The Box
A lively and interesting box, with the cavalry immersed in a formidable charge through a forest, although it is not the best place to charge it makes for a good artwork.
Once open, this is what we see;
SCULPTING - 7.5 out of 10
This is Italeri, a big and powerful company (well, so big and powerful as a model kit & miniature can get!) and there is absolutely no flash (or I have been very lucky, or I have yet to see flash in a Italeri set).
The horses are very well done, very dynamic, some of the best horses I've seen. They have also poses that are not exactly the same as always, which is very welcome.
The figures have very sharp detail, even if they have the typical problem of oversized heads. The poses are active and quite realistic, except the man with the sword (the only figure you get 2 of.) that is really doing nothing, like just speaking with a companion. The rest are really doing something and not in the same poses as always.
Besides this, we get plenty of men using their fire-arms. This is probably what I like the most of this set besides their quantity and unique figures, as always having the cavalry just with swords and all their fire-arms kept in their holsters is boring, and cries for modification, and transforming a sword-holding pose into a fire-arms pose is sometimes very difficult.
If they've had smaller heads, this would be nearly a 10.
HISTORICAL ACCURACY - 7.5
There are some minor flaws,but I am not a enthusiast of this era, and really I don't care if a holster was on the left or on the right, or if I can hardly distinguish the sash. The biggest flaw is the standard bearer, who shouldn't carry a flag, but a guidon, which can be easily fixed.
ARMY REPRESENTATION - 0.5
"The army representation score is the potential of the soldiers to be used for other purposes different to the one originally intended"
Besides cutting the logo in their hats, to make another regiment, you can hardly make anything else. You would need to cut their hats at least, and all the same the jacket is very distinctive, so if you buy them, they'll have to be what they are.
FUNNESS - 8.0
This figures are quite "alive" (as alive as can be a miniature!) with 5 unique men, which is great and very uncommon from Italeri. They are nearly all active, and the man down with the horse trying to get up is a fun addition. Sometimes you think that just Napoleonic and similar eras can't be fun sets, as the brands tends to always make the same poses, with same numbers, with zero imagination, but this a truly different set.
WARGAMING VALUE - 10
Here we have leader, musician, standard bearer, and even captain or sub-commander, which is simply perfect. We have also plenty of men with fire-arms, so you will be able to make something like two regiments, and the quantity is good, 17 figures. Just the wounded man will be unsuitable, but knowing that normally you get 12 men, that is just not losing a bonus. So a full and nice 10 for these men.
PRICE-VALUE RATIO - 9.5
"The price value ratio of this soldiers will vary between any shops you go to, and the best I can do is judge by their average price on eBay"
8 GBP, which is the cheapest eBay price, is very good for 17 cavalrymen. And you can easily spot it in retail shops, so even if you are not a super-enthusiast of this period, you will be attracted to buy it.
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PAINTING AND GLUEING - 9.5
They are made with a semi-hard plastic, which is really adequate for painting them. It also works well with glue. The details are sharp everywhere, and this makes painting them a very easy task.
OVERALL VALORATION - 9.2
Just that had they smaller heads and the faces a bit more normal (they seem a bit childish) this would be a full and nice 10.0. They may be very limited to the American War and not much more, but it is a set where thought and energy have come to it, which instead of a boring typical cavalry set, it becomes special. Add a good price here, and if you are for any reason a tiny bit interested in the period, this is recommended for your next purchase.
Thanks to Miniaturas Aconcagua for his beautifully painted British Light Cavalry.
Make any comment! We´ll love to read it! If you want to share your painted version of this set, send a email to tam_cob@hotmail.com with the subject "Painted Soldiers" and I will include them in this post.
Thanks for reading, and see you in the next battle!
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