Hi to you all ,

One of the smaller companies in our world of resin is run by Ian Burton and very ably assisted by his daughter Ellie , so very much a family concern , both sharing a passion for their products so it was good to have the postman knock on the door with a rather well packed parcel containing the latest from them.

The release was announced here on PF http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...s-col-charles-du-pin-1866.76132/watch-confirm

It is of course: Col Charles Du Pin

Dupin was perhaps the most colorful and controversial of those who fought on behalf of the Mexican Empire was the French cavalryman Charles Dupin. At the time of the campaign in Mexico he was already a decorated veteran of the war in China where he had earned something of an unsavory reputation.

He was a keen participant of the looting of the Summer Palace when French and British forces occupied Peking and he brought back a number of pilfered Chinese art treasures as spoils of war. When he openly advertised these items for sale in Paris he was dismissed from the army for conduct unbecoming of an officer.
However, he had gained a reputation as a cunning and hard fighting commander.

When the war in Mexico, particularly along the northern frontier, degenerated into guerilla warfare it was Emperor Napoleon III himself who recalled the aging Dupin for service in Mexico. Emperor Maximilian though actually singled out Dupin for exclusion from his service since, although he had a reputation for courage and fearlessness, he was also known to employ methods ranging from extremely harsh to downright brutal.

Despite this Colonel Dupin came to Mexico and was given command of the contra-guerillas operating on the coast and along the Texas border.

He looked an imposing figure in his braided uniform, wide sombrero and a cigar always clenched in his teeth. His mission was to fight fire with fire, to wipe out the bandits and Juaristas in the region and he had no qualms about returning harshness with harshness and cruelty with cruelty.

On capturing a village he issued a statement :

"I am Colonel Dupin. Obey or you are dead! All resistance is futile…I protect the good but have no mercy for evil men. I kill men, I rape women, I murder children; I exterminate the enemy by fire, by steel and by blood; remember my words!" ...intimidating indeed.

Early on the contras wore a uniform that consisted of a rather simple grey outfit trimmed in blue with a silver-laced sombrero.
After 1864 they took on a more outlandish appearance with the cavalry wearing grey or black sombreros, a bright red dolman with black lace and bright red sashes.
Foot soldiers wore uniforms similar in style to the French zouaves and when the second squadron was raised they wore sky blue dolmans but it was the red jackets and the red sashes that all the troops wore that their republican enemies named them los diablos colorados or "the Red Devils". The contras could attract a very tough brand of soldier because of the better pay and equipment they received. Yet, there were drawbacks ...no mercy was given because of their fierce reputation if they were ever taken by the enemy and with their bright red hussar jackets and red sashes they were pretty easy to spot in a crowd of prisoners.

Certainly a very colourful and hard fighting group of men led by a feared man.

The country of Mexico has been the site of much bloodshed and revolution including the what was known as "The Mexican Adventure"

for other mexican conflicts and information these are very good to add to the straining bookshelves!!

Continued in next post:

Nap

Hi Guys

Lets have some more information on Dupin and in particular his medals and the weapon he has been depicted holding in the sculpt.

First the weapon this is as far as I can see the Belgium M1858 Lefaucheux style revolver





Now to the medals , the sculpt is based on this and other pictures so looking at this images of Dupin

and a colour depiction in the Anne K Brown collection these are the medals he is wearing in my opinion.

Top Row from the left


These are :Crimean medal , ( UK) (the reference shows 3 clasps) , the Mexican Expedition (French) , Italian Campaign(French) ,China Medal (French)

Bottom Row from the left



These are : Cross of St Maurice and Lazarus (Sardinia) , Order of Medjidie (Turkey) , Valour Medal (Sardinia)

Not showing he was also entitled to the Legion d'honneur (French)


When I paint the model I will be using this as my main reference.

Continued in next post

Nap

Lets see the Resin

Title: Colonel Charles Louis Dupin , Mexico 1866

Reference: EM 017

Scale: 1/9th

Material: Gray Resin

No of Pieces: 11 resin plus reference sheet and painting instructions

Sculptor: Moz Corry

Casting: Steve Reedie

Box Art: N/A but a WIP by Gerard ( Tarracus on PF)

The model was held in a strong white box , no box art as this is WIP , parts were packed in both resealable bags and again in bubble wrap , these consist of the torso , the hat, 2 arms , 2 hands , the cigar, the weapon and a base . In addition there is a colour depiction and painting instructions.



