Review Private 18th Bn Kings Royal Rifles 1917 from Stormtroopers

[Nap]

Hi to everyone on PF ,

With the forthcoming 100 year anniversary of the beginning of WW1 in 2014 , I am sure we will see many come on to the market but why wait till then as Stuart Hale from Stormtroopers has released a WW1 subject .

It depicts a Tommy from the 18th Bn Kings Royal Rifle Corps so lets have a bit of background history ....................

Patriotism was very much to the fore in WW1 everyone wanting to do their bit for King and Country with Kitcheners famous poster at the start with a ongoing need for men to replace the incredible casualities that occurred on all fronts .



The 18th Bn was part of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps , it was one of many "Service" Bn's



18th (Service) Battalion (Arts & Crafts)Formed at Gidea Park in London by Major Sir Herbert Raphael on 4 June 1915.

October 1915 : moved to Witley and came under orders of 122nd Brigade in 41st Division. Moved to Aldershot in November 1915, on to Witley in February and thence back to Aldershot.

3 May 1916 : landed at Le Havre.

November 1917 : moved with the Division to Italy but returned to France in March 1918.

The KRRC has a long tradition wearing the distinctive badges with black distinctions , during WW1 many heroic actions occurred some resulting in the highest award ..the VC.... one of these was :

Sgt Edward Cooper who was awarded the VC for taking a blockhouse after realising he couldn't do enough from a distance with his machine guns ....he rushed forward and firing his revolver through the viewing slits killed many , the rest a total of 45 surrendered ...truely a brave man .

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References as always will be readily available including of course the Osprey series ..and others:

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One book I would heartily reccommend to get the true feeling of the Tommy is ....Tommy goes to War" by Malcolm Brown ..really is a moving experience and a great read .

So many young men gave their all in a desparate flood of death and mud and grime in horrific conditions...always though having a british "bulldog" spirit and managing a smile whislt enjoying small pleasures like a pipe or cup of tea perhaps


Continued in next post:

Nap

 

[Nap]

Lets have a look at what we are reviewing :

The subject depicts a jovial Tommy wrapped up in greatcoat with his respirator on his chest in readiness , he is obviously enjoying one of the few pleasures left to the soldier in the trenches ...a pipe

Here is a card from Bruce Bairnsfather which shows I think the WW1 Tommy at his best

Model details are as follows:

Title: Private King Royal Rifles

Reference: V12/02

Material: Resin

No of Pieces: 2

Sculptor: Carl Reid

Casting by : Stuart Hale

Box Art : Mark Bennett

As with others in the range the model is held securely and safely in a plastic bag surrounded by a envelope of bubble wrap , all contained in the white strong cardboard box with a full colour picture of the bust painted in his own individual style by Mark

In addition to a information sheet which shows the picture that inspired Carl to sculpt this

there are 2 parts ..the Torso and the pipe so let see what we have :


Prep needed on the main piece involved nothing more than removing a casting plug from the undersides and a quick clean up of a tiny casting line on the back ...apart from that it is perfectly clean ...all credit to Stuart for casting to this quality .

The pipe is held safely in a resin frame , its easily removed using a sharp knife ...carefully though!!!

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Looking at the main piece which as with others in the range includes a base which runs on from the actual torso ..nice touch ..very professional looking .

He is wearing the soft cap so he might be in a quiet sector , its battered and has seen a lot of wear , the strap is finely done with nice details on the peak ..the badge is a great piece of work (backing piece would be red ) ...depicting of course the KRR badge ....you could obviously change this yourself or maybe we perhaps might see some other versions of the cap available with different badges .

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This is sat on his head ..which is nothing short of a superb character face ..the irrepresible Tommy ...always time to smile and enjoy the pleasures of a pipe ..... our soldier has a wonderful smile , features are really well done and well cast ...this will make (as I am sure Mark would agree) painting an absolute pleasure .

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At his neck he has a scarf ..you could paint this any colour the box art is from a school near Leeds ...a nice touch which adds a bit of colour to the piece as well .

His Greatcoat collar is pulled up high to his neck, protecting him against the ever changing weather conditions , on his chest he has a respirator which is held up by a strap that goes round his neck , at his waist he wears the leather belt (with "snake" buckle equipt often seen together with the normal webbing version).

The epaulettes are also well sculpted and defined with the greatcoat at the back having the characteristic opening .

Everthing is really nice throughout the piece , straps are well defined with the snake buckle being well done as well ...folds where appropriate are natural but what really stands out IMO is the collar ....wonderful undecutting and a great piece of casting that compliments Carls sculpting .

As with others in the V12 range the subject is a gem , well chosen , well sculpted , well cast and well presented ...what more can I say or you ask for in a model or a company .

Here is a couple of pictures of Marks box art ...ENJOY:

For more information and to order please go to the website :http://www.stormtrooperminiatures.co.uk/


..or throw your wallet at Stuart at Euro ..if you can get past everyone else!!!

Thanks for looking in

Nap

 

[Ventress]

great informative piece as always, cheers Mr N.

 

[Jimbo]

Good review Kev of a very nice little bust
Cheers
Jim

 

[stu]

Thanks kev...great review as usual

stu

 

[brian]

Not really into WW1 but quite fancy this bust.That's 2 from Stu!
Brian

 

[Dave - LastCav]

A great one!

 

[flart1943]

Great review. Thanks.
Pete

 

[Eludia]

Great review, thanks