Lets look at the release
Details here:
Title: Royal Marine Artillery ~ 1816
Reference: BE/09
Scale: 1/12th
No of parts: 3
Material: Gray Resin
Sculptor: Robert Lane ( Elan13 Miniatures)
Casting: Grey Matter
Box Art : Alex Long
After purchasing I received the model quickly from the Hawk Miniatures ( John Fitzsimmons ) , it was well packed on opening the parcel I found a thin cardboard box with a colour picture of a painted version on the front
Pieces consist of just 3 , the torso , the head with hat and the plume
With few parts and knowing Gray Matter casting I was expecting very little in the way of
Prep....I wasn't let down....
Torso: Small resin excess from underneath and drill a hole for the display post
Head: Small excess resin to remove from under neck and a very fine casting line to sand off at rear and thenfit to torso
Plume: Fit to Hat ( I would suggest pinning as well)
Personally I like the bust sculpts that Rob Lane does so was happy when this became available.
Torso
The pose is a relaxed one , arms folded and the gloved hands tucked into the elbows
At the lower edge there is a full sash, at the side of a tied "rosette" , the sash is defined into 3 area's , helping in the painting of the red/blue/red striping , the rosette is sculpted on the left , depictions show the other side also in use ...
It would be an easy option to remove to the right , build up the left and possibly add a sword top in a frog ...there's a thought !!
Across the body is the crossbelt with a plate with some nice detailing on it ( as in my reference picture ) , undercuts on the belt are sharp with details on the plate being the same
The lacework has the same sharpness on the bastion ends
On each arm there is the rank badge of 3 chevrons , individually sculpted on a backing
Moving up we come to the collar with , the collar is high and well cast with the edging having the lace , the neck area is very clean and will cause no issues when fitting the head
Folds on the uniform are in relation to the pose
Head/Hat
This is a one piece casting and well done the facial features are very good with nice work on the eyes and the character of the man , looking straight ahead with determined features , high cheek bones , mouth shut tightly shut , Rob has given him a fine pair of sideboards ...reaching low on the face sides , textured well
The face is good but what makes this bust is the headwear , very distinctive with the shaping being very good , at the side we see the rosette , well detailed up
On the front we see the plate , very accurate to the original , with the details being well shown
.....good sculpting + good casting = happy painting
Plume
A good shape and again well textured ...I would suggest pinning
Dry brushing will bring it out very well
Final Thoughts
A nice interesting bust , something a little unusual and good to see the marines being sculpted especially this period.
The piece has a lot of conversion potential as well
Coming from the Lane stables sculpting is nice and its all cast well , prep minimal with the resulting piece being ready for the bench very quickly
Recommended
For more details :
Website:
www.blackeagleminiatures.co.uk (this will take you to Hawk Miniatures )
Hawk Miniatures are also on Social Media
Contact :
John Fitzgerald
Thanks to you all for looking in
Happy bench time
Nap
