Review Mitches Military Models Present "papa" Ringel

[Nap]

Hi Guys ,

Germany produced some great leaders of men , none who in my opinion were so loved by the men under his command than :


Julius Alfred Ringel

He was born on 16 November 1889 and passed away peacefully on 11 February 1967 , he was of Austrian descent and went on to become a general in WW2 leading the famous mountain troops or Gebirgstruppen .He commanded the 3rd Mountain Divison and received among many awards including the Knights Cross with Oakleaves .


So loved by him men that they caled him "Papa" ...a soldiers tribute to a brave and charasmatic leader in extreme conditions...instantly recognised by his beard .


Amongst his many awards also included:

Party badge in Gold (1941)
Wound badge in Silver
Eastern Front Medal (1942)
Knights Cross with Oakleaves (1943)
Anschlus Medal
Sudetenland medal
Austrian Military Merit Medal (with Swords in Silver and Bronze)
Austrian Wound medal with Two Stripes
Karl Troop medal




In addition to these and others he was entitled to the "Kreta" armband and the service awards (blue ribbbon with eagle on it ..see coloured picture)

As you can see a soldiers soldier who endured the hardships his men also went through .....a rare man in any army IMO .

Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Nap]

Hi Guys,

Following on form Fex's sculpting SBS http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/papa-ringel-1944-45-general-der-gebirgstruppen.51408/
and MMM's release post from Gordon(aka Grod) http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...ruppen-general-mitches-military-models.53337/

Now you have had a aperitif on now to the main meal so its my pleasure to begin the review for you

Details are as follows:

Subject: Julius "Papa" Ringel

Scale: 1/9th

Material : Resin

No of Pieces : 1

Sculptor: Our very own Fex

The model comes as others from MMM do in a strong black and distinctive cardboard box , the contents (even though there is only 1) was secured in a sealable see through bag this was then surrounded bt bubble wrap .

On the front of the box is a black and white picture of the model .



The bust comes witha small pedastal base already cast on some might want to replace with a brass rod or drill and use it as a working handle ...the choice is yours .

Prep needed before the primimg is needed , on the review sample there is a fine casting line on the back running down the cap and collar and uniform , easily removed .
On the undesides there was some excess resin around the post itself and also a bit of work was needed to level up underneath the front area of the torso ...a bit of work but needed and dividends will be paid with prep as always with any model.



Lets have a 360 view now before we look closer at the details;



Ringel wears his field uniform consisting of what looks like the 1930 field gray Bergmutze butother pictures are known of him in a tropical uniform .
He wears his hard earned awards and has the distinctive field cap with the famous Eidelweis emblem on its sides . according to my Osprey reference (Elite 118) he has below his Knights Cross the :

Knights cross of the Bulgarian Order of St Alexander

The Ribbon bar includes Austrian medals : Order of the Iron Crown, Military Merit Medal Silver and Bronze, Karl Troop medal, 1914-18 Tyrol Commemorative Medal .

His German Medals include: Army Long Service awards , Anschlus Medal, Occupation of Czechoslovakia, Great War Cross of Honour (awarded in retrospective by Hindenburg in 1934)


Continued in next post:
Nap

 

[Nap]

Lets look now at the details on this bust:

Those that know me will be well aware I like my medals so I am particularly happy with this release , he has the neck medals as detailed and a ribbon bar (Perhaps this might be a little wider ,,,but that is my personal preference) , the neck awards show the Knights cross wit oakleaves and the Bulgarian Knights Cross , both these have fine details which will be brought out with fine painting (see below for picture)

The ribbon bar has the crossed swords on the relevant reibbons in addition to the eagle on the service award .

Under his left pocket he has the Gold Party badge , under which we find the Iron Cross 2nd Class , on his buttonhole we have the ribbon of the 1st Class .

The Wermacht eagle on his right breast is also nicely sculpted which again will benefit careful painting(washes will bring out the details) .

The collar insignia are both reproduced with skill , the casting is also good on these fine details , an area which at times could be lost when cast ..not so here .

The Epaulettes are the senior officers version with 2 pips of Ringels rank , again nice details ae included .

The peaked caps he wears looks battered to say the least in keeping with known photographs , on the side the famous Eidelweis badge so proudly worn by all mountain troops .

On his Right upper arm he would also have the cloth badge version , although the torso does not go down enough for this to be included .

The actual uniform looks as though it has been worn for may a campaign , the material has been sculpted to replect this ....wear and tear can also be brought out with careful painting .

The most important area in a bust IMO is of course the facial features so very important when sculpting a known personality ..Ringels is particularly distinctive , the beard, the lined face and battle weary eyes , all of which has been wonderfully reproduced by Fex ...all credit to him



Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Nap]

My final thoughts on this piece:

The subject matter is interesting there is the option for different versions (ie tropical uniforms after checking any references ...of course) .

Details included are well done both in sculpting and casting , both which need to compliment each other to produce a quality product ..which it does in this case.

Presentation is well done , parts cannot get damaged , customer serveice is top notch from MMM , so why not give thsi one a go , have a look at the website ...get that credit card ready!!!

I would have liked to see a colour picture on the box but refeences are easily accesible via the internet (good start is of course the Osprey books)

Have a good look at this and other products on Gordon's website www.mitchesmilitarymodels.co.uk , or contact him (Grod) via e mail [email protected] or pm him on PF (user name Grod)

A QUALITY Company producing QUALITY products ....WELL DONE to ALL .

Nap

 

[Wings5797]

As always, a great review Kev.
This is a fine sculpt from Andrey and its good to see tha MMM have started to produce it.
Thank you for posting this review Mate.
Cheers,
Keith

 

[pmfs]

We are facing off a great sculpt with a great General of Nazi Germany.
Thanks Nap!

Pedro.

 

[Sturm Grenadier]

Hello Kevin, A very professional review. Outstanding photographs, and great detail shots of the bust. This is the way a review should be done. I enjoyed it very much. Regards, SG

 

[Zastrow.cuirassier]