste of repetitious poses.

Row 1, poses 1 and 2, and Row 2, pose 5 are almost identical. A waste of 2 of the 3 poses. Row 1, pose 5 and row 2, pose 1 too similar.

Row 1, pose 3 casualty and row 2, pose 3 sabre striking are the best poses.

But there are easily 3 lost opportunities for more varied poses.

If you want to sell more boxes, then make the poses very more different. If someone wants 3 of the same pose, then encourage them to buy 3 boxes, or even more!

Overall, it is a very nice set, which I definitely want to buy when available, but only a few boxes.

But, but, but, just take one of 4 repetitive poses, and make a prone horse, with a trooper standing and wielding a sword or aiming a pistol or carbine, and I'll buy over a dozen of the set, especially because it would be original, yet realistic - really!

Take another duplicate pose and do a serious leaning off the saddle to strike an Infantryman with his sabre, and that's action. Gawd, give me more.

Here is a link to the old Airfix set which still has the best overall combination of poses for a cavalry set, regardless of detail flaws, I feel.

Very few of you will agree with me, and almost all of you will disagree with me, but Strelets is very close to being the ultimate maker of truly soft plastic soldiers with the greatest number of poses, but still needs more realistic variety and quit repeating poses, in almost all of their sets. Even the Mini sets could use just a little more scrutiny before design approval. Eh hem.

Oh, yes, and just what is the best ever Cavalry set ever made ??? Hmm, well, my S*R Crimean 17th Lancers go to bed with me under my pillow every night. Yes, the 17th and their Mates make an awesome and fearsome and complete Cavalry charge as we have so far ... :-)

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.asp?manu=AIR&code=01722

And whatever your favorite era is ... Happy Collecting!

I agree! Loved that set when it first appeared and still VERY fond of it. A pity they made so many mistakes with the accuracy, but the poses are really great!

The Crimean 17th Lancers are an excellent set, but I'm very fond of the Strelets Cuirassier sets both winter and summer, they really look the part, big men on big Horses. Strelets Military Order Sergeants from the crusade range are very fine figures

My favourite are the Crimean Russian Terek Cossacks. Beautifully sculpted, well-rounded figures with sharp detail, good anatomy and poses (all the Crimean sets are wonderful though).

In fact I use these Crimean cossacks for Russian Civil War gaming as the dress changed little and I personally think they are far superior to the WW1 cavalry sets in every way.

Dear Streletsiers

Into the Valley of Death - because as I mention it below for those casualty & personality figures but also the 3 cavalry sets (Hussars,LDs,Lancers) . The box gives you a picture to put on the wall plus two contrasting poems by two of Britain's best loved poets to stir up your emotions. What a nice bonus. I can't think of any other plastic figure set that offers such a feast of delights.
I add "up to now" as the best is probably yet to come from Strelets. I don't want them to get too conceited.

David

As a single set these were superb, considering teh high amount of detail not really done by figures in this scale.They look good with strelets figures also.

Hi all

As both a collector and a small scale manufacturer (www.valdemarminiatures.com) I have the following cavalry sets on my most wanted list:

VA202 Teutonic Cavalry Command
Know this is one of my own, but with seperate heads, weapons and some very impressive sculpturing, this is a very nice set and also the pose of a knight mounting his horse is special.

Orion
Their Polish Winged Hussars are fantastic!

Zvezda
Their Livonian knights

Best regards
Valdemar

Gulliver confederates.

Revell's Chassears and their Household Cavalry I think - guys just sitting, swords a believable length, delicate detail, nicely proportioned, round-looking figures. Two of the nicest sets of any subject.

Italeri's Union cavalry and Gulliver's Confederate riders.