Review Alexander Nevsky from MJ Miniatures

[Nap]

Hi to one and all ,

What better way to celebrate the forth coming new year than to share a release from

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The one I am sharing today is :

Alexander Nevsky​

Lets have a bit of background on this larger than life leader , born 0n 13th May 1221 and dying on November 14th 1263 , famous as a very charismatic leader during a upheaval in the Russian history , culminating in the defeat of the Teutonic Knights at Lake Peipus on April 5th 1242 , perhaps more commonly known as "The Battle of the Ice" as the majority of fighting was done on the frozen lake itself.

Alexander was used for propaganda by the Russians to stir the fighting spirit of the people against the German invaders in WW2 , there are many places named after him including one of the highest Russian awards .

He has been depicted in Russian Films one in 1938 , more details are available on this and others on You Tube where you can see some good battle scenes which last over 30mins.

He was made a saint and was without doubt a inspirational military leader .

The release has been inspired by the latest of the films depicting Alexander

Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Nap]

Hi Guys ,

Lets see what we are hopefully enjoying today :

Title: Alexander Nevsky , The Battle of Lake Peipus , April 5 1242

Reference: MJ09-006

Scale: 1/9th

Material: Gray Resin

No of pieces: 9 plus a wire

Sculptor: Chung-Sik, Lee

Box Art: Man-Jin, Kim


As always with MJ Miniatures packaging is very good a strong box with the great box art on the top as usual , colour quality is really good with the parts being held safely in bags inside an additional large bubble wrap bag.

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Parts consist of: the torso , 2 arms , a set of hands , 2 heads , the helmet , the face mask , sword blade, a base and a piece of wire to make the cord for the crucifix thats sits in the middle of his chest.

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Prep...

Torso...a casting plug to remove from underside if you do not use the base or clean up as it matched the base cutout if you choose to use it.​

Arms...tiny excess resin flash on the inside areas where it fits to the body with a couple of small plugs to remove on the right one underneath the lower arm

Helmet...small casting plug to cut off the top finial , slight bit of flashing on the edge of the neck mail and a fine casting line on the helmet and mail .

Hands..2 plugs to cut away

Face Mask...small plug to cut away from the chin area

Heads...full one has 2 small plugs to take off underneath , the other nothing

Sword ...removal from the former

Basic Build details ....the arms fit in perfectly after the prep , as does the head whichever you choose , I would suggest you pin the sword , if you choose the helmet version you could fit the face mask to the helmet as the hinge is cast on the mask...allowing display of the full helmet and face....or you could use the bareheaded version..the choice is yours.

Suffice to say all areas show sculpting of the highest order as is the casting

Lets look at the resin now beginning with the Torso

The sculptor has used the latest film as inspiration so the depiction is quite dramatic and cinematic , not that this is a bad thing , in addition I feel it also has a slight fantasy feel to it particularly the bareheaded version.

They say a picture tells a thousand words but my words are that the sculptor has shown great skill in the armour and individual plates , overlapping really nicely , great undercuts on all of them both front and back . At the sides we have the straps under we can see mail , moving up to the neck area this has a nice scalloped shape again with the mail being depicted well.

In the centre we have the crucifix , a really good shape and the figure on it is nicely detailed....dont forget to add that cord ( a wire has been included for this purpose)

Onto the Arms

Fit to the torso is spot on with no filler needed on both sides , looking at either side we are treated to the same high quality work , undercuts are particularly noticeable at the shoulders. , the wrist and lower arms have wrap around plates , very sharply done, same quality work on the mail and the folds of the heavy material under the mail looks very well done naturally positioned at the elbow bend.

Now to the Hands

These are clasped together holding the sword handle , , fingers are nicely shaped gripping with the edge of the sleeve showing at the wrist , on the visible ends we can see the fingernails .

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The sword handle has a simple pommel at the end with a cutout at the top of the hands ready to receive the sword blade

Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Viking Bob]

Nap,
I don't know how you do it but you must live at The British Library or some other institution.
The information you give each review is excellent and the person who buys this product, need look no further than this.
(I didn't see your name in the new years honours list for services rendered to PF)
Excellent stuff Nap.
All the best

 

[Nap]

Now to the final pieces:

Beginning with the Full head

This is depicted using the film character and is a very close representation of the subject , we see long flowing hair streaming towards the back of his head , the hair strands are well done , (its probably the hair that has a fantasy feel to the bust), casting quality has gain been high. facial features are of a good looking man ( bit like me really...LOL!!) , the sculptor has worked a wispy beard on him , quite delicate in style so careful painting folks!! , good facial features , sharp on definition and casting again being very good .