Prep for all the pieces:

Torso....Slight sanding at the neck and underneath ,a pin hole at the back of the right sleeve
Head....Quick swipe of sanding on the neck and head underside and top
Arms....Slight bit of filler when in place.

Hat....slight sanding on the underside edge
Hands...Small bit of flashing , then cut off the former
Cigar..cut off the former and fitted
Weapon....Remove from former
Base.....Clean up the lower edge and fit

All very minor as you can see.

In this part we will look at the torso the arms and the head.

Beginning with the Torso , this is the largest of the pieces and packed with details , our subject wears the very fancy dolman which is showing nicely worked braiding , good definition on the trefoils and the separate cords , this is on both back and front.

I will probably add a bit of cording under the left arm at the dolmans edge ..not essential as it will hardly show...my choice!!

Under this we have a shirt , nice folds together with the sash at the lower edge , good work again from the sculptor ...nice one Moz , clean undercuts as well.

On his right shoulder we have shoulder cords , well represented in shape , leading up to the neck and the epaulette on the shoulder , all sitting naturally.

On the left we have a mass of medals nicely done , these certainly add a lot of interest to the model , after speaking to Ian a little bit of artistic interpretation was used , so you could paint as they are or as I will do rework them a bit ( my decision I hasten to add)
One thing about the braiding and the medals is that details are often lost on casting ...not here , all have sharp definition ..well done all.

Now to the Arms:
When you come to fit the arms its a clever way as the right fits into a carefully worked "V" at the shoulder , the other onto a clear area (I would suggest pinning)

Bot arms are full of lace ranking well worked with clear definition between the piping , both arms show nice folds and creases and a nice seam at the back

Onto the Head:
Moz has done a good job here , you can see its the subject , obviously working from the references I have given as well , great beard , nice surface texture, his mouth slightly open ready to receive his customary cigar, facial features of the eyes , nose and the ears are well done

Continued in next post

Nap

Now to the final pieces

Firstly the Hat or should that be sombrero !!

This was worn by a lot of the french troops in the conflict , comfortable and gave great protection against the sun , the colonel wear a wide brimmed version together with the underside that is heavily decorated , a lot of enjoyment is in store painting this

Shape is very good from all angles , fit to the head clean and easy to do and when in place looks great.



The remaining pieces are all on one former for casting



The 2 Hands are well done , nice finger definitionwith good fit to the wrist area on the arms


The Cigar ...easy to remove and fit into the mouth

The Weapon...nice shape with all the main components in situ , I particularly like the handle shape, very close to my references , it certainly looks good when in his hand

The Base is a good size and fits easily to the underside ( pin it) some might choose to put it to the spares box and use a brass rod ..the choice is yours.

Final Thoughts
This is a very interesting subject , full of details and good sculpting and casting , making for a very colourful companion to the Chasseur previously released (http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/chasseur-dafrique-from-ellies-miniatures.73273/watch-confirm)
A good and very interesting product and good customer service as well as giving you lots of enjoyment at the bench ...what more do you need.


Here are some unpainted versions from the website

For more details have a look at the website at :
www.elliesminiatures.com

or contact Ian by e mail at:

ian.burton@live.co.uk

or PM him via this forum

Ian will also be at this years Euro so with this and future release his stand is one I will certainly enjoy visiting .

Thank you to Ian for the review piece and to you all for looking in

Enjoy the modelling

Nap

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the comments

Geoff ..think you are right can't find a pic though!

Terry..glad you found it interesting and informative

Thanks for looking in

Nap

Excellent review! Hard to resist buying this one!

Hi Ian and Ellie ,

No problem ..make sure you leave the chq just signed ..I will fill it in!....it's certainly going to be an enjoyable amount of bench time that looms ..or insanity !

Medals ...bit of a area I am interested in ...got lots of references everywhere and if unsure there is always the PF members !

The offer is there to help on any other projects

As Terry says ..you got it right

Nap

Hi Guys ,

Couple more picture you might find of use




Nap

Hi Colin,

I too had never heard of him a colourful character in everyway , certainly would be up in front of The Hague today!

Thanks for looking in

Nap