They don't like Waterloo 1815's set of WW1 Italians in 1/72 at plasticsoldierreview. However the sculpting does not seem that bad to me, the sculptor seems to be the same of the Orion sets and BUM's Spanish Civil War sets.
Any ideas for conversions? Could these figures go as French?
A couple of days ago, plasticsoldierreview reviewed Emhar's Franco-Prussian War 1870/71 French infantry (Hat is planning sets for that conflict as well). What conversions would be necessary to make them 1914/15 French? Regards, Pat
Thanks for the tip. The guy behind "Plastic Soldiers..." has quite high standards when it comes to judging these miniatures, which I think is good (it's a good site), but some of the sets he thinks is poor, a modeler still can make good use of. I saw the set, and liked the the sculpting. I will certainly get them. My complaint is more that there are so many "action" poses in the set, that make them less useful for dioramas.
PSR certainly seem to think so - the Emhar French Infantry are listed under Crimea, FPW, and WW1, but that's pushing things. The red trousers date from 1829 and were still in use in 1914, but there were a lot of minor changes to the rest of the uniform, so these would need quite a bit of fiddly modification for early WW1, most notably the 1888 or 1905 webbing, which had two cartridge pouches. The kepis are OK (just a paint job). However, the 1877 greatcoat had shoulder rolls instead of tassels. The gaiters look too long to pass for the 1913 model. They could be painted as puttees, but when puttees were being introduced the greatcoat was being replaced by the 1914 model, which was single-breasted and had a fall collar. In short, it seems like a lot of trouble to reproduce a very short-lived appearance. The difference seems to be enough for HaT to be planning separate sets of French infantry for the 2 conflicts. I'm tempted to wait and have a look at the other manufacturers' offerings first. HaT, and the promised sets from Caesar and Pegasus.
Pity about the Eyeties. I think they look OK, and the webbing might not be too difficult to fix. Colblimp's dire prediction was actually optimistic - we didn't get four officers, but eight. I'll also be interested to see if HaT's FPW Jaegers will convert to WW1.
I have another idea for these Frenchmen and a couple of other sets, which is top secret at present . All will be revealed as soon as I can get my a into g.
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Hi all, might i suggest that both of these sets may be suitable for conversion to Belgium troops? The Emhar french for Guard units for 1914 naturally the head gear would need changing and the ammo pouch is a little small but could also be changed if desired, none of which should prove a real problem.... The Waterloo Italians may be suitable for mid war Belgium infantry equipted with adrian helmets although as yet Im still not sure about some of the details.....cheers
That's precisely the plan, old boy. The Emhar French and the Airfix/HaT Foreign Legion make an excellent base for 1914 Belgian Infantry. As you say, the ammo pouch is a small problem to fix. There are other ways of producing early War Belgians. More details are on the way.
The trouble with the Italians is that the tunic had no exterior pockets, whereas the Belgian khaki tunic did. The nearest to 1915+ Belgian uniforms is simply a paint job on the Airfix/HaT French.
Incidentally, did your German soldier take up acting after the War?
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
. . . and he'd have said to the sculptor, "Can't you do anything neatly?"
__________________
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
. All will be revealed as soon as I can get my a into g.
. . . and he'd have said to the sculptor, "Can't you do anything neatly?"