Fit to the torso is very clean with the head turned slightly to the left.

Now to the Other head

This is used when choosing the helmet and is exactly the same as the other in quality , you have the choice to paint the full piece and have the mask hinged held up or just paint the eyes and fit the mask...great option IMO.

The Helmet

This is a great bit of work in all areas from the design around the finial to the beautiful edge designs at the front we have a warrior with spear and bow ..this is one piece that will really look fantastic painted . Hanging out from the helmet is a mail neck curtain , sitting naturally on the torso , as with other mail details are nice .

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The Mask

Its enough to say it can be fitted direct or hinged up , I like the latter version myself , fit to the face itself is a nice clean match , the mask features stylised eyes ( open sockets) , nose and mouth are good as well. ( This reminds me of the parade masks seen in the Roman army and also sometimes used by the signifer's ) .



The Sword blade

Gocd shape particularly on the edges , certainly a killing machine in the hands of Nevsky , the crosspiece is shaped on each end like an axe simple but effective. The central piece known as a fuller ( thanks Helm) is well worked with one side having an inscription on it ..very well done.

The Base

This is the normal one , nicely shaped, slightly angled and fit is by using the cutout to match the lug on the torso underside..perfectly useable or if you remove the lug then a brass rod can be used.

Final Thoughts

This is a piece that adds another good subject to the MJ catalogue , as said details are well done and very well cast , this is a piece that has several options which is nice to see , preparation is minimal as normal with MJ's releases, you can go wild with the battle effects ( blood etc) or paint him cleaner , either way a great addition to the cabinet .


For more information on this and other releases go to the website

www.mj-miniatures.co.kr/

email : [email protected]

or contact MJ via PF Messaging

Thanks for looking in and a Happy new year to all ...see you in 2016

Nap

 

[Nap]

Hi ,

Following on from the review lets end the year on a high and have pictures of the box art from a great ambassador to our art ....MJ Kim .

Enjoy

Nap

 

[Viking Bob]

Excellent Nap, good job.

 

[Nap]

Cheers Bob

Appreciate your input

As for New Years Honours ...must be in the post !

Thanks for looking in

Nap

 

[swralph]

Great review Nap.

 

[red tom]

Damn! I have already begun to convert the Saladin bust to Nevsky. Coincidentally I watched the latest film on Tuesday. The lake where the battle was fought is Lake Chudskoe, I have been there. There is a large Soviet style concrete monument there. I have also seen his helmet but have never got to see his original grave.
This one wearing the mask is a must for me, Kev.

 

[Helm]

Just an aside the groove on the blade is called a fuller and is nothing to do with blood, but is a method of lightening the blade without weakening it
Steve

 

[Nap]

Just an aside the groove on the blade is called a fuller and is nothing to do with blood, but is a method of lightening the blade without weakening it
Steve

Thanks for pointing that out Steve , that's in my info storage .

Nap

 

[Helm]

A fuller is a tool used in the trade of blacksmithing to produce a rounded or beveled groove or slot in the flat side of a blade (e.g. a sword, knife, or bayonet), and it also refers to the grooves made by these tools. These grooves are often called "blood grooves" or "blood gutters" as well as fullers, although their purpose has nothing to do with blood. A fuller is often used to lighten the blade, much the way that the shape of an I-beam allows a given amount of strength to be achieved with less material. When combined with proper distal tapers, heat treatment and blade tempering, a fullered blade can be 20% to 35% lighter than a non-fullered blade without any sacrifice of strength or blade integrity. This effect lessens as the blade is reduced in length. While this groove is often called a "fuller" by sword enthusiasts, it is the tool used to make the groove which is actually a fuller and the blade is said to be "fullered" after introduction of the groove.
More here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuller_(weapon)

 

[Wings5797]

Brilliant review Kevin.
Many thanks for the work that you put in to these informative reviews.
All the very best,
Keith