Review "One of Us" from Altores Studio

[Nap]

Hi to all
Altores Studio celebrated their 4th year in business this year in April , of course this was affected by the C19 bt they did announce a release for the event here on PF

https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/altores-studio.224058/

Naturally C19 affected shipping but now I have received the piece so we will look at it here

Like most boys we all played at soldiers ( and nurses for the girls ) . either dressing up in homemade uniforms when times were difficult , paper hats , wooden swords or maybe a bought play sword or even a old sword found in a long forgotten dusty corner of the attic .......

Yes !!! I am sure we have all done it ....as well of course indulging in a love of playing with toy soldiers , bought with hard earned pocket money.........happy memories trying to stop my sister from wrapping them up in tiny bandages ...lol.

Hats were made of anything but old newspapers, comics being a favourite , belts made from your fathers old hand downs , a notebook hanging on a old piece of material ...of course it contains "secret" codes....all good fun and for me certainly a grounding that got me interested in the hobby

That's the subject of this review ....a young lad , all dressed up, playing with toy soldiers

Childhood memories , a time when we had no cares and were happy with the simplest of things



We all remember comics like these , I am sure there are many more








A little bit of uniform ref for the soldiers

Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Nap]

Lets have the release details and look at the resin

Details of the release:

Title: One of Us

Reference: B - 148

Scale: 1/10th

Material: Lt Gray resin

No of parts: 16

Sculptor: Vladimie Sychev

Box Art: N/A

As with previous releases packing is in a cardboard box with the resin in resealable plastic bags , all sandwiched between foam pieces over which a slip over cover which has a unpainted version of the release



A total of 16 parts which include torso , head , 2 hands, notebook, sword, , 3 parts to the headwear,epaulette, table, 5 soldiers

Prep is very little consisting of removing small casting plugs plus a couple of small casting lines, fit hands, head , hat , notebook, epaulette , a slight bit of filler will be needed when fitting the pieces together

• The scale is 1/10th .....visually it looks 1/12th but fully in scale for a child so smaller obviously than a adult 1/10th
• Casting is good , facial features are rounded if perhaps a little soft for some
• Build needs planning , our lad leans on a table
• I will base up on the torso with a brass bar , perhaps add a hint of a table support/legs

Lets get to the resin

Torso


Wearing a ribbed neck jumper with the left arm leaning onto the table when in position
Both have fitment points for the hands and the neck ...a bit of filler will be needed

There is a locating cut out for the table , a little filler needed where it meets the jumper

Locating cutouts for the notebook and the sword ...tiny bit of filler required

Across the chest we have 2 straps , one looks like a belt , the other could be a sewn material as there is some good stitching in place on both edges

You could add a design to the front as the resin is smooth , with creases and folds being well done there and rear , this applies to the arms as well

On the underside there is a rounded form to drill into for a support

Even just looking at the torso ....this piece is fun




Head


A young face of course , rounded full cheeks , , good eye definition , the same applies to the ears , the mouth is slight angled up to the right which gives him a real cheeky look , with a slightly upturned nose

The neck has the ribbed effect ..perhaps this jumper was knitted by his mother...I know mine did

The hair is styled peeking out at the back and front when the cap is in place, good texture work on the hair strands

The head is cut strange but this matches well when the hat is in position , on top a resin fitment that sits into the hat

Fit to the torso is good with a wisp of filler




Hat


Consisting of 3 pieces , main and a front and rear , these fit into place using the cutouts

This is a "bicorne" style and very dashing it looks ....there are many things you could do , just paint it a colour , down load images of magazines and use PVA to stick into position , paint a design , you could even give it a skull and cross bones

Fitting to the head sitting at the rear angled nicely ...looking a real soldier or pirate when in place

Nice to see its cast in the 3 pieces , makes the fitting easier and no doubt casting , the surfaces are slightly crumpled looking





Hands


These are really well sculpted , with the sections of the fingers showing well , fingernails are all there , at the wrists on both having a ribbed effect , matching the neck part

Fit is easy as always with good fitment points ...make sure you check which goes where !!!



