Hi to one & all

Following on from my previous review of Jon Smith Accessory items here:

:http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/accessorys-set-from-jon-smith-modelbau.78501/

and here:

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/ww1-accessories-from-jon-smith-modellbau.81230/



Its my pleasure to share the latest accessory additions in 1/16th scale namely Rats and Rum Jars

Lets have some information on the chosen subject ...firstly the rats!!

The rat species Jon has chosen to depict is the RATTUS NORVEGIUS or brown rat




One of the most abundant and widespread of all mammals , the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a highly successful and adaptable rodent that has colonised nearly every part of the world. A relatively large and stocky species, the brown rat has a long, scaly, almost naked tail which is slightly shorter than the head and body . This species’ snout is pointed , while its ears are relatively short and have thin fur on the back .

As its common name suggests, the brown rat typically has brown to brownish-grey fur , but it can vary in colour from white to pale reddish-brown or almost black The fur on the underside of the body and on the feet is slightly paler, and the tail is also lighter below than above .


The male brown rat is usually slightly larger and heavier than the female . This species can be confused with the closely related black rat (Rattus rattus), but differs in its larger size, shorter ears, smaller eyes and proportionately shorter tail.

Rats and the Trenches of WWI

The trench soldier of World War I had to cope with millions of rats. The omnipresent rats were attracted by the human waste of war – not simply sewage waste but also the bodies of men long forgotten who had been buried in the trenches and often reappeared after heavy rain or shelling. Two or three rats would always be found on a dead body. They usually went for the eyes first and then they burrowed their way right into the corpse. Trench conditions were ideal for rats.

Some of these rats grew extremely large. It was not uncommon for rats to start gnawing on the bodies of wounded men who couldn’t defend themselves. Many troops were awakened by rats crawling across their faces. These rats became very bold and would attempt to take food from the pockets of sleeping men.

Disgusted and often feeling a horror of their presence, soldiers would devise various means of dealing with the rat problem. Although shooting at rats was strictly prohibited – it being regarded as a pointless waste of ammunition – many soldiers nevertheless took pot shots at nearby rats in this manner. Attacking rats with bayonets was also common.

But efforts to eliminate them proved futile. A single rat couple could produce up to 900 offspring a year. Cats and terriers were kept by soldiers in the frontline trenches to help free them of disease-carrying rats. The terriers were actually very effective in killing rats.





The plague of rats in the French trenches. An official rat-catcher, with his dog, and their bag. Illustration for The Illustrated War News, February 1916.

A French soldier showing his “catch” to his comrade.

Rats on German trenches.

The rat problem remained for the duration of the war (although many veteran soldiers swore that rats sensed impending heavy enemy shellfire and consequently disappeared from view).

Two German soldiers posing with rats caught in their trench.

Three German soldiers display rats killed in their trench the previous night. 1916.

A commercial card depicting German artillerymen preparing several dead rats and one hapless mouse (or a skittish rat) for their evening repast - and who said Germans don't have a sense of humor.

“Large feast of rat goulash today”.

Another commercial postcard depicting the end result of a few hours hunting rats in the trenches and dugouts. Some of the men are toting shovels and improvised clubs, undoubtedly the weapons of choice in this particular ‘Rattenjagd’.

"No sign of lack of meat here"

Robert Graves remarked in his book “Goodbye to All That“:

“Rats came up from the canal, fed on the plentiful corpses, and multiplied exceedingly. While I stayed here with the Welch. a new officer joined the company and, in token of welcome, was given a dug-out containing a spring-bed. When he turned in that night he heard a scuffling, shone his torch on the bed, and found two rats on his blanket tussling for the possession of a severed hand.”

Soldier George Coppard gave another reason why the rats were so large:

“There was no proper system of waste disposal in trench life. Empty tins of all kinds were flung away over the top on both sides of the trench. Millions of tins were thus available for all the rats in France and Belgium in hundreds of miles of trenches. During brief moments of quiet at night, one could hear a continuous rattle of tins moving against each other. The rats were turning them over.”

Soldier Richard Beasley, interviewed in 1993:

“If you left your food the rats would soon grab it. Those rats were fearless. Sometimes we would shoot the filthy swines. But you would be put on a charge for wasting ammo, if the sergeant caught you”.

Another soldier described finding a group of dead bodies while on patrol:

“I saw some rats running from under the dead men’s greatcoats, enormous rats, fat with human flesh. My heart pounded as we edged towards one of the bodies. His helmet had rolled off. The man displayed a grimacing face, stripped of flesh; the skull bare, the eyes devoured and from the yawning mouth leapt a rat.”

This image shows Canadian troops engaged in a rat hunt at Ploegsteert Wood near Ypres during March 1916.

Well that's the info on the horror of rats!!

Continued in next post

Nap

Now to the Rum !!!


