Hi
have been busy recently releasing some good subjects which I have shared here and in social media here's the links:

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/trapper-from-altores-studio.78266/
http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/iroquois-fisherman-from-altores-studio.78335/
http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/mycenaean-warrior-from-altores-studio.78750/

so its nice to be able to do another for you .

This time its another unusual subject:

Chinese Butterfly swordsman

As you can see an interesting subject from the Opium Wars , what were these:

The Opium Wars were two 19th-century conflicts between China and Britain (and later France) that began with Chinese attempts to stop opium being smuggled into their country.
What exactly is opium?
Opium is a highly-addictive drug that is extracted from poppies. As well as being used as a medicine, it has also been a popular recreational substance. By the 1830s, millions of Chinese were hooked on opium, causing significant damage to the health and productivity of the nation. Much of the opium the Chinese were smoking had been imported by the British.
Why were the British exporting the drug to China?
At this time there was great demand in Britain for Chinese products such as porcelain and tea, but the Chinese did not want to trade British goods in return. Instead they demanded to be paid in silver. Rather than allow the country’s silver reserves to be drained, some enterprising British merchants adopted a different solution.
They took opium grown in India (which was then effectively under British control) and imported it into China, insisting on being paid for the drug in silver, which could be used to purchase Chinese products. Although importing opium was illegal, corrupt Chinese officials allowed it to take place on a vast scale.
How did this lead to war?
In 1839 the Chinese government decided to crack down on the smuggling. It ordered the seizure of large quantities of opium from British merchants in the Chinese port of Canton, which was the only part of the country where Europeans were allowed to trade. The outraged merchants lobbied the British government for assistance and on this occasion they found a ready audience. Britain had long hoped to increase its influence in China. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to achieve that goal.
A British naval fleet arrived in June 1840, attacking along the Chinese coast. With their inferior military technology, the Chinese were no match for the British and, after a series of military defeats, they agreed to sign humiliating peace terms. These stipulated that China pay a large fine to Britain, open up five more ports to foreign trade, give the British a 99-year lease on the island of Hong Kong and offer British citizens special legal rights in China. In later years, China referred to this settlement as the ‘Unequal Treaty’.
2nd Opium War
With China humiliated and Britain seeking further gains, the situation remained tense. The spark for the second conflict occurred in 1856 when Chinese officers searched a Chinese owned (but British registered) ship and lowered the British flag. In response to this affront, the British once again dispatched a military expedition, and this time they were joined by the French, who also had aspirations in China and were protesting about the murder of one of their missionaries in the country.
As before, the European powers were too strong for the Chinese. A peace agreement was reached in 1858 but, the following year, China broke off the deal. This led, in 1860, to the arrival of an even larger Anglo-French force, which stormed Beijing. By October, the Chinese had been forced to accept British and French terms that included the right of foreign powers to keep diplomats in Beijing and the legalising of the opium trade.
The result of the Wars ?
In Britain they became something of a footnote in history, although the country did retain control of Hong Kong until 1997. For China the impact was more dramatic. The military defeats weakened the Qing dynasty that was ruling the country, while the new treaties meant that China was opened up to more foreign influence.

The war was controlled by the Navy , with the bombarding of the ports and the wooden Junks used by the Chinese ...the chinese weapons were by design old fashioned and of little use against the more advanced British ones .




The swords were known as "Hu Die Shuang Dao" or "Short Dao" , razor sharp , but only had a blade halfway along the blade from the tip , the lower half blunt to allow for parrying without damaging the blade , they were generally used as a pair approx the length of the lower arm , at times they were hidden in shirt sleeves

Opium was widely used in Victorian England and by it is said by nearly 90% of adults males in China , as today there was a major problem with drugs .

Books are interesting to read , at times quite graphic
l

Osprey Publishing do a good range on the Imperial Chinese armies , also covering earlier and later periods


Continued in next post

Nap

Let us look at the resin...

Details of the release:

as you can see this is the 4th release from the Studio

Title: Butterfly Swordsman Second Opium War

Reference: F-54-004

Scale: 1/30th

Material: Gray Resin

No of pieces: 7

Sculptor: Alexander Deryabini

Box Art: Alexander Kataurov

As with the previous releases fast shipping , good customer service in response to my questions which is good to see , packaging as before , a white cardboard box with colour box art .

The sculpting has been done by the same team as previous release and they work well together complimenting each others work well.

Parts consist of the main figure , 2 arms with weapons, a hat , 2 wooden stakes and a base



Prep...easy to deal with , the base has the biggest casting plug to remove the remaining pieces its a simple case of carefully cutting away from the formers ( slight sanding will be needed to finish them off) and then fitting together to produce the figure

Lets look at the Main figure this is the largest of the pieces consisting of the full torso with head but no arms , the clothing folds are well done the trousers being very blousy with the folds in the right position for the pose . this is with the left leg forward the right slightly bent steadying the pose , the arms are in a fighting position

On the shirt we have a circle which is plain so you can put your own chinese lettering on it, at the back its nicely ruffled up showing what looks like a scabbard .

Gaiters and shoes are being worn , this is a lucky soldier , most were bare footed , the details on the gaiters look good as are the footwear.




The face ...YES it does look in keeping with the Chinese race and that is good to see , mouth open exposing the teeth .nice neck muscles and facial details , our chinaman has a great pigtail which sits on his shoulder hanging down the right side.




Now to the Arms, these have been cast alongside the hat


both are well muscled nicely worked on the hands gripping the lethal weapons correct in both shape and size . Fit to the figure is clean and accurate.


The Hat ...coolie shaped and nice texture on the surface , generally made of bamboo ,again the fit is easy to the head as Altores have done a male and female location on the parts
.

The Base and the Stakes make up the groundwork , as with other releases the groundwork is well shown with the stakes also having good wood effects sculpted , fit of these and the figure is easy ..locating cutouts are provided .






Final Thoughts

This is yet again an interesting subject with good sculpting , its easy to assemble and well thought out , Altores have made a bit of a hit with the releases so far and I look forward to seeing more from them and sharing with you all.


For details on this and more from them :

E-mail: altoress@mail.ru

Website: www.altores.com

They are also a member of FaceBook and the forum here on PF

Thanks to for the review piece

Finally lets have some more pictures...ENJOY this and your modelling


Nap