Posted by k.b. on 24 May 2023, 23:26
Thanks gents for your comments which are always most welcome. Both Donald and Bill agree that these Italeri French Dragoons are a fantastic set and I dare say they are my favourite set out until today.
Your information Bessiere regarding casualty sets was enlightening as I was completely unaware that Franznap had several sets of casualty figures available. The Speira figures, indeed like any other 3D printed figures don’t inspire me at all. For me they are cold, they have no soul. Even Strelets figures, none of which I own, have something magical about them that 3D printed figures don’t seem to have up to now. The Linear figures I shall - sooner or later - get hold of although I am reluctant to spend a lot on minis that need lots of flash and mouldlines removed. As for Franznap’s it’s crazy that up to now I haven’t really got to grips with Francesco’s minis despite having several sets of his French Hussars. Not sure until today if I was disappointed with them or not. For me they’re a bit too skinny and the horses were a big disappointment overall, even though their positions are tremendous. I just found that the details that put figures into the outstanding category were for some reason missing on Franznap’s figures. I feel he has rushed so much to get a huge variety out there on the market, but maybe he cut corners when it came to quality control. Saying that, the proportions are probably more accurate than most 1/72 miniatures on the market.
When I have finished sculpting some Cossack heads (cheers for the subtle reminder Mabo) and converted a few dragoons I might get down to seriously tackling some of Francesco’s hussars…… up to now I have merely toyed with the idea. And I most definitely want to get round to sculpting some minis of my own. It’s so easy to criticise…… perhaps I shall be more sympathetic once I find out how hard it really is.
Thank you kindly Patrick for your remarks even if by my count there are 25 figures out there up to now (but more are still in the pipeline) and not the 24 you mentioned. Appearances can be deceiving and I assure you I do have difficulties keeping my miniatures to a similar standard. In truth it’s why my turnout is so slow, and probably explains why I jump around from 1 regiment to another, even from one scale to another. Procrastination and the tedium demon are also often the culprits for keeping my productivity very low.