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
View Entire Thread
Re: WW1 Austrians

Inteligence report suggests its the Schwarzlose M7/12/16 so these figures seem to be intended for the later half of WW1, so some helmets might be in order, the Berndorfer style would be a good idea....

Cheers

Re: WW1 Austrians

The Austrians are very nice, but the figure carrying
the machine gun seems improbable. Perhaps a surrender-
ing figure or a casualty would have been better.

Re: WW1 Austrians

It is in fact a genuine "light" mg used by the austrians and not as heavy as it looks.....

Cheers

Schwarlose M07/12/16

Dear Ironside

I wrote it looked like the M07/12( Schwarzlose maschinengewehr modell 07 modified 1912) M07/16 was for aircraft sans water jacket. The models were 07/08/12/16 = the years. M08/12 were M08 modified to modell 12 standard etc.
See:
http://www.landships.freeservers.com/schwarzlose_mg_info.htm

I have never handled one, only seen them in museums but they could be carried as they were lighter than most other machine guns (Vickers,Maxim) because the delayed blow back system necessitated a short barrel* ( and smaller jacket a bonus). The short barrel in turn required a flash hider (a drawback). The tripods or wheeled carriages were quite substantial so these added significantly to the weight. Sometime after the German MG08/15 (1916?) the Austrians provided a bipod and stock for the M07/12 or M08/12 so this is what could be depicted. I believe the bipod was on the water jacket. They could be used in the assault but firing from the hip is something I would only believe if I saw it.

In fairness the picture is small and dark and he could just be carrying it and when I look again it does look like it has a bipod not a tripod which would reduce the weight.

David

* 20.71 inches as opposed to the German sMG08's 28.1 inches.

Re: WW1 Austrians

I've got a pic of an A-H infantryman in greatcoat carrying the M7/12 on the "supporting frame" that was designed to enable a man to carry the gun on his back. He's holding it in the classic "firing from the hip" stance, but his hands are well forward of the firing mechanism. It's fitted with a shoulder stock, making it similar to the 08/15. It seems that this pose is heroic rather than realistic. Because of the weight, he is having to hold it with both hands near the point of balance, close to where the barrel joins the breech, so it seems to be an impossibility to actually fire it. He would be trying to support a weight of 24kg well away from the point of balance. Even the Lewis couldn't be fired from the hip without a shoulder strap to take the weight. (I know there's a pic of a US soldier firing a Lewis from the shoulder, but I suspect he didn't hold the pose for very long) I think the Strelets pose is a bit romanticised, but we'll have to wait for a decent view of the figure to see what's actually going on.

Re: Re: WW1 Austrians

hello
I suspect, but the pict seems unclear, that the majority of those infantrymen are wearing anklets..which were in fact discarted quite soon in favour of puttees..in later periods picts always show Austrian infantry in puttees. If you want to make conversions..for ex substituting hats with steel helmets or fez (from Hat Egyptian Camel Corps)for Bosnian infantry...anklets are wrong. Finally, being an Italian and having already an Italian WW1 1/72 Army (few horrible Waterloo 1815 infantry plus my own produced and designed metal 20mm Italians 1915 from my former Italwars range) i would like to field those Austrians against them..And always, in Italian Alpine Front, Austrian mountain troops (Landeschutzen, Kaiserjagers ecc...) wear, from the beginning of the war, puttees not anklets. Did somebody have more news on this forthcoming set or is somebody able to see better than me the pictures of those masters?
thanks
Pier Paolo

Re: WW1 Austrians

There does seem to be something not quite right there early war uniforms... late war mg...

Cheers

Re: WW1 Austrians

Folgore makes a very interesting point. In late pictures of A-H storm troops, all are wearing puttees to below the knee. In slightly earlier ones some are wearing a shorter puttee (about 1/3 of the calf), some jackboots, and Alpine troops are wearing long socks to below the knee.

Re: Re: WW1 Austrians

Yes W. tou're absolutly true......Mountain troops appearance is very interesting...i also asw pictures of military guides/high mountain specalist companies (like the famous Sepp Innerkofen (sorry for my spelling)with coloured/checkered socks ..clearly civilian fashion sported by the Alpine guides of those times. My opinion, if i was not wrong in detecting the masters shown in the gallery that anklets are an error. AH infantry of the period, above all if clad with generic long coat and in the field, should be in puttees. Miniatures represented in anklests (like the Hat ones) are really less useful and almost inappropriate. they could be used in the firsts months of Russian Austrian campaign..but also in this case..i'm not convinced about such an appeareance in the field..so perhaps, Strelets designer should correct in time the error. A second element is that the planned Honved cavalry appeared to be, according to Strelets master shown in picture, with helmet. Sorry for my critics..maybe i'm wrong..but could be better to correct in time small errors of a set which seem to be very promising as regard to sculpting and choice of subject.