Revisions on Napoleonic Russians

Comments

Lord Hill - August 10, 2021

They look fantastic! It’s great to have more plastic bits and bobs to add to/mix with the fantastic sets already on offer from Victrix and Perry brothers. For those of us who love as much variation in our armies as possible, these (and your other sets) are a godsend. Please keep ’em coming! Great work!

Magnus Guild - July 3, 2021

A final (?) point on uniform: Guards would have a and a double-headed eagle shako-plate and a guard star on the cartridge box(heavy infantry) or plain for the light(Egers an Finland). The manufacturer has the choice of putting the grenadier distinction on the cartridge box (like Warlord) and you remove the flames as appropriate, or blank(like Perry) and you have paint it on. The choice of either the 1809 or 1812 shakos is doable.

James - July 2, 2021

These are looking excellent and very much looking forward to these, as the Prussian Reserve Army builder kit was fantastic. The posing is spot on in my view, will keep it simple to assemble and quick to paint, Contary to Jade A Green’s comment, I’d hate an army builder size box with seperate arms, that brings flashbacks to the early victrix sets that while nice took an age to assemble, that would seem to miss the point of the army builder sets.

Some intresting points on the exact histroical accuracy i expect it will be hard to have the perfect kit for both early and late uniforms. Personaly I wouldnt mind any small innacuracies if it gave you flexiability, on a gaming table from 3ft away the shakos give the period away more than the number of buttons, buckles or badges.

If I had once comment/critisim it would be to verify the depth of the eyes on the test sprues, for the prussian reserves these are really sunken into the face.

Pierre Lerdou-Udoy - June 28, 2021

The improvements to the equipment and the body itself are going in the right direction.

On the other hand, I hope that the work on the “kivers” is not finished. Unfortunately, none of the three is correct. Viskovatov’s engravings and Osprey’s MAA (n°185) are clear enough to help :

“Pompons” are missing or misinterpreted : circular before 1812, and oval from this date, but no more black and orange cockade from 1808.
The russian braided/knitted white wool cord (cordon) is not well understood. It appeared in 1808-09. Made in two parts, it went around the whole shako (front and rear sides), with falling rackets (raquettes) only on the right side (just a small wool tassel on the left side) .
1807-1808 shako had leather chin-straps (jugulaires) with a buckle on the right side. The 1812 kiver had brass ones, usually attached under the chin.
The V-shaped reinforcements appeared in year 1809 : most period representations and surviving artefacts have them. The rule should prevail, not the exception.
For information, a shako was to last two years : in 1814-15, models from 1811-1812 were still in use.

As I guess that a historical gamer (or a collector) will not buy miniatures with fancy equipment, “encore un petit effort, Messieurs”…

Magnus Guild - June 25, 2021

The insignia on the cartridge pouch should be a single flamed grenade for infantrymen and three-flamed for grenadiers and egers would have number. Early Napoleonic Russians(1805=7) would require a different set as the equipment was different.

Ian Hannant - June 24, 2021

I disagree with any multipose elements, apart from arms and head – you’re pushing out a block of troops to bulk out a Column. Too much variation just defeats the object.

Kurt Hummitzsch - June 24, 2021

I understand the concept of the army builder set, inexpensive mass figure similar pose set. However Russians do cause a slight problem. In your sample figures you show a later 1812+ grenadier with the narrow plume and the early 1805/1806 shako. The earlier grenadier shako has the “bottle brush” plume which is significantly wider similar to the Prussian grenadiers who influenced the Russians. The problem i see is are you planning a single set or a double set? Single set you currently don’t offer any early grenadiers, you do have the later grenadiers. How many grenadier heads per box? The problem I have with Perry is they don’t give you enough heads to do a full grenadier unit. Warlord provided enough heads to be able to do a full grenadier unit, but I prefer the Perry figures. Of course making your customers remove unwanted plumes may not be great either.
Warlord also does 2 sets, early and late shakoes. I’m not sure trying to make a 50/50 box of early and late shakoes is going to make customers happy. In my own Russian armies I use units in early and late shakoes, but each unit has the same headgear. I also have bottle brush and skinny plume grenadiers. I even mix older and newer flags depending on whether I like the older style or mid style colours better. I have a few units with late war colours too.
My thoughts are that you would be best to go all early heads or later Kiwer, but not both in same box. Customers might want early or late Russians and buying a box of figures when you can’t use half of them doesn’t sit well. Warlord did something like that with their Renaissance range. I bought 2 boxes of cuirassier only to find that I bought a box of plastic horses and riders, and metal cuirassier riders. Put it mildly I wasn’t impressed. They billed me for sprues of riders I won’t have horses for, and then added extra for the metal riders. It felt like I was ripped off.
I’d hate to see similar feelings happening to you as well. The downside being it forces an extra set and the added costs for you.
Best of luck with this idea, I think its a great concept but might be difficult to juggle with such obvious variations on head gear.

Marco - June 24, 2021

please,russian greadcoast for eylau battle

Jules - June 24, 2021

I second Jade A Green. With musket at 45° would be sooo much more than the other manufacturers static poses out there other than that these look great. The greatcoat is superbly big and voluminous as depicted in the old illustrations.

Marian Mull-Heidemann - June 24, 2021

Im totally agree with Jade A Green. You guys need something that makes a different to the other companys products. A specaly in modell ranges like WW2 and napolionic.
I’ve got in mind that the Amrybuilder should be a set you can use to build up a large number of soliders in low time and price. So that is some thing that do not agree with to many ditails and different posions.
maybe you guys could make a set for each army builder for the first rank.
this set could incloud a command crew, and soliders, half one knieing, half one standing.
for all the option with firing guns, and the half with reloding the rifels.

sry for my bad english :D