Review French Sapper from Nuts Planet

[Nap]

Hello everyone,

We all know of the company from Korea who have been delighting us with releases since they began production in 2013 but till now we have had no Napoleonic so its good to be able to share my thoughts on the latest bust from them.

It is of course this

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The Imperial Guard is famous for being an elite and envied by the line regiments they were better paid , better clothed, better weapons and only exposed to battle on approval of Napoleon himself , the soldiers adored their emperor and he them .

Criteria to be considered for the Consular Guard from which the Imperial were formed included:

- to have be on active service.
- to have made at least 4 campaigns,
- to have obtained rewards granted to brave men by feat of arms or brilliant deed, or to have been wounded
- to be at least 179 cm (5'6") tall for grenadiers, and at least 173 cm (5'4") for the chasseurs
- and to always have held an irreproachable conduct.”

Between 1806 and 1810 the Guard's uniforms had cost 20 million francs!!

Nicknames of Old Guard:
- "The Grumblers"
- "The Eagles"
- "The Gaiter Straps"
- "The Supporters of the Usurper"

One of the most famous incidents in the Moscow campaign was the burning of the eagles

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Sappers were the largests of the men , strong and powerful positioned at the front portraying a image of Napoleonic pride

, beards were compulsory , but blonde or ginger was not accepted only dark hair !!! Wearing leather aprons and the finest of equipment and uniforms they certainly looked imposing.

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This is a Guard Chasseur Sapper above​

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Here is a weapon type normally carried by Sappers.

Sappers were also in Line Regiments as well as cavalry units but the Imperial Guard was looked at in awe.

There was also a Dutch Imperial Guard who also had Sappers and dressed as their French counterparts

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As always books are many here are some from my library

Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Nap]

Lets see what we have in the box

Title: Sapper Foot Grenadiers of the Guard

Reference: NP-B022

Scale:: 1/10th

Material: Gray Resin

No of parts: 10

Sculptor : Jun Sik Ahn

Box art : Myeong-ha Hwang


As with all the releases the resin is held in a strong box in the distinctive blue covered with colour pictures of the box art , parts were held between foam layers with the smaller pieces in a sealed clear bag
Parts consist of the torso the head , backpack , one arm (right) the right hand which is gloved up , plume , the hanging cords , a swivel for the weapon, the weapon itself and a pipe for our sapper to enjoy ,and of course a base.

Prep
Torso...Casting plug to remove from under left arm
Head...Small block to remove from under neck
Arm...Remove plug from behind epaulette
Gloved hand..Excess resin from glove top and small plugs to take off from axe head
Weapon, Swivel.. Small plug to cut off from edge of weapon ,drill out barrel if you wish and fit swivel
Backpack...Casting gate to take off from underneath
Plume, Cords, Pipe.... small plugs to take off and then fit

Looking at the parts now

We will look at the Torso in this part the remaining pieces in the next

Torso this is the largest of the resin pieces consisting of the body with the left arm (the right having a cutout ready to fit).

The details are really well sculpted buttons are of particular note with the imperial eagle being seen , the uniform shows good folds and undercuts , straps are also very sharply sculpted , sitting correctly into the clothing , there are the backpack straps and the weapon one also on the left shoulder.

The epaulette sits well on the shoulder and are very good with the hanging cords all individually being textured as in the original .

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The cross belts again have really good undercuts the buckle details are excellent with the ends being held correctly in place , there is a wonderful Medussa image under which we see the crossed axes of his trade, needless to say the sculpting will make painting really enjoyable.

On his chest we have the Legion d'honneur proudly worn of course and hard earned in battle , the medal again has fine detail showing but the ribbon is perhaps a tiny bit small .

Collar details are again all there to see , the collar being pushed slightly down with the neck

At the rear we have a cutout to take the backpack

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Continued in next post

Nap

 

[mick3272]

Usual standard of review Kev. And he has a medal what more could you want mate
Mick

 

[Nap]

Now to the Head and Cords and Plume

The Head our sapper wears the bearskin with the height looking good to me when its fitted to the torso., the texture of the bearskin is very strongly defined but when painted it seems to tone down , saying that the work on the textures is 1st class , we have the cords running across , as expected these are really nicely done with a small depression to fit the hanging cords (raquettes) . on top we have the circular pieces with the grenade finely shown ...a trade mark of the grenadiers .

