This is the first in a new series of posts in which we want to present examples of painted figures from various 1/72nd scale sets. Whenever possible we will attempt to feature an assortment of uniforms and even painting styles from our combined collection. We’ll also put in a few comments about the figures. Hopefully this will be of interest to others and will, in a small way, compliment the great work of the team at Plastic Soldier Review.
During a recent game, a Fields of Glory scenario of the Attack of the Russian Guard, Mark and I discussed which figures to use to begin this series. Hat’s set number 8072, “1805 Russian Infantry” was an obvious choice, given the large number of Russian Guard/Grenadiers on the table.
The 1805 Russian Line Infantry set from prolific figure manufacturer Hat was amongst their earlier 1/72nd scale sets (the 72nd such set to be precise) and was released in 2003. The team at Plastic Soldier Review conclude their assessment of this set with, “This is a nice collection of figures, done in a slightly stocky style but looking good. The lack of animation is perhaps excusable since Napoleonic soldiers generally fought in large slow-moving formations. These should look impressive in the vast armies that Russia deployed against Napoleon, and are a welcome broadening of the range of Napoleonic figures on offer.”
They do indeed look impressive en-masse as the photos below attest!
Our thoughts
The set contains a good range of useable poses for wargaming (eight of them), although the march-attack figure would have been better with his musket and eyes raised a little. Mark, whose figures are presented here, prefers to have units with figures in the same pose so it was easy for him to do so using these figures, as you can see in the photos.
The figures as presented are specifically guard or grenadiers, but can easily be ‘converted’ to line infantry simply by removing the plume and doing a painting conversion.
Our one complaint, and a fairly significant one, is the lack of command figures. The set only contains an NCO holding a cane and halberd. This figure can be modified to become a standard bearer, but the lack of a drummer and officer, and also a standard bearer is a major omission.
Overall rating 7/10
Photo gallery
Photos 1–9: Massed grenadiers
Photo 10: Standing pose and NCO.
(Note officer is from HaT Set 8073 1805 Russian Light Infantry)
Photo 11: Marching pose and NCO.
(Note officer is from HaT Set 8073 1805 Russian Light Infantry)
Photo 12: Advancing pose and NCO.
(Note officer is from HaT Set 8073 1805 Russian Light Infantry)
Photo 13: Marching pose close-up.
Photo 14&15: Advancing pose close-up.
Photo 16: March-attack pose close-up.
Photo 17: Command stand. Only the NCO is from this set.
(Note officer is from HaT Set 8135 1806 Prussian Grenadiers,
standard bearer is from Italeri Set 6006 Russian Grenadiers
with a head-swap from this set)
Photo 18: An out-of-focus mistake, but I liked the way that it suggested the Russian grenadiers casting a shadow over the French infantry,
as they did in the game from which these photos were taken!
Nice review, James. Your friend's done a great job with these. They look like a good match for HaT 8095, French Line Infantry 1808-1812, one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ben. Mark does a fine job and he paints many times quicker than me too!
DeleteYeah, set 8095 is a really useful one isn't it?
Definitely NOT a plastics guy, but these are perfectly presentable figures. The lack of command figures, especially drummers and standard bearers, seems a rather major knock on them as a set, though. Still, it was early on, and I suppose outside metal command figures could be used.
ReplyDelete