A few Strelets Poles

[Bill Slavin]

A month or two ago I received a box full of 2000 figures mailed to me from a kind benefactor in Australia who was moving form 1/72 to 28mm and was divesting himself of (some!) of his unpainted Napoleonics. These Strelet figures were part of that shipment, figures that I painted up as skirmish stands because my Vistula Legion was a bit sparse on those. I also liked the casualty figures, so did some of those as well. I didn't used to be a fan of the older Strelets but I confess their lumpen figures, oozing character, have grown on me over time!

[Ochoin]

The Strelets' Poles have character. Well done.

Last week, I Ebay'd all mine, 5 battalions of Strelets & Waterloo1815 - not because I didn't like them but because of my decision to rationalise the collection.

donald

[Minuteman]

You have done a remarkable job with these old chunky Strelets Poles, Bill. They look great !!

The older Strelets sets with 40+ individual poses always presented something of a problem in my mind, as I was/still am a collector who prefers 'regimented' units; the sometimes bizarre poses of some of the older Strelets sets tended not to fit into my way of thinking.

However, as personality figures or - as here for instance - to create assorted casualty 'stands' they are matchless. The old chunky style still does not mix that well with other makes IMHO, but there is no doubt that they have loads of character and paint up well too.

[k.b.]

Woooow Bill! Have never been a fan of Strelets but you’ve done a tremendous job in trying to persuade me I was wrong.
In particular I love the last two bases with wounded figures. Keep ‘em coming.

[C M Dodson]

Very nice indeed .

These old style Stretlets are very misshapen but you have brought them to life.

I chopped up the casualty chaps for Antietam, very useful chaps.

Best wishes,
Chris

[Bill Slavin]

Thanks, all, for the kind comments.
Yes, it's funny with Strelets. I always avoided them like the plague - as Donald says they don't fit well with the other figures usually. However, I have a high tolerance for mismatched figures on my table as long as they work well height-wise within the unit.
I think it was in seeing on this forum the beautiful paint jobs that Marvin does on the many Strelet figures he has tackled that I was brought around to giving them a second look. They have that hand-sculpted quality that many of the beautiful, highly polished figures, clearly executed either at a larger size or digitally, lack.

And having as many figures as I need (do we ever??) to field most of the battles I want to game these days, I now have the luxury to do a few "personality figures". So more to come!

[Rich W]

Super job achieved with these characters.

[tullo]

great very fine

[Bessiere]

Really nice job painting these up Bill. Strelets certainly have more character than other manufacturers and cant be beat for dioramas and vignettes. 50 boxes is a lot to get in one swipe - are they all Napoleonics or a mix of eras?
Cheers,
Bessiere

[Peter]

Great painted figures Bill!

I bought these on the FIGZ meeting and I like them!