Sword/Notebook/Epaulette


The sword is a good shape , very much a Napoleonic french infantry type ...sabre-briquet , nicely styled on the guard with the grip being wrapped , the scabbard has the heel on it ...all in all a nice representation of it ......in place looks good ......I think we might have budding Napoleon in this youngster



You could of course quite easily replace this with a wooden sword ...easy enough to make using coffee sticks or even putty...quite tempted to do this

The note book is good with a spiral to , surfaces are plain so you can go to town on this



The Epaulette is a real nice touch , reminds me of a spilt up plastic cup from a dispensing machine , splayed out



Fitting on all 3 is a simple matter of using the cutouts that are provided

Table


A good oval shaping one of the longer edges having a fitment that sits into the torso at the bottom, the top is plain ...mother's best table maybe ....

You could add a table cloth as well using putty

On the underside a Altores logo



Continued in next post

Nap

 

[Nap]

Now to the final pieces or should I say 5 ...the toy soldiers

5 were provided in the review model although 4 are shown on wrapping

These pieces are really tiny and quite delicate but they are little gems all are in the firing position the musket raised to the eye of each

Looking at the headwear I reckon these are Bavarian and all have the backpacks and pouch and yes there is a sword on each as well

They are all on bases so you just need to sort the formation out on the table !

Really impressed with these and painted up will probably march across the table

Lets have some pics from Altores of the unpainted piece







And its my pleasure to share a painted version by Sergey Kuntz

Final Thoughts

A really special piece , not only celebrating Altores 4th anniversary but celebrating childhood memories for all modellers ...a real fun piece , imaginative and charming as well full of a time when innocence was the key to growing up

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


For details on this and more from them :

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.altores.com

They are also a member of social media and the forum here on PF (user name Altores Studio )

The sculptor is also a member here ( user name Vladimir Sychev )

Thanks to for the review piece

Nap

 

[grasshopper]

Loooks fun, maybe the historical accuracy of the toy soldiers is a bit off but the piece works. More practically, the casting gates are kinda large

 

[valiant]

I like the concept of this, probably where many of us started off in the hobby, playing with toy soldiers! I think I would dispense with the hat, maybe come up with an alternative, and the epaulette, but that's just me....!! Nice idea!

 

[grasshopper]

I like the concept of this, probably where many of us started off in the hobby, playing with toy soldiers! I think I would dispense with the hat, maybe come up with an alternative, and the epaulette, but that's just me....!! Nice idea!

I agree..make it more the Everyman boy dreamer that remains in many of us still

 

[Nap]

Loooks fun, maybe the historical accuracy of the toy soldiers is a bit off but the piece works. More practically, the casting gates are kinda large

It is FUN , as for historical accuracy ...toy soldiers aren't always accurate ! ...but they certainly work as you say , casting gates are easily accessible and easy to remove

I like the concept of this, probably where many of us started off in the hobby, playing with toy soldiers! I think I would dispense with the hat, maybe come up with an alternative, and the epaulette, but that's just me....!! Nice idea!

Plenty of conversion options on this for sure , got one or 2 ideas for my version

As you say a good idea

Thanks for looking in

Nap

 

[gpldsl]

well done.... super NICE

 

[Vladimir Sychev]

Nap, thank You very much for an interesting and detailed review of the miniature and warm words! I'm glad You liked our work.
We tried to make the most historical toy figurines. But in the scale 1/200, it's very difficult. After all, the "growth" of a toysoldier with a helmet and a base is only 11 mm.

 

[Babelfish]

Probably not one that I'd ever buy, but certainly an original and imaginative release that looks to be up to the usual high sculpting and casting standards that we have come to expect from Altores.

And in the spirit of the subject: After years of searching for the coolest toy gun that would be the envy of all my mates, I finally got hold of a very realistic-looking 1:1 replica MP40 (which we all called the "Schmeisser"). It even fired small plastic pellets.

I was 44 years old .

True story.

- Steve

Edit: And I still have my treasured (when I was aged approximately 9 - 12) collection of "Commando" comic-books stored away in a box somewhere. Worth bugger-all on the collectors' market really (compared to some to the stuff from my childhood that I'd thoughtlessly trashed over the years) but great nostalgia!

 

[Babelfish]

It is FUN , as for historical accuracy ...toy soldiers aren't always accurate !

Agree with that Kev. In fact, having the toy soldiers "accurate" would be inaccurate . Some delicious irony there!!

- Steve

 

[captnenglish]

Thanks for the review, I want to get this kit even more now

 

[Wings5797]

A pleasing change Kev.
Thanks for a great review Sir
Keith