Review Hand Gunner from IL-Miniatures

[Nap]

Hi Folks

I was very lucky and happy to receive this release to review from a new company , set up by a PF member:

Ilya Branshteyn

The company IL Miniatures is based at Passau in Bavaria

This is the 1st of the releases from them the other ( a WW2 pilot ) and this has also been reviewed by video by Philip Koch here on PF

Martin Rohmann posted about both releases here:https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/il-miniatures-germany-news.193006/

So here is my look at this ( I will add some references at the end of the review )

Details of the release:

Title:European Soldier with Hand Bobarde

Reference: IL-B001

Scale: 1/10th

Material: Lt Gray resin

No of parts: 23

Casting: In House

Sculptor: Viktor Voronenko

Box Art : None on review box

It seem that all company's are taking a little more thought in the packaging giving a better presented product to customers and this is evident in this release with the container being a metal tin , certainly keeping all resin safely

A clear picture on the front and underside with the IL Miniatures details with the parts being well packed bubble wrap ( smaller parts are in a seal lock bag )



Note: Be careful opening the pieces up there are 2 very small items ..we don't want you feeding the carpet monster

Parts consist of Torso, shoulder piece ( with head ) , 2 arms , 2 helmets, 1 visor , 2 bags , 1 canteen , weapon staff, 2 versions of the actual gun, , powder horn , upper part of the sword, 4 straps , the match to light the weapon and a post as a base

Prep

• Torso and shoulder piece ...Sanding around underneath and fit together

• Arms...Remove excess resin from inside at top prior to fitting ( some use of filler will be needed )
• Helmets ....Choose which version firstly , fit visor if that one ...you will have a small amount of flashing to clean away...BE CAREFUL as these are well cast but thin !!! , then fit the 2 tiny studs if using the visor
• Bags/Canteen...slight clean up and fit to position ( smaller bag has a casting post to cut away
• Hand Gun ...choose which version ( rounded version had a very fine casting line to remove and simply fit to staff
• Sword...Slight cleanup on the pommel and then fit
• Straps ...carefully put into position ( reference to pics will assist )
• Match ...fit to hand ( don't forget to align with the touch hole on weapon )
• Base...Fit to underside of torso

As you might have gathered not much to think about and certainly a good start from IL , my thoughts on seeing this release was that it would it look good with another release I looked at as well

General comments:

Casting is throughout very good , nice undercuts and no air holes to deal with
Lets look at the 2 larger pieces first

Torso


Wearing a padded jack underneath showing some good stitch work on the sections with the material working its way over the belts as you would expect

Over this he has a front and back armoured piece ( the front has a slight blemish which a tiny bit of putty will deal with, rivets around the edges ) this could also be painted as a leather item

Around the shoulders there is a oak leaf shaped clothing , this adds more interest to the piece

There are straps holding in the armour ..good buckle details with straps also in place around the body

The neck area is rough but it doesn't matter as this is fully hidden with the shoulder piece in place

On the underside a sunburst design ...a nice idea but not needed IMO as this will barely be seen when on display





Shoulder piece

This piece has the shoulder being covered with padded material again stitching is there with straps being cast on ...Note: When it place there is no join when matching to the torso piece

He wears a padded hood , stitched on each section ( interesting to say that when making it was ensured the the needle went completely through all layers otherwise the strength would be less)

Under the chin we see a straps that was used to secure the helmet ..nice undercuts

The face is completely surrounded by material revealing just the front part ...this is a serious looking soldier , the head turned to the right , eyes are nicely done , the flesh is a full faced individual , good work on the mouth and nose details as well.










Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Nap]

On now to the remaining resin

Arms

Positioned ready to fire the weapon the right holding the firing match , the left holding the weapon prior to ignition !!!