What was the S.R.D. jar?

The rum ration was introduced in the winter of 1914, as a remedy for the consequences of the bad weather conditions and cold.
Strange is that alcohol is not a good remedy against cold

The S.R.D. JAR for rum is 1 (UK) gallon (4,546 litres). One jar for 64 men.

In 1918 1/3 pint (0.16 litre) appears to have been the average consumption per soldier per week. Some books say: 1 spoon each. Some people say this made soldiers willing to fight. That is almost impossible, drunk soldiers were heavily punished even behind the front. So why should they make the frontline soldiers drunk then?

Having been utilized by the tens of thousands, these jugs littered the western front during the post war years.
They still turn up at flea markets and junk shops in North-west France and Belgium. It is also a typical WW1 relic in the Salient.

There are a lot of stories about the meaning of S.R.D.

The most possible meaning of S.R.D. is Service Ration Depot some say it is:Supply Reserve Depot.There is still doubt about it.
That is so because the same letters where also found on other supplies as soda and food. A collector told me he has even a wooden box of chocolate with S.R.D. on it!

other possible meanings are:

·Services Rum Diluted
·Service Reserve Depot
·Special Red Demerara
·Standard Rum; Diluted
·Service Rum Distribution
·Service Ration Department
·Service Rum Department

Soldiers slang for S.R.D.:

·"Seldom or Rarely Delivered
·"Soldiers Run Dry"
·"Soon Runs Dry"
·"Seldom Reaches Destination"

Continued in next post

Nap

Lets have the resin

Starting with the Rats

There are a total of 15 options in the various scale packs amongst them are these

• Rat 1 – Standing Low – Head held low
• Rat 2 – Standing Middle – Head in middle position
• Rat 3 – Standing High No. 1 – Standing higher on hind legs
• Rat 4 – Looking Down Straight – Head held straight
• Rat 5 – Looking Down Left – Head held left
• Rat 6 – Dead – Hanging from tail (similar to photos of dead rats in WW1 trenches)
• Rat 7 – Sitting Eating
• Rat 8 – Dead Side – Lying dead on side
• Rat 9 – Standing High No. 2 – Standing on hind legs
• Rat 10 – Standing Low – Head held to right
• Rat 11 – Looking Down – (from SRD or other object)
• Rat 12 – Standing – (with SRD or against other object)
• Rat 13 – Standing – (in German Helmet)
• Rat 14 – Sleeping – (in German Helmet)
• Rat 15 – Inside – (inside SRD or any other curved object i.e. pipe)

In 1/16th scale there are 3 packs available these being RAT01 ,02 AND 3 ( Jon could not send me #3 for review but I will show details from site)
All release are held safely in fold over plastic containers with a picture on front and an excellent information sheet also included .
One thing to note the information sheets are full of information from safety advice when working with resin , info on items and painting suggestions ...all carefully researched and well written.
Reference : RAT01

Scale : 1:16 / 120mm
Material: Gray Resin
No of items : 15
Infosheet language : English







Note: Rats are also available in single qtys

References: SRAT01-015 ...see website for details



Rat Special – Rats with German Steel Helmets

Reference: RAT03
Scale : 1:16 / 120mm
Material: Gray Resin
Parts : 4
Infosheet language : English





Continued in next post

Nap

On now to the Rum jar related releases


Suffice to say we have a great selection of both jars with and without rats , broken parts , rats climbing over jars , looking out broken ones ...lots of variations !!!

Rat Special – Rats with British SRD Jars

Reference : RAT02

Scale : 1:16 / 120mm
Material : Gray Resin
No of Parts : 6
Infosheet : English





British SRD Rum Jar Set

Reference : SRD01

Scale : 1:16 / 120mm
Material ; GrayResin
No of Parts : 10
Infosheet : English





Final thoughts

JSM specialise in WW1 and have lovely sculpted and extremely well researched figures and accessories these included , both the rats and the jars have great potential to be added to many diorama's , both WW1 , pirates , and so many more .

Sculpting is by 3D with casting is very good indeed and with minimal prep ( all details in the information sheets )

The customer service and knowledge that JSM have is one of the best I have known and Jon is only too willing to advise and of course sell!!!

I highly recommend all of Jon Smith Modellbau products


For more information on this and all the releases both figures in 1/32nd and 1/16th from JSM contact details are here:

e mail: Info@jonsmith-modellbau.com

Website: www.jonsmith-modellbau.com

Happy modelling
Nap

Hi Tony

Yes there is 1/32 ...I will be looking at these and other items in a separate review

Nap

Hi Guys

Thanks for the comments ths was quite a dificult one to pull together but must say these accessory so often seen work well adding that extra realism .

JSM have a great selection of items all very high quality and all well researched by Jon himself

Thanks for looking in

Nap