I saw those the other day. Very encouraging but HaT have dramatically reduced the rate at which they are issuing new sets. Still waiting so many sets - British early and Middle East come to mind.
Sorry to be a wet blanket. The painting is brilliant, but there are problems. The prone figures with the Hotchkiss mg are Carabiniers Cyclistes.Their tunics and caps should be Hunting Green (vert chasseur) with yellow piping, but no piping on the back. That's confusion with the cavalry tunic, which was shorter and double breasted with raised, piped seams on the back. The Cycliste tunic was like the 1911 Line Infantry tunic, but just a different colour.
From what I can see, this piping is moulded on the figures, which I think is why it appears, incorrectly, on the equally well painted figures here:
http://www.hat.com/Othr9/Laforce20P.html
The trousers should be Belgian Grey, not blue-grey like the infantry.
As for the Line, the bayonets shouldn't be fixed. A royal decree said they shouldn't be fixed or sharpened. The blanket shouldn't be rolled round the pack; for reasons of visibility, it was ordered to be folded and carried under the flap of the pack. And the sculptor seems to have misunderstood how the ventral ammunition pouch attaches to the belt and pack straps; it should be central, with the belt buckle offset to the left, not as it is here.
I see the Heavy Weapons figures are all finished as Carabiniers. I'm sure the first drawings offered a selection of alternative heads: feltmuts, shako, chapeau corse, and bonnet de police. Where have they got to?
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James, your comments are more than valid, after all they're selling them as accurate figures. Personally I still foam at the mouth when I see inaccurate British figures
