Review Cuirassier Bust from Dolman Miniatures

[Nap]

Hi to all out there on this planet,

The impact of heavy cavalry in any army during the Napoleonic wars was immense , thundering down in tightly packed ranks onto the infantry , the most instantly known was of course Napoleons cuirassiers , along side the armoured carabiniers , Doman have released the Carabinier which I reviewed here on PF http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...er-from-dolman-miniatures.67280/watch-confirm.

Alongside they have now released the Cuirassier as well and that's what we will look at in this thread.

There are some really useful information on these troops on the original release thread from Dolman here:http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...ish-and-french-cuirassier.66884/watch-confirm.

The release title quotes the Spanish regiment this was the 13th formed from the 1st Provisional Heavy Cavalry Regt using the same equiptment as the French Regiments apart from the uniform colour of a deep red almost a crimson according to regulations although with the cheap dyes of the period this faded to a brown colour.

The bust could be painted in any of the Cuirassier regiments simply by research into the facing colours and we have the option of a sword or a pistol being used...good to have the choice, so well done Dolmam

Books are many of course here are a couple of good ones to read and have in the library.

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Onwards we go into the charge

Lets see what we are looking at:


Title: Spanish Cuirassier Napoleonic Wars

Scale: 1/12th

Material: Resin and White Metal

No of parts : 12 in total

Sculptor: P Szymczyk

Box Art: Eduardo Sanchez

As with all of Dolmans products they were held in bags surrounded by bubble wrap held in a clear fold over container.

Box Art is of course by Eduardo showing the 2 options one Spanish the other French , both armed differently with the 2 options , the spanish looking a bit purple but is infact red ..the joys of photography!!!

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Parts are of both Resin and White Metal , the resin being the torso , the arms (the right less hand) , the helmeted head with the white metal parts being the 2 hands (gauntlets) , these are right hand ones , a choice of one holding the sword or a pistol then we have the sword blade and the hand guard ,the helmet mane, there is also the mechanism for the pistol , the same as the Carabinier with the exception of the helmet which also include the small front piece and the plume in white metal.



Lets look at the Resin parts first :

The main Torso , like the Carabinier he is wearing the armoured breast and rear pieces this time without the sunburst , details are good with the same clarity in casting seen , nice details on the retaining straps as well , the cuirass lining is well worked at the sleeve openings .There is a casting plug to remove from the undersides and some lines to deal with as well but all not beyond the average modeller .



Now to the arms , these are like the Carabinier with the right being without a gauntlet , this being the weapon hand , more on this later , the left is gaulented with good details on the gripping hand ready for the reins (not included in review model), folds on the clothing are natural the shoulders have the epaulettes fringes in keeping with the pose of the bust ...in action. , fit into the shoulder area's needed a bit of work and the use of some filler but when done look really good in position.


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Lets finish the resin ..

The head next this is helmeted as with the Carabinier showing nice detail on the hemet furniature in particular the chinscales , facial attitude is of a man who is in the midst of battle , a shouting mouth wide open, teeth showing , this area shows really nice details , the eyes are fairly easy to get at under the peak . There is a casting remnant on the lower neck and a line at the back of the head to sand away and when done fit to the torso area is fine.


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Lets now look at the remaining parts all of which are in white metal.

Firstly the right gauntlet , you have the choice of 2 to choose from ( good idea to have this option) one is holding a sword the other a pistol .

The one with the sword is good with the sword knot around the wrist , this is well details the fingers are gripping the handle tightly .

Prep on both was the sanding down of a small plug where it meets the rein arm( PIN it!!!) with a casting line to sand down as well .


The sword blade fits into a locating hole kindly provided but I would suggest redrilling to deepen it slightly.
The sword is a very good piece of work super smooth and is sharp even in this scale ,when in position it is very striking, no prep was needed.

The picture also shows the mechanism for the pistol and the top plume for the helmet as well as the sword guard....all are well sculpted.



The top piece for the helmet will need to be drilled just to be safe ,fitting is a little fiddly but is nicely done it looks the part

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The long flowing mane is an area that shows good surface texture , blowing in the fury of the melee ,this is distinctive of a cuirassier, dry fit this before commiting to the glue.

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The plume is the same high standard as in the other release , well defined again I would recommend drilling this ​

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Final thoughts:​

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This is a nice piece from Dolman which will be compared with other release's but as has been said you can never have enough and no one company has the monopoly on a subject .​

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It is well sculpted and presented as usual for some the choice of White Metal might seem a little unusual in our resin world but Dolman have the knack of achieving really fine details in this material so all credit to them . Good idea to have the option of the sword or pistol.​

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This makes a good companion piece for the previous release of the Carabinier​

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For more details on this and others from Dolman go to their website (you will also find references to look at for all the releases).​

www.dolmanminiatures.com​

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Lets see some more of the box art from Eduardo:

Enjoy the modelling whatever you choose to paint​

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Thanks to Dolman for the review piece and cheers to you all for looking in​

Thanks for looking in​

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Nap​

 

[Vitalino]

Another Great Review!!!

Thank you Nap

Vitalino

 

[EDUARDO SANCHEZ BARBERO]

Great Kevin....

 

[Nap]

Great Kevin....

Pleasure Eduardo glad you are pleased good luck with the new fantasy range looks interesting

Nap

 

[Wings5797]

Thanks Kevin,
Another great review Mate. A nice little duo from Dolman.
Cheers,
Keith

 

[swralph]

Great review Kevin
Ralph.

 

[Zastrow.cuirassier]

Great review as always !