Latest from The Pony Soldier

[Nap]

Hi guys ,
Thought you might be interested in a review of Pony Soldiers "First Consul", first the pictures
Nap

 

[Nap]

First Consul -Review

After the pictures heres my review :

First a bit of background:

Napoleon known to his devoted men as “The Little Corporal” was born on the 15th August 1769 at Ajaccio in Corsica, after a meteoric rise he was made First Consul in 1799 (declared Consul for life in 1802) who went on to beat the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo on June 14th 1800, naming one of his horses after the victory, he then went on to lead the French and create a myth to all both then and now.

On to the model now:

The latest release from Terry Karselis at The Pony Soldier depicts him in the uniform he wore at Marengo which is based on a painting by David currently on show at the Musee de Invalides in Paris in which he is wearing a blue coat with a red collar with gold embroidery, there are other pictures of him wearing a similar cut of coat but all in red so there are several painting option available.

As with all products from The Pony Soldier, it comes well packed in a strong cardboard box (no box art was available at the time of review due to it being so new …perhaps a start of a series?), also included is a brief history together with painting instructions.
Cast in a well cleaned cream resin with no visible casting lines to deal with, it consists of just 1 piece in about 250mm scale. Terry has captured the young and dashing Napoleon spot on , with some really nice facial details , of particular note is the nose and cheeks with the eyes also being well defined , he has long hair and wears a stock all of which are also well sculpted .Moving onto the coat , nice folds and button details with the gold decoration being finely defined also , even on the undersides of the turned down collar , which looks in scale thickness , all of these details and sculpting will no doubt aid the painting .
After a quick wash to remove any releasing fluid, it’s a simple matter of priming (I use Mr Surfacer 1000 available from MDC) and then getting your preferred painting medium out. As I said there are several options available, I will be doing the Red coated version …but it’s up to you, just check your references!
Speaking of references, many are of course available, if you Google it’s amazing what you can come up with...I found a wine stained sleeve off the red coat! Obviously there are the Osprey series of books with a very good article on all of Napoleons uniforms in Military illustrated No 117, with www.napoleon.org and www.napoleonichistory.com being a good start for websites.
Well do I like this bust …a resounding YES , this is a quality bust with great sculpting and I highly recommend it ,painted it will be a classic addition to the display cabinet of this much loved and inspirational leader ..whichever version you choose to do.
To order this at the reasonable cost of $30 plus P&P (approx £24) contact The Pony Soldier quoting EU-01 via their website www.ponysoldierminiatures.com or contact Terry by e mail on [email protected] .

Nap

 

[Nap]

Napoleon- as First Consul

Hi guys ,
Thought I would post a picture of the man himself in a red coat , nice variation to the Blue version ...check all your references (see my review!!) , you'll need to rework the gold lacing if you go with the red coat !!!!...as you can see from this Terry has captured the high cheekbones , nose and general features .
Nap

 

[captnenglish]

Thanks for the review, looks like another bust destined for my grey army

 

[Bluesking]

He can command my grey army too.

 

[gorgosaurus]

Appointed Consul the year your born and defeating the Austrians at Marengo at less than a year old can only be called a meteoric rise!

Spike. =;~}>

 

[Nap]

Oops

Spike ,
Oh ok then you spotted the finger trouble ...embarresment !!!!! ..all now changed ......THANK YOU for pointing this out .

Nap

 

[Martin Antonenko]

Hi Nap!

A good friend of mine is very inspired of this bust and wants to know where he can buy one.

Can you help him? ...

Thank you already!

Cheers

 

[Martin Antonenko]

Really no one who can help my friend to get this bust...?

Cheers

 

[Nap]

Martin ,
Just catching up on posts after no internet for a month !!!!...can I sugest that your friend contacts Terry direct via his e mail [email protected](not sure if Pony Soldier are still trading though), you could also try The Red Lancer as he might be able to help .

Sorry I can't be more helpful

Nap

 

[Martin Antonenko]

Many thanks to You, Nap!

He will try...

Cheers