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The facial features are good with a fine looking beard , eye and nose shapes are very good with the ears peeking out from the bearskin and showing the same care. This is a strong looking character face looking straight ahead , a powerful image.

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The cords fit neatly into a depression on the bearskin again with excellent surface details being evident , there are 2 , one sitting on top the other .








The Plume also has a cut out on the bearskin ready to fit , this allows a correct positioning , the plume itself has very fine details all over exactly as it should be , in place its sits tall and prominant

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the disc at the base of the plume also has great details with the eagle in the middle

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Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Nap]

Onto the remaining pieces

The Arm this consist of 2 pieces the actual arm and the gloved hand which holds the axe.

The shoulder has the Epaulettes fringes matching the other in quality and sculpting . fit to the torso is fine , no filler needed on my dry fit test , folds of the clothing are really well done with the crossed axe badge being worn of the arm itself as on the other side again .

The wrist area is shaped very cleverly to receive the inside of the leather gauntlet , this is a good representation of the heavy protection needed by these sappers in order to do their job although I am sure they were not always worn!!

The hand grips the axe handle well , I am pleased it was cast in one piece , there was a slight bend on the handle below the glove but a quick dip into very hot water ( carefully ) solved this easily.

The axehead is the correct shape , size wise it might have been a bit larger but again in place looks good and a real danger to those on the receiving end!!!

The Backpack this is not the full version but approximately 75% , on top we have the blanket roll or greatcoat , the backpack has really good surface work with the straps being well undercut and good buckle details .

The roll on the top is held in place by straps , the ends neatly rolled on the top , the contents have a covering over , this shows good folds and surface movement .

The Weapon the sapper has been given a fusil its only the top part which needs the swivel fitted carefully and then attached to the cast strap ...delicated work ..be careful of that carpet monster.!!
Details on the weapon are good with the securing pieces/bands being evident


The Pipe and the Swivel ..these are small and easily lost especially by me!!! but when in place look very good , the pipe adding a nice touch to the piece

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The Base this is the standard pillar shaped one we have seen in previous busts and more than suitable for the purpose , fit is spot on to the underside of the torso ..I would suggest pinning as well

Final Thoughts

I for one was very pleased we have a Napoleonic subject , its another good line of history to go to and adds another dimension to the releases from Nuts Planet , well sculpted , and cast , great presentation ...buy any of Nuts stuff and you know what you will get on opening the box ...QUALITY

For more details on this and other releases from Nuts have a look at their website

www.nutsplanet.com

or follow on FB and here on PF

Thanks to Nuts for the Review model and for you all for looking in

Couple of box art pictures to finish off

Enjoy them and your modelling

Nap

 

[Tonton]

That's one heck of a sculpt and a superb paint job.

Jeff

 

[Viking Bob]

Any one want to a kidney! (Bugger) This is a superb sculpt and as you say the casting is second to none. This has gone straight to the top of "I want it now list".
Excellent review Nap, as always.

 

[Wayneb]

Great review on a great piece.I know I would save that pipe till last and still end up breaking it.........Wayne

 

[Jimbo]

Cracking good review Kev of an excellent product from Nuts,
Cheers
Jim

 

[smudger1960]

Superb,I have mine on order and can't wait to wet my brushes on this

 

[Tommi]

Very nice review Nap on another cracking piece from Nuts Planet. The casting for this bust is outstanding and I only spent about 10 mins max cleaning up ready for priming.

Tommi

 

[mick3272]

Superb,I have mine on order and can't wait to wet my brushes on this

Why does this not surprise me mate.
Look forward to seeing it
Mick

 

[smudger1960]

Why does this not surprise me mate.
Look forward to seeing it
Mick

Fell in love with this mick as soon as I saw it

 

[Wings5797]

Thank you for a great review Kevin.
Another cracking subject and sculpt from Nuts.
All the best.
Keith

 

[storm_zh]

Thank you for the great review as always Kevin. I just got mine a couple of days. This bust is of top notch quality in both sculpting and casting. Would love to take my brushes on it when having time.