As with the torso the arms are coveed in a thick sectioned jack both show wear in the form of torn area's and also wear at the cuffs , at the shoulders the oak leaf styling continued

Fitting is easy but you will need filler , but nothinng too major

The hands are really very good indeed in definition , finger nails including , on the inside of the right there is a small slither of resin to remove if you wish to , the right is half open allowing the weapon to fit well into position







Equipt ( bags, canteen , sword, powder horn )

2 bags are included , the larger for personal items including ammunition , bullet mould , nice thing to see is that its showing wear and tear along the lower edges , there is a strap holding the bag together , fitting to the straps running across the torso accurately just behind the smaller of the 2 bags on the right



The smaller bag (possibly for money etc ) is shaped with a 7 studs in a circular design on each side , slipping behind the bag is a dagger which needs the casting plug removed at top , these were used for eating and many other things in day to day use including fighting



Canteen is circular in shaping , these were also used for powder and metal ( tin ) as well as for water , around the edge a strap , looping over at the top ( these are open to take a strap ( with the circular attachment) , Fitting is to the left hip using the post and hole provided ( I would suggest drilling out again )



The sword is just the top part in a scabbard the handle detail is simple in shaping with a circular pommel the grip having cording wrapped around



The powder horn is as it says for powder , well styled and fitting just in front the small bag



Straps/visor ends

Fitting as you will see in the pictures , they are delicate , be careful fitting the ringed ones , slight bit of flashing on these , should you break then using a rounded piece of wire will more than be suitable as a replacement



The visor ends are tiny and easily dropped so keep an eye on them !!! , I might suggest you fit the visor version last to avoid mishaps !!!



Helmets( Sallet ), Visor

2 version are available bioth are great options , one with a slit at the front the other with a visor that can be fitted into what position you want including full facial cover , this goes for the other version

Both are very well cast with a tiny bit of flashing and samll excess resin to carefully remove ...they are quite delicate





Front view
Inside



Continued in next part

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[Nap]

Onto the final pieces

The Hand held weapon

Again we are spoilt for choice 2 versions are offered one rounded the other shaped , both are a fine choice , both have the touch holes ..think I prefer the shaped version


There is also the actual staff the weapon was fitted to , wooden effects as expected ...fit if the barrel is easy and I for one would not wish to fire this !!!



The same detail applies to the match he holds to light this fearsome weapon ..more dangerous to the firer I think !!! ( You can see this on the right of the picture of the straps )

Base

A good substantial resin post is provided that fit securely into the underside with ease ...you can of course paint as you wish or replace with an actual brass rod ...choice is yours




Final Thoughts

A very good 1st release from IL miniatures so well done to them , casting is good with nothing major being needed in prep , a different subject matter as well , lots of different textures to get the brush round . Perhaps a small diagram for fitting the parts into place might be an idea .

Certainly a company to watch out for future releases , Ilya is certainly not sticking to one period which is good to see.

RECOMMENDED to you all

Thanks to IL Miniatures for the review item

For more information and to oder

Website: WWW.ILMINIATURES.COM

Email: [email protected]

PM via this forum ...his avatar

And of course to you all for looking in


Lets end this part with some pictures of the unpainted version from the website

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Nap]

As promised some references

And some great books I heartily recommend you look at getting






Happy modelling







Nap

 

[Babelfish]

Yet another half-figure inaccurately described as a "bust".

A fantastic sculpt though, and a great-looking piece that I'm sure will be popular. I do like these late-medieval/early modern "transition" pieces where sundry hacking & stabbing weapons are found in use alongside primitive firearms.

- Steve

 

[Gary_81]

Great review Nap. It's an interesting model and the sculptor has really captured the focused look on the gunners face.

Gary

 

[Sven]

Nap, I really appreciate all the work you put in this reviews. And I salute your taste. Only the best are going to be reviewed.

 

[Nap]

Nap, I really appreciate all the work you put in this reviews. And I salute your taste. Only the best are going to be reviewed.

Hi Sven

Thanks for looking in , all those that are good enough to review put a lot of work in ......not sure about my taste ..lol

Now the quality of releases is very high so perhaps hard to not show some of the best

Please do feel free to review

Happy benchtime

Nap