Review Retreat to Victory from Life Miniatures

[Nap]

Hi to you all out there on PF ,

Following on from the release a while back from Life Miniatures as shown here:

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/life-miniatures-2015-new-release.70459/watch-confirm

Its my pleasure to share my thoughts on the resin itself .

If you say the word Dunkirk to virtually everyone then it immediately puts the images of the "little boats" collecting the BEF from the beachheads , so much bravery and heroism from not only the troops but also those manning the small ships (often pleasure cruisers) that went into a hellhole in order to get the retreating troops out , wether them being British or French .

For me what epitomises the "Dunkirk Spirit" is the sheer amazing ability of being able to smile in the face of such danger , grateful just to be alive having that welcome cigarette and cup of tea , the smiles are often seen in pictures .

This is what has been chosen as a subject from Life Miniatures a british Infantryman wounded but happy to be alive and rescued.

Books are of course readily available here are a few of my favourites , that provide great information on the equipment worn and used.

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Continued in next post

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Nap​

 

[Zastrow.cuirassier]

Great review like all the time Nap doing one !
For this period, if you understand Franch have a look at :

and try to see the complete film if you can find it !!!!!
Week-end à Zuydcoote

Great French film concerning the Dunkirk (Dunkerque in French) and Zuycoote, the beach of Dunkerque !

 

[Nap]

Looking now at the resin lets have the details of the release:

Title: Retreat to Victory ( Evacuation of British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk June 1940)

Referenece: LM-B014

Scale: 1/10th

Material: Gray Resin

No of parts:8

Sculptor: Sang-E0n Lee

Box Art: Sang-E0n Lee

SPECIAL THANKS to Michael J Butler



As with all of LM products , boxes are the distinctive black well produced and strong the top having a excellent colour rendition of the piece , the side has a group of 4 unpainted built versions of model

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Lets see what the resin consists of : a Torso , the head, the backpack and a roll , a helmet , the top part of the rifle , a swivel ( this is missing from the picture as I dropped it into the carpet monsters mouth...later found!!!) and finally a base.

Prep consists of 2 casting plugs from the underside of the torso , removal of the formers from the backpack and roll , cutting a small block from the rifle end , and fitting the swivel after removing a small plug, the head has a casting plug on the underside of the neck , with the helmet having one to more carefully deal with on the underside of the rim ( be careful not to damage that rim!!) , finally if you choose to use it the base needs a little bit o sanding around the edge.
This might sound like a lot but in reality they are all easy to remove and deal with with just the helmet one needin a little bit more care.....what are you left with a totally smooth surface on the sculpted areas ....as always with Life Miniatures QUALITY shines out from the very first opening.

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Looking now at the Torso , our lad is wearing the standard battledress with his respirator haversack at the ready on the front , over his shoulder we see the rifle sling , the sculpting of the materials folds and the way it sits is nothing short of sublime , top notch stuff, definition on the buckles and all the straps are very sharp and extremely accurate , there are 2 pouches one has a cutout to receive the helmet plug (more later) , the other has the rifle sling cutting into it , now this I like , the haversack has the respirator in it with the contents being visible by way of the shapes pressing against the material., excellent definition as I said and I really like the way this has been sculpted very natural.
The collar is worn unbuttoned showing the clothing underneath, nice undercuts are seen in this and infact all over the torso, nice folds on the arms with the epaulettes being correctly positioned for the straps shown.


On the rear we are given cutouts for the backpack , the roll and for the rifle , all well done and very cleanly worked

Lets look at the Head now

Lots have been commented on with the likeness being to a certainly fellow from the Beatles , and yes it does look like him IMO , all credit to San - Eon for the skill in sculpting that lets us instantly say this .... was it intentional I think not but it does portray a very young face which is spot on for the subject IMO .
The sculpting skill shines through the head in all areas , great work on the eye and nose areas with the mouth area showing the teeth , lovely work on the ears as well .. our boy has been injured from a splinter that went through his helmet, around his head we have a bandage , this is one lucky soldier , the smile he has hides all the horror he has seen ..he is just glad to be alive, the hair that peeks out from the bandage is well worked with it hanging over the edges , the hair strands are very good.

Continued in next post:

Nap

 

[ometz]

I didn't know Sir Paul was quite that old.

 

[Nap]

Lets get out the rest of the resin:

Starting with the Backpack , there is just the top part of the pack , this is again full with the folds and movement of the material being very good , straps are pulling on the top flap , good buckle definitions are seen , fit is easy as there are 2 round "blobs" of resin to fit into the corresponding holes in the back of the torso ., when fitted no filler was required .

Now to the Roll that sits on top , this could be the gas cape or poncho (in a waterproofed and rubberised material) or perhaps just a blanket he has picked up ..its up to you. Fit is by locating the lug into the corresponding cutout at the back of the torso...LM have thought of the modeller in every respect to the actual build ..good to see .


The detailing is as expected very naturally done particularly at the ends where it goes round .

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When these 2 pieces are in place then they look really good , adding more interest to the piece.

On now to the Rifle and the Swivel ( this needs to be fitted carefully ) , we are given the top part of the rifle only this is a good and a simple piece of resin showing the LM quality but it works well with the bust , fitting is simplicity itself ( into a cutout on the lower rear torso) . The swivel itself is a gem of sculpting when fitted really works well ..be careful and dont drop it like me!!!. The rifle gives the painter a small but very accurate area to get the wood effect on.

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Now to the Helmet , this is easily fitted by using the offset lug into the cutout on the pouch on the torso..I would pin mine to be safe!!!., the shape of the helmet is good , very smooth with the result of battle , perhaps a shell splinter being worked into the surface ( hence the bandage on the head!!) , this will give you the chance to do some great worn effects on it
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Finally the Base , as with all from LM a more than adequete pedastal base is provided , if you use it I suggest you pin it , when fitted it does the job well and sits cleanly and well into the cast area on the underneath.

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So there you have it another addition to the range from LM

Final thoughts

A really well sculpted and presented piece as with all from Life Miniatures , excellent casting bringing out the sculpting even more , perhaps a shame about the face likeness fr some but give him a moustache if you wish , when painted it will again give a really good addition to the display cabinet.



Thanks to Life Miniatures for the Review item and for you all for looking in

For more details why not visit the website at:

www.lifeminiatures.kr

Happy painting

Nap

 

[Scotty]

An excellent sculpt with a review to match, thanks for that.
Scotty.

 

[Graham]

Great review Nap and what a fascinating subject very close to British hearts.

 

[Viking Bob]

Great review and bust Kev. The Dunkirk spirit.

 

[Zastrow.cuirassier]

Nap review what eslse ?
A Nespresso reading the review !!!

 

[arj]

Not just a review, but a Keview.
Excellent presentation, as usual Kevin.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Wheels]

McCartney

 

[Martin Philpott]

Excellent review as ever Mr P, thank you Sir.

Martin.

 

[Nap]

McCartney

Already been noted !

Nap

 

[swralph]

Another great review Kevin.
I've missed your review's and have a few to catch up on.
I like this figure so much that I have bought it from you.