As it is technically a law to bring Monty Python into everything at some stage (If nerds had a bible then this law would be in Genesis 1.1.1).. now for something completely different.
Something in 120mm actually.
Way back when I started painting I was a big fan of the 120mm figures produced by companies such as Fort Royal Review, The Roll Call and Imperial Gallery, all sadly long since departed (though a US Company called The Lost Battalion seems to have bought a lot of the sculpts, you can check them out at http://www.tlbminiatures.com/ ).
One of the sculptors for Roll Call was the very talented Maurice Corry and I was really pleased to see new work from him released and more pleased to buy a kit from him direct on Ebay uk.
As a bit of background to my purchase, I was reading Max Hastings's Korean War book again the other day. Max Hastings is a decent war historian and even though I found his Falklands material a little self aggrandising, his Korean War book is an excellent overview of the conflict.I also had a Company Commander who was a Major in the Gloucesters when I was in UOTC, some moons ago, and so Imjin River and its battle were something I had heard quite a bit about. Additionally, for those who have served or are interested in British forces in general, the 'right' figures tend to be a little few and far between, so it is great to see a new one.
So all in all when I saw the Gloucester figure I thought..that's one for me!
Having received the kit I thought I would offer a quick overview of it in its unbuilt form and post some pictures of the resin parts 'in the flesh'. I have not cleaned the kit up or removed moulding plugs, the pieces are literally straight out of the bag.
The kit comes in a ziplock bag with a single A4 sheet of instructions that, usefully, includes a colour representation of the camouflage pattern common to SAS smocks of the time, though most modellers will seek out other references. There are also some notes on the general gear and equipment. There are no assembly instructions, but the figure is sufficiently straightforward not to need them. No straps for the weapon are provided but the kit notes indicate these should be easy to fabricate from thin card or paper.
A quick note on the figure's material. Most people buying figures in this scale will have some expertise working with resin. For anyone who doesn't, beware of resin dust when removing moulding plugs. I find the best way to clean up the parts is to take a saw to the major plugs and sand the rest away with wet and dry sand paper, being careful not to eliminate any details. Prior to assembly I usually wash the castings in soapy water and give them a bit of a scrub with a toothbrush, this eliminates any casting residue and indeed grease from handling the parts during cleaning up. Assembly is with superglue or two part epoxy, pinning the major joints with brass rod using a pin vice.
The 14 kit parts are very cleanly cast in a creamish resin that holds a good level of detail. The sculpture is really well done, well proportioned and the pose is excellent, with the Sergeant looking off into the distance, perhaps reflecting on a hard battle, either gone or to come. The face detail is particularly clean.
There is a well sculpted sandbag supplied for the Sergeant to rest his foot on (not pictured), any other base will have to be provided by / built by the modeller.
There are some small sub assemblies for the weapon (a nicely modelled SMG), with the pistol grip being cast into the figure's gloved hand. The webbing pouches, left boot and water bottle are also provided as separate castings.
The right and left legs are moulded separately but a quick test fit shows they should go together well with perhaps a modicum of filler. Again, a locator plug is provided to help the modeller get the pose 'just so'.
All in all this is a quality casting from a great sculptor. Its as good in the resin flesh as it looks in its advert.
I look forward to cleaning this one up, assembling it and getting some paint on it. Whether I can do the sculpt justice is another blog entry entirely!
Maurice Corry has some WW2 Germans and (very tempting)Falklands soldiers (both Argentinian and British) in his new range and people interested in buying the models can contact him at mcorry1ATaol.com or therollcall2ATyahoo.co.uk. A search for 120mm resin on Ebay uk will also show the kits he currently has for sale. Well worth a look for any fan of big scale figures (and quite a change if you have been squinting at 28mm models for a while!).
For anyone who wants to know a little more about the battle mentioned above, this is a fairly good basic starting point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Imjin_